I was served with an eviction for late payment of rent and we had court December 4th. We both showed up but the landlord stepped out and when the judge called for us she didn’t come back in the room so I was asked how would I like to proceed. Would I like a continuance or to dismiss it and I said dismissal please. So the case got dismissed WITH prejudice. I understand that this now means the case is over and can’t be reopened. The landlord can’t file under the same grounds but what does this exactly mean ? Like do I not have to pay rent for a amount of time ?do I start paying rent again like it never happened? Do we work out some kind of agreement? I have no clue what’s to come next and would like so help and in site please. Thank you !
Fresh start? So you want the landlord to just forgive more than a months rent and just move on like nothing happened? Landlords have bills to pay and mouths to feed as well. You agreed to pay $XX per month and if you wish to stay you should pay
Rental Property Investor · Chubbuck, ID · Member since 2018 · 532 posts · 466 votes
6y
An eviction is to get you to leave the property not to get you to pay. You already have a contract (lease) where you agreed to pay. The judge just gave you some extra time in the place not waive any money you owe. Even if you leave you can be sued for the unpaid rent, or the unpaid rent could be sent to a collection agency and your wages could be garnished. Be an honest person with integrity and uphold your end of the contract which is paying your rent ( all of it).
Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2016 · 9 posts · 5 votes
6y
Ouch,rule No 1 is no pay no stay...better move out now because the landlord will give you a five-day notice to move or you can stipulate ie make a plan to pay back what is owed in a face to face meeting at the courthouse.
Investor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2015 · 625 posts · 601 votes
6y
@Latonya Hinton Your landlord has mortgage payments and car payments too and probably lots of other expenses. It says a lot about you that you would even think you can stay when you owe them back rent without paying lol. Atleast this is a public forum and hopefully your new landlord wherever you try to move searches online and finds this thread so they can see your a non payer.
Real Estate Agent · Saint Joseph, WI · Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 13 votes
6y
@Latonya Hinton. Law or no law. Prejudice or no prejudice don’t you think the right thing to do is pay your rent? All of it! Back rent, current rent and future rent in time and as agreed to? After all, you agreed to do this on your lease. You signed it in good faith. The landlord provides suitable housing to which you gladly agreed to occupy in exchange for paying rent. I mean it’s pretty cut and dried to me! Why would you think a landlord would give you or owes you a clean fresh start?? This is a business for him/her. They provide a aero e in the form of housing. They have bills related to that property. That costs then money.
Im reading your posts and thinking -if this lady put as much energy into figuring out how to pay her rent as she is spending justifying how she should get out of paying her rent, this situation could be totally different.
Pay your rent Lotanya. All of it. That is just the right thing to do and you know it.
Rental Property Investor · Malvern, PA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 934 votes
6y
You really need to talk with your landlord. We can offer you lots of opinions here on BP since we don't really know your case, but what matters is what your landlord intends to do next. I recommend you try to persuade your landlord that you will be a model tenant going forward if you want to stay there. Your landlord may require some form of restitution to make that happen.
You have to pay back rent, late fees, and your rent on time pursuant to your lease agreement. You simply got lucky that the landlord was out of the room. If that landlord wants, he/she can have that order set aside within a certain amount of time and continue to pursue you for this eviction. Pay your rent pursuant to the lease agreement. Not paying rent is both unethical, a breach of your agreement and in some cases considered theft of services therefore criminal.
@Brian Boyd thank you ! I didn’t want to get out of paying rent . I just seen in nc that the landlord can’t ask for rent that he or she asked for in a claim that was dismissed with prejudice. That’s why I asked. Didn’t know it was such a crime to ask questions these days. But thanks for your time !
@Brian Boyd thank you ! I didn’t want to get out of paying rent . I just seen in nc that the landlord can’t ask for rent that he or she asked for in a claim that was dismissed with prejudice. That’s why I asked. Didn’t know it was such a crime to ask questions these days. But thanks for your time !
There is nothing wrong with asking questions. You will find this forum is mostly landlords, who have had tenants not pay rent. They are naturally sensitive to this topic, because of the financial hardship it places on the business. Regardless, people should not respond to you in a harsh manner.
Even if the the court ruling means you were not required by law to pay the back rent, it is the right thing to do. Ultimately you want to pay all your bills or it will make it harder for you in the future to rent or buy another property.
In the future keep when you are served a "pay or vacate notice", you should do one of the two things. That prevents the action from going to court. Had the landlord been at the court proceedings, you most likely would have been ordered to leave the property. Had you not left, a sheriff would physically remove you.
If you stay in this property somehow and end up late again, there will be another eviction notice served and it will not work out the same. I would talk to the landlord and work things out. If they still want you to leave, I would leave and find another place. If they don't want you there, it is only a matter of time before they find a way to get you out.
Good luck. Whatever you do, never ignore a landlord when they call or post notice. Communication is key. Always be polite.
