Tenant/Landlord

[Jan_A_Malaspino]

I have been paying my rent twice a month,middle and end. My landlord agreed to this. Twice he has made amistake and told me I missed a payment. I showed my receipts and proved him wrong. He now says that I have until Friday at 5pm to pay all of Nov. rent or he is changing the locks. I told him 2wks ago that I would be out by the middle of Dec. When I moved into this apartment he said that my daughter and 3 grandchildren could stay with me and now he says they never had permission. I am hopefully moving out this weekend. Can he change the locks Friday? He is constanly calling me on my cell phone at work and harrassing me. I need some advice ASAP. Thank You

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

No; he cannot legally change the locks.

This would be known as a "self-eviction". This is an illegal move on the part of the landlord.

Your landlord can BEGIN the process of eviction by notifying you (in writing) that you "Pay or Quit" the premises by a certain day. If you ignore this notice, his next step is actually filing for an eviction through the local courts.
Depending on the state/district you live in, this can take a while to go through the system.

Until the landlord receives official notice that his request has been granted (and you also must be "served" with such a notice) he cannot evict you or change the locks.

If he does do an illegal lockout, you can turn around and sue him for this.

In many states a landlord accepting rent (even partial rent) from a tenant negates the entire eviction process.

Your landlord seems like a bit of an idiot; often the colder months are a difficult time to find new tenants.

Gail

 

[Jan_A_Malaspino]

Thank you so much for your advice. I didn't know where to turn. Now I know where I stand.