Harassment/Privacy/Risk of Loosing Home

[Xzerper]

Hey, I am posting here for people's insight on a very serious matter in real life right now that I REALLY need to take care of.

I do not know what to do or if I can even do anything at that so here goes.

About 6 months ago, I started a contract with some landlords for an apartment lease. Real good deal, 300$ per month, all utilities supplied.

I am very good with the landlords here, however, as of recent they've been showing their true face around.

First off started the day they found out I was letting some friends occasionally come here and spend the night on nights they'd play FFXI during the week. They didn't live here they did nothing wrong, typical invite friends over for fun stuff, right?

So happens, I have them coming in the morning twice and my friend is here, then they get real mad at me, and tell me they don't want him here if he is living with me.

I assure them he is not, and is occasionally here to play a game called FFXI with me, and the other time was when he was locked out of his apartment/house. Fully understandable by them, right? Wrong.

Threatened the next time they see him here, or think he is living here, they will kick me out. Ok, thats understandable, no one else supposed to live here...but what is there wrong or against the law to allow someone into my own home to chat/talk/have fun with?

Next thing. Landlords when they knock, they only knock once, don't even ask if I am here.

If I do not immediatly get up as fast as lightning, to open the door for them...they automatically unlock the door to come in.

Well, I have one of those chain locks...well...HAD...one of those chain locks that no one could get into the apartment less they had the person inside unlock it for them. This was a lock there PLACED by them alone.

The one day they couldnt get in, they automatically came over the next day, and fed me some bullshit story that the previous people that lived here before(3 people before) used to make crack and put that lock there to prevent them from getting in/see what he/she was doing. Pure bullshit story and I knew it.

If they had a problem with that lock, they'd of removed it beforehand, instead of 2-3yrs later.

Now that they can get into the apartment anytime they want, they come in as they please with or without me knowing about it. I've purposely set up my door to see if anyone has opened it while I been away or asleep in bed and they've came in here.

I've caught them just walking in to without permission as well. VERY big form of invasion of privacy.

I have never once not opened the door for them have they knocked and asked if I was here, never ignored them, nor have had any reason for them to walk in due to wondering if I had something done to me.

By law on a contract, a landlord is not allowed into your place unless a requirement has been met such as: COntact with the apartment renter has ceased/have reason to believe they are hurt or dead, something wrong with appliances in the apartment etc you get my drift.

You are considered the owner of that apartment under a contract renting under said person/from said person for said period of months. They have no valid right to randomyl walk in.

To validate this further: They came here today, I was asleep, they found out I was jobless, to an extent, in this town jobs are hard to come by all the factory jobs and the sort lay people off like its in style too.

He was ticked off, surprisingly this time he did not/nor did I give him time to walk in as freely as he could. Its 10 A.M, I just went to sleep at 7 A.M...he asks why I was asleep.

Told him I was up all night downloading stuff and updates unto my PC. While "Bazaaring a character on a game" Explained to him what that was when he asked about it.

He starts lecturing me about not wanting people ot be here again asking if anyone living here, he was pissed off/telling me he was mad that I had the air conditioner on when its humid and muggy as hell here...

He gets even more pissed off when he sees I have a T.V. And a PS2. Which are not on currently.

He sees the computer on and automatically tells me he doesn't want it in the kitchen. It's not hurting anything, I got a nice thick cloth on the table in here won't scratch the table. It's in no one's walkway when they come in here, its not effecting my way to live.

He wants it moved into the living room, now this is getting kind of extreme.

He gets mad that this computer is running up the electric bill. Its a storage buld PC with real low power usage while on standby mode. Very conveniant PC I got here. This comes that they rented this to me with all utilities paid.

Not saying "I paying for it I can do it when I want" 300$ a month is godly in this town for such a nice apartment. I don't abuse the fact I get free utilities, I keep the palce clean and swept. But this is just getting out of hand.

Ok. I got a mat that my friend sleeps on when he is here, maybe 2 nights out of the week when he comes to play FFXI. I can not really stick it anywhere else, and I told them what it was used for and why it was there.