@Joe Splitrock That is understandable. I am just being made out to be this non paying tenant when I actually pay my rent. I emailed my landlord November 11th and told him I would 2 weeks late with my rent due to unforeseen circumstances and he responded I needed to have all my rent by November 15th. I didn’t respond after that because I wasn’t going to have it by then and I needed to find away to come up with it. He then proceeded to go to the small claims court Friday at 11:15am and give me a summons paper. I wasn’t even given a 10 day grace period and I was not giving adequate time to come up with money because 11:15 I’m working. It wasn’t end of day yet. I have never no communicated with my landlord or been rude to him. Beings though this is an apartment I understand but it toke me by surprise. Yes I am thankful for the second chance. I plan on paying my debt with my landlord today. I just don’t want to pay and he try’s to evict me still or something. Thank you for responding !
Rental Property Investor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2015 · 401 posts · 221 votes
6y
@Latonya Hinton
I’m surprise you even show up for court. Most tenants don’t because unpaid rent is almost like an automatic win for the landlord, as long as the landlord show up. You get really lucky there. I’m not a lawyer & my guess is that you got yourself another month to catch up. If you can’t, act early & don’t wait until the landlord file another eviction. A month or 2 rent doesn’t worth the eviction on your record. Ask the landlord, maybe he/she willing to help with your moving cost (i/e cash for key).
Elkhorn, NE · Member since 2017 · 23 posts · 25 votes
6y
@Latonya Hinton pay what you owe. Pretty simple. Law or no law, it’s the right thing to do, and trying to get out of it somehow is sleazy and crooked. You will rightfully lose respect from anybody that knows.
Everyone is crushing this lady, and she is being incredibly polite and humble in return; It shows a lot of class. She asked a question, and while we don't agree with the premise, we don't have to all pile on with the same answer and treat her like garbage. While it is frustrating when others don't think the same way we do, or understand the business side of this for us as landlords, we should at least recognize that she has done nothing but agree with everyone's statements that she owes and needs to pay, no need to beat a dead horse. Have a little empathy, we all want to be treated with respect, we should do the same.
Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2017 · 824 posts · 1k+ votes
6y
Hi @Latonya Hinton, you're eliciting some strong opinions because most of the landlords/investors here treat the property as a business. A business has expenses, and in our case, it can be debt payments, taxes, insurance, capital expenditures, maintenance, utilities, city costs, township costs, licenses, inspections, covering vacancies, paying managers, et al.
The only income we receive to cover our business expenses, 99% of the time, is your rent.
You can understand why the opinions are strong; no rent means we dip into our "business" to pay our bills, which are typically fixed costs. Even if you don't pay rent, we still owe our debt owner (a bank, for example), still owe our taxes, still owe our utilities, still have to pay our manager, et al.
Someone earlier brought up communication. It's interesting because I think its important; there surely are extenuating circumstances but for most of us, if you are unreliable in holding up your end of the bargain, it puts our business in jeopardy. You mentioned you stopped responding after his requirement to pay by the 15th..."I didn’t respond after that because I wasn’t going to have it by then" -- what did you think was going to happen? You cut off the only information your landlord had to think he may or may not would receive.
I'm not going to lecture you because others have done so, and I find it to be patronizing. Rather I thought it important to share with you the other side of the coin. Many landlords get into this business because over time, it can be a profitable venture for us...over time. We provide good housing to good people who pay their rent. Simple as that. With you not paying and stopping communication, that's clearly a reason for the landlord to take you to court. If I were your landlord, and you were a good tenant who normally paid on-time, if we worked out a payment plan for back rent and you kept up good communication, I might have avoided the court method. Some won't. But if you do your best to uphold your end of the agreements made, a court will likely be more sympathetic to your situation, anyway.
Rental Property Investor · West Caldwell, NJ · Member since 2019 · 104 posts · 65 votes
6y
@Latonya Hinton you may want to abide by the lease agreement and pay on time! That just seems like the “right” thing to do. You may also not find yourself wasting the day away, as well as the Landlord. Or do you just consider yourself as “special” where the lease that you signed doesn’t pertain to you anymore? It amazes me how you can even post something as such. I’d be embarrassed, but that’s me.
@Joe P. I didn’t respond after he said that because I told him I wouldn’t have the money for 2 weeks. He asked me for full payment 4 days after I the date we talked. At that point it was nothing else for me to say because he already set in stone what he wanted to happen. Was I supposed to beg and cry ? Would that really change his mind ? No I don’t think so. So that’s why I didn’t respond at that point. And you missed the part when I said I contacted him and told him that I needed more time. And I didn’t get a 10 day grace period either. Also I did owe any rent prior to that . I always paid on time and I was late 2 times before and I paid when I said I would , I paid late fees and all. I usually Pay 2 months in advance but I couldn’t because I had a death in the family and went out of state and we was off work for holidays so I had a very short check. I spend most of my savings on funeral cost and travel to get out of state. It’s not like I was late because I didn’t care . Thank you for your time and responding.
Rental Property Investor · Closter, NJ · Member since 2015 · 884 posts · 722 votes
6y
Pay your rent, every single penny you owe, and pay it on time every single month. If you don't pay it on time, the Landlord will file for eviction. You don't get to live in someone's home for free.