Landlord taking me to court!

[kp15228]

I have been having trouble with my landlord. In my lease it states very clearly that the landlord will pay for gas, water, sewage, and trash. At one point there was a 12 foot pile of trash accumulating in the back of my building due to the landlord not paying the trash company. The landlord continues to send me bills for gas. I explained to him that it states, in my lease, that I do not have to pay for gas. I have done this four times now and each time someone has said that they would take care of the situation. Apparently they have not been taking care of the situation because I have received a gas shut off notice from the gas company four out of six months I have lived here. My gas is due to shut off tomorrow, and its very cold here. Can they shut off the gas if it is so cold out?

Anyways,I received a summon to court today stating that I owe my landlord $902.19 for unpaid rent. I dug up all my bank statements and have proof showing that I paid rent for each month I have lived here. (I moved in June, 2008) However, I'm starting to believe that the court summon is because they think I owe money for gas. Can they win this? I have all documents proving that I have done nothing wrong. Also, could I get out of my lease without fines or fees because of a breach of contract?

Please help! I'm a student so I'm not very familiar with this sort of thing! Thanks!

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Since you've received a summons to court you must show up at this date; failure to do so will mean that your landlord will automatically win a judgement against you.

If the issue is unpaid rent...and you have physical evidence that you have paid your rent...then bring all this information to court along with your lease that outlines who is reponsible for the utilities in question.

Most of these cases are presented in Small Claims Court in front of a judge (no jury). Small Claims represents cases for monetary issues that are below a certain amount (this amount varies from state to state). Most folks represent themselves; there is no need to have an attorney with you and it's not as frightening an experience as most people believe.

If you wish, you can attend a court session before your hearing, just to get a good idea of what goes on in one.

Gail