Deceptive Landlord!

[Unitonika]

What is the name of your state? Missouri

Hey Everyone! I usually don't post on here for the simple fact that some people get nasty with their answers. Even if you feel this is a stupid question, please don't take the time to ruin anyone's day or make them feel bad...it's just not necessary. Thank you.

Me and my roomate rented from a private landlord for a year. During this time, we found the place had roaches (which we inquired about before move-in and were assured there weren't any), the refrigerator wasn't working properly, and one day when we were cooking, I noticed smoke coming from the outlet where the stove was plugged in. To make matters worse, my landlord was Iranian, so he wasn't very clear on things we communicated with him.

Needless to say, at the end of the lease agreement, we were happy to move out. The landlord wanted us to stay, and offered us lower rent, and also showed us some of his other properties because we told him we were more interested in a house because of the privacy.

After seeing the properties, we declined, and decided we were going to move out at the end of the month. The landlord turned off the hot water (it was December), and would not turn it back on. I called him many times, and he then started saying we were behind on our rent (NOT TRUE). My roomate and I had to stay in a motel room for about a month while going back and forth to pack our belongings in order to move.

We finally moved out before our lease was over, and the guy started calling asking us for his rent. WE DON'T owe him anything. THEN, we got served eviction papers which was startling to me. I don't understand how if we were out of the lease agreement, paid in full, and moving out... how did he get 3 months of rent, fees, and our deposit?

On Thursday, I got an e-mail from my employer telling me I was going to be garnished for 1800 dollars... just me, not my roomate.


Here are my questions: How did he get granted anything without a signed lease?
Is it against the lasw for a landlord to turn off the hot water when you are paid up to date on the rent?
Why is he only garnishing me and not my roomate?
Is there any way for me to get the garnishment adjusted or taken away? ( they are garnishing 25% of my check for this)

Please help, I am very confused!What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?

 

[ecmst12]

Did you fail to go to court for the eviction hearing? He can't garnish your wages without a judgement. If you ignored the suit papers and he has a judgement, you are going to need to hire a lawyer to HOPEFULLY get you out of the situation.

 

[Scott Mayo]

ecmst12 has a good point that there must have been a hearing without you but I'm not so sure that a notice of eviction contains a court summons or even implies that there will be a hearing...it's usually just formal notice that you are to vacate the premises. Were you ever served a notice to appear in court? If not, I believe you have grounds to appeal the decision. Also, these cases usually involve people who don't have a bunch of money to spend on lawyers.....if you did, it likely wouldn't be an issue for you to have your wages garnished. Often a judge will give more consideration to the "little guy" who doesn't come into court with a team of lawyers to fight for what's right.
The clerk of the court would have a record of any hearing concerning you. I've often found that writing a letter to a judge before I go to see him/her in court is a great help. The judge reads the letter before his day starts and when he opens your case file and sees the letter on top and remembers having considered it, then puts your face to the whole case file, he has usually already made his decision and he knows the law just as well as any lawyer does.

 

[FarmerJ]

Check the county govt center records , see your county clerk of the court and ask them how you can search for a judgement on your own name. Once you learn if there is carefully read it and see if you can learn the method that was used to serve the notice and the date it was served. NOW the important thing , WAS the notice you gave that you were going to vacate in writting and sent via a method that gave you a rct ? The complaints about the things wrong with the stove and the lack of hot water , did you contact a building inspector to file complaint about them ? Last , contact your old roomate and both of you find your copies of your rcts. If you got your proofs of notice to vacate and your rent rcts go find a atty to and have every thing reviewed.

 

[Unitonika]

ecmst12 has a good point that there must have been a hearing without you but I'm not so sure that a notice of eviction contains a court summons or even implies that there will be a hearing...it's usually just formal notice that you are to vacate the premises. Were you ever served a notice to appear in court? If not, I believe you have grounds to appeal the decision. Also, these cases usually involve people who don't have a bunch of money to spend on lawyers.....if you did, it likely wouldn't be an issue for you to have your wages garnished. Often a judge will give more consideration to the "little guy" who doesn't come into court with a team of lawyers to fight for what's right.
The clerk of the court would have a record of any hearing concerning you. I've often found that writing a letter to a judge before I go to see him/her in court is a great help. The judge reads the letter before his day starts and when he opens your case file and sees the letter on top and remembers having considered it, then puts your face to the whole case file, he has usually already made his decision and he knows the law just as well as any lawyer does.

As far as the notice to appear , I was not given one. I did show up to the court date with a five page letter for the judge explaining everything, but it went so fast, there was no room for me to even speak

 

[Unitonika]

Check the county govt center records , see your county clerk of the court and ask them how you can search for a judgement on your own name. Once you learn if there is carefully read it and see if you can learn the method that was used to serve the notice and the date it was served. NOW the important thing , WAS the notice you gave that you were going to vacate in writting and sent via a method that gave you a rct ? The complaints about the things wrong with the stove and the lack of hot water , did you contact a building inspector to file complaint about them ? Last , contact your old roomate and both of you find your copies of your rcts. If you got your proofs of notice to vacate and your rent rcts go find a atty to and have every thing reviewed.

Thanks for your response. The landlord kept calling me when we were in the hotel room to tell me there was someone trying to serve me papers. I finally met up with the deputy and got the papers. I have receipts, dated receipts. I contacted the Missouri housing Authority to file a complaint, so they have it on file. Okay, the next step is to find an attorney... got it! One last question... should I contact the LL about my deposit? He's like 3months late