They think he is living here now, well they just constantly saying they see him living here/here again when they come over they are kicking me out.

He wants me to move the Computer, to the living room, being the small apartment this is there is no wya in hell that is moving there let alone going to fit there with the TV and PS2 and Chair/TV Stand/Mediacom stuff setting there. Starting to piss me off.

Microwave, its in my Bedroom. On a twirly chair. I never use it. Its never used, ever nothing ever cooked in it. I thought I'd be nice and set it in there instead of on top of the refridgerator so that it doesn't scratch up the top of it for him. He flips out, he wants my pile of paper on top of fridge(all Bills in a box) off there and the microwave on top.

What the fuck is this?

Then he also mentions, even tho I have been on and off a job, I have NEVER been late on payments or bills etc, he knows jobs in this town are horrible, I pay him his rent and assure him I have plenty of years worth of $$$ saved in my account to pay for rent.

I end up quitting a job because of some major probs that were happening to it. He finds out about it, then comes over and threatens me that he doesn't want me without a job. Thats understandable I told him I'd get another job, I got money to easily pay him rent between then and when I got a job.

But he threatens me he'd remove me if I didnt get a job, because he doesn't want me here during the day running my computer all day or the air conditioning or the lights.

I am gone half the day most the time anyways, and even when I light up the town in my apartment and leave everything all things all lights/water/PS2/Systems/PC/air conditioning on 24hrs a day 7 days a week, they are STILL profiting like a cow from this place. Not that I do that, but they whining that they want me gone least 8hrs a day at a workplace so I Quote "So we can earn more money"

Its purely obvious they removed the locks on the door, its obvious crap is going on, they are harassment from hell, and they are threatening my place to live that I can afford because my computer is on idle...I have air conditioning on in muggy/warm weather...friend coming over to play FFXI with me...my computer being in the kitchen where it touches/hurts NO One and its easily accessable...not like they live here to care rather or not I got 2-3 feet of space between my PC and sink to wash dishes and all that good shit.

How can I go about proving what they are doing, filing for something or whatnot, because this is absolutly pissing me off and I want to just stab them in the eye. But I am holding back, but today just was the last straw after they just threatened to kick me out cause they didnt like how I had the place organized with PC in Kitchen and how I was jobless(I can still see here, but I even showed them how much in my account so no problems even close there).

And they went off on my friend to threatening him if he was gonna be here he better be renting a 1-room.

If it comes down to it, I am going to take these people to court, but I need to know how to do this and what I should do.

Oh, just a FYI, they tried to lecture me about the placement of things. So they told me to come downstairs, and they said "Dont tell this guy I showed you"

But we went to the apartments they owned next door, the guy was at work, they unlocked his door and walked straight in. And told me to come in as well.

Are they doing this while I am gone too? I don't want random fucking people in my house, could steal my shit when landlords not looking!

Fuck that, please help me out or I'd like some legal advise if any can supply it. Sorry for my choice of words in here, but man you can only imagine how mad I am right now and cant say or do nothing about it.

Thanks.

 

[Myst]

That's a pretty shitty deal there. My sympathies go out to you. What the landlord is doing is nothing short of illegal.
The first question is how quickly can you get out of there? The sooner you can leave, the better for your sanity.

If you're locked into a longer term contract, the courts would be your best bet (as you mentioned above). However, burden of proof is always an issue.
You'll have to check around about this, but if recording voice/video without the other person's consent is legal in your State (thus can be submitted as evidence in court), that's the best way to prove your case.
Spy shops are all over the place and you can get cameras or tape recorders which they won't notice.

Outside of that, talk to a lawyer. They'd probably have the best ideas of what you can do in that situation to either improve your condition or get out of your lease legally for violations. They could probably tell you if the recording idea is legal also.

Good luck with this.

 

[Genkaku]

That's a pretty shitty deal there. My sympathies go out to you. What the landlord is doing is nothing short of illegal.

IS illegal.

Invasion of privacy, Unlawful entry without just cause, ect ect ect.

Get the law involved if you're going to stay there for a while. If thats not your thing just move out. Personal opinion: Call a cop/lawyer and tell them whats going on. Go over your rental contract and look for ways they could try and fuck you out of living there.

Besides, if the cops know, and something happens, they have a record of it.

Fight the power.

Get a new door lock for your place and a bolt for when you are home. NO ONE is ever allowed to enter your premises(sp?) without your consent or an emergency situation.

If they dont like it tell them to suck it.

If I was you, id walk around naked covered in peanut butter and let them walk in. And ask them "What? Dont be walkin my house if you dont wanna see this hot body at work"

 

[Myst]

That's a pretty shitty deal there. My sympathies go out to you. What the landlord is doing is nothing short of illegal.

IS illegal.

Same thing. "Nothing short of illegal" is just a...non-direct...way of saying that.
Don't worry, you're not the first person who's brought that up. It's probably a saying which exists mainly in Scarborough or Toronto (noticing you're from Bramalea). I should really stop using that saying.

While I agree with most of what Genkaku said (a little bit iffy on that whole peanut butter part...lol), there is one thing which you can't do:

Get a new door lock for your place and a bolt for when you are home. NO ONE is ever allowed to enter your premises(sp?) without your consent or an emergency situation.

You can't legally change the locks on a rented place. The landlord would be the only one who can do that, but would be responsible to give you a key if they do change it for a security reason.
If you can come to an agreement to change the locks, you would have to give a key to the landlord so they can get in based on emergency situations. However, this doesn't solve the problem Xzerper is having.

 

[smalls]

burn it to the ground. problem solved.

 

[Realia]

Get a copy of your leasing contract and look it over to make sure it doesn't say anything about the landlord entering without permission, set placement of objects, ect. I don't see why there WOULD be anything in there about any of that, but you never know.

Keep a camera on you at all times while and home and if he knocks and enters without waiting for you and has no legitimate concern for what you're doing then make sure you have some kind of evidence of that. Then go talk to a lawyer about what he is doing and give examples of other instances, such as when he walked into a neighbors apartment opened the door and walked in without permission. Or if he does that again call the cops on him and say he was there without permission or legitimate concern. I don't know how well this would work, but honestly if I got fed up enough I would probably do that lol.

Other than that take him to court and make him stay out. The way you set up your apartment is no concern of his. Neither is having a friend over for a night.

 

[diamond]

All I can say is Wow that guy is bold. I had a problem similar to this one a few yrs ago in a complex I was staying in. Except for me, it was maintance coming in all the time.. at all hours of the day. At the time I was dating this guy that worked offshore.. so for 3 weeks at a time I was at the apartment alone, with my 2 boys who were pretty young at the time. The straw that broke the camels back was when they broke the flip lock off the door wich is placed there so that you can kinda feel extra safe when you are home, my boys were at school and I was in the bed... asleep.. and I here mens voices coming up the stairs... Now the only time they were supposed to enter my apt.. was to fix things. And they had to have a 24 hr notice stating this. So imagin my surprise when I find out that its not my bf coming in the room but these fuckin maintance guys. So I went to the office and told the property manager what was going on.. and she fired them. Because there was no work order for them to be in my place, and because they broke the lock on the door. So I dont know ... you are dealing with a crazy ass land lord. So, in conclusion, you may or maynot get the desired effects from saying anything to the landlord.. but like everyone else said check your lease contract... see about the entering of the property, and if they are in violation of it.. get a fuckin lawyer.. and sue tha pants off that guy. Or, if you dont have that kinda money for lawyers and stuff.. just move sometimes its better to bite the bullet and take the loss. I know thats a great deal you got there.. but is it really worth the bullshit you are having to go through? Any way best of luck to you and your situtation. By the way, does or do any of your neighbors have this same problem.. may work to join forces with other people.

 

[Anttaru]

Hey, I am posting here for people's insight on a very serious matter in real life right now that I REALLY need