Fighting with landlord over entering unit

[jhast]

it not habitable to me because of the roaches, and the air conditioning ,which he never did anything about, plus he also breached the lease by coming in without notice or permission

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Then that is the argument you will need to present to the judge at the eviction hearing.

Gail

 

[jhast]

thank you all for your responses.
what should i expect in court? whats going to happen?

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Again, is the information you received for an actual eviction or for charges for owed rent due to breaking your lease?

Your landlord provided you with a 5 day Pay or Quit notice. When you failed to remedy the situation (i.e., pay rent) within that time period, he then filed for the actual eviction. In the meantime, you moved out of the unit. It takes a while for the paperwork on filing for an eviction to go through the court system (i.e., setting up a date for the hearing).

When you go to court you argue why you believe you had the right to vacate the rental unit. If you don't attend the court hearing (assuming there is no need to since you've already vacated the rental unit), the landlord will be granted his request for the eviction. Such a judgement can allow him to further file against you for owed rent.

Gail

 

[jhast]

Yes, on a the 9th i received the 5 day notice to pay rent, then on the 16th i received a summons to go to court for unpaid rent, the reason i'm going to court is to fight it because i do not want an eviction on my record, plus i have already moved out so i don't deserve an eviction, i wrote him a lease termination letter, which he never responded to. does this sound right the way i'm going about it?

 

[Searchertwin]

Yes, on a the 9th i received the 5 day notice to pay rent, then on the 16th i received a summons to go to court for unpaid rent, the reason i'm going to court is to fight it because i do not want an eviction on my record, plus i have already moved out so i don't deserve an eviction, i wrote him a lease termination letter, which he never responded to. does this sound right the way i'm going about it?

You have already lost. You did not pay rent and the LL filed against you. Just because you moved out does not release you from rent that you did not pay.

You should have requested everything in writing, wait for LL to repair, if he didn't, you should have backed it up with another request with a demand he fix it or withhold rent. You don't have to send the extra letter, but shows that you tried to work with the LL and he didn't. You failed on all that.

 

[Searchertwin]

it not habitable to me because of the roaches, and the air conditioning ,which he never did anything about, plus he also breached the lease by coming in without notice or permission

That's not what you said in your post. You just said, "Due to paint".

He did not breach the lease, you requested a repair, he responded.
Your notice was your contact of informing LL of needed repairs.

 

[jhast]

yes, due to the smell of paint, i couldn't stay there that day, after that i gave him a notice for the roaches, which he did nothing about within the 5 days, that is why i withheld rent

 

[Gail in Georgia]

" I served him with a 5 day notice to fix cracks that roaches were coming in through, and the a/c. On the 5th day he came and did an "inspection" he covered some of the cracks with caulk"

You yourself stated the landlord did this; he did address the issue of the source for roaches coming into the rental unit.

Your reasons for withholding rent and moving out of the rental unit appear to keep changing.

It is unlikely that you will prevail in court.

Gail

 

[jhast]

" I served him with a 5 day notice to fix cracks that roaches were coming in through, and the a/c. On the 5th day he came and did an "inspection" he covered some of the cracks with caulk"

You yourself stated the landlord did this; he did address the issue of the source for roaches coming into the rental unit.

Your reasons for withholding rent and moving out of the rental unit appear to keep changing.

It is unlikely that you will prevail in court.

Gail

the reason im withholding rent is because he did not solve the complaints i gave him, he only covered SOME of the cracks not all, even though he knew about more, he also did not do anything about the a/c except ask me what temperature i keep it at. therefor he is breaching the lease by not doing what he should be as a landlord. is that not good enough in court?

 

[Searchertwin]

the reason im withholding rent is because he did not solve the complaints i gave him, he only covered SOME of the cracks not all, even though he knew about more, he also did not do anything about the a/c except ask me what temperature i keep it at. therefor he is breaching the lease by not doing what he should be as a landlord. is that not good enough in court?

Nope. Why?
1) He did cover the cracks which he felt was needed. He is not there to please you.
2) The a/c is working and that's all that needs addressed. You gave him an temperature reading. It may not be as cold as ice, but it doesn't have to be. As long as it cools and keep the house cool, that all that is required.

It is so nice to have a tenant indicate that a LL is not what he should be doing as a LL. IN this case it is the tenant who is not doing what a tenant should be doing. PAYING RENT

You know you are wrong and trying to find an answer to suit you.
Good luck in court, you will need it.

 

[jhast]

After the judge heard my reasons to withhold rent, he decided to go to trial, and on the trial date (yesterday), the attorney for the landlord did not show up, he dismissed it, they knew they were in the wrong for everything they did.