being evicted and taken to court......

[splippity]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? ohio
we live in akron ohio.
We have rented this house for 4 yrs and the landlord has never made any efforts to fix anything on the property************** tile missing from bathroom wall, light fixtures hanging from ceiling with wires exposed, tiles missing from floor, ect ect.
Anyway we were served earlier then when we would have been late with a 3day notice which is not right.
My spouse was laid off and has cancer (a rare stomach cancer) and I am diabetic with an under active thyroid. We are living well below the poverty line, we were given pipp assistance for heat and electricity because of it. Unemployments only paying $300
Our lease was up months ago so we assumed that we were month to month from now on but the papers we recieved in the mail state that we are being sued for:
security deposit $600
back rent for november and december $600 each month
damage to property $1000 (they say is our fault)
so that comes out to over 2k almost 3

We are by no means able to secure any kind of legal councel so hoping someone here can help us.
Why would we owe a security deposit if we never renewed our lease???
Is there any way to dispute their claims that property damage is our fault??
can they garnish unemployment?
Whats terrible is since we have to move and found a new place we have to pay rent and just make enough to cover rent there, if wages were garnished we would have nowhere to go.

hope someone can help us with this. I provided as much info as I can think of to try and help people answer the questions.
edit: we did pay security deposit twice (we used it once when we were behind then paid them it back again)

 

[FarmerJ]

Your current medical problems really have no bearing on the greater problem , you owe rent and you did not post as to having any paper trails to prove you have complained about repairs not being done, I would suggest you take pics of the things that the LL should have repaired like hanging fixtures the missing tiles in bathroom and let the courts decide what to do if you are sued for the damages your LL claims you did beside the unpaid rents.

 

[Banned_Princess]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? ohio
we live in akron ohio.
We have rented this house for 4 yrs and the landlord has never made any efforts to fix anything on the property************** tile missing from bathroom wall, light fixtures hanging from ceiling with wires exposed, tiles missing from floor, ect ect.
Anyway we were served earlier then when we would have been late with a 3day notice which is not right.
My spouse was laid off and has cancer (a rare stomach cancer) and I am diabetic with an under active thyroid. We are living well below the poverty line, we were given pipp assistance for heat and electricity because of it. Unemployments only paying $300
Our lease was up months ago so we assumed that we were month to month from now on but the papers we recieved in the mail state that we are being sued for:
security deposit $600
back rent for november and december $600 each month
damage to property $1000 (they say is our fault)
so that comes out to over 2k almost 3

We are by no means able to secure any kind of legal councel so hoping someone here can help us.
Why would we owe a security deposit if we never renewed our lease???
Is there any way to dispute their claims that property damage is our fault??
can they garnish unemployment?
Whats terrible is since we have to move and found a new place we have to pay rent and just make enough to cover rent there, if wages were garnished we would have nowhere to go.

hope someone can help us with this. I provided as much info as I can think of to try and help people answer the questions.
edit: we did pay security deposit twice (we used it once when we were behind then paid them it back again)

You need a lawyer, Alot of times there are services available for low or no income people.

please see this portion of this website......

What if I can’t afford a lawyer?


Contact your local legal aid program to see if they can assist you. Although legal aid is free, not every person is entitled to a lawyer. There are simply far more people contacting legal aid for help than there are lawyers available to represent all. However, even if your local legal aid is unable to represent you, they may be able to provide with written information and/or general advice at a clinic that may help you prepare for your day in court. Find your local legal aid office now.
Eviction —

You should also take the papers you received to your social service office, and see what kind of assistance they could provide for you.

Alot of times, landlords will inflate the amount of money they are seeking and I don't know why they do this, or why they are allowed to continue their complaint with false numbers, but they are, and they do, and you need help and you need a lawyer. Take pictures of the damages, and whatnot, and bring whatever proof you hopefully have that you repeatedly asked the LL to fix the defects.

Start calling around, and bring your eviction papers to your Social Services department, sometimes, when faced with a homeless family, they will step in to help pay the rent the family cannot.

Good Luck.

 

[acmb05]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? ohio

security deposit $600
back rent for november and december $600 each month
damage to property $1000 (they say is our fault)

You definately need to get in touch with someone from legal aid in your state if it is available. That being said I can't see a judge allowing them to get a security deposit now if they never asked for one when you moved in. Even if they did allow it that would be subtracted from the $1000 they are wanting in damages. The rent is your obligation and you will be ordered to pay that. They most likely would not get both the deposit and the damages amounts

 

[splippity]

k. We'll look into social services.... we already get food stamps and what not from them.

There is no paper trail for the work needing done it was always word of mouth and phone calls.

I shouldn't owe security because we went to a month to month basis by not signing the lease again correct???

Almost possitive we need some kind of legal aid as he has a lawyer and bragged about sueing the last tenant (house next door) and tracking them down with his "cop friends" since they just left abruptly.

Up until a year ago we didn't even have a bank account from which we could issue checks to them to keep at least some paper trail**************..


thanks for the advice.

 

[Banned_Princess]

There is no paper trail for the work needing done it was always word of mouth and phone calls.

Well bring pictures that the damage is maintence and not distruction.

I shouldn't owe security because we went to a month to month basis by not signing the lease again correct???

No that is not correct, but if he didnt get a security deposit before you moved in, its alittle late to be asking for one now, I doubt a judge will allow it.

Almost possitive we need some kind of legal aid as he has a lawyer and bragged about sueing the last tenant (house next door) and tracking them down with his "cop friends" since they just left abruptly.

You need one too.

Up until a year ago we didn't even have a bank account from which we could issue checks to them to keep at least some paper trail**************..

If you were paying him in cash, it was his duty to provide you with a reciept... so, your saying you never got reciepts.
People. Sheesh.


Your going to be evicted, but the judgement is what you need to fight.

 

[splippity]

ya I know we're getting evicted I dont mind that..... we already signed a new lease at a new place**************.. twice as many rooms and $50 less lol.

just dont want to get railroaded because the landlord has cop friends and a lawyer.
theres fair and then there's not right.

thanks for your time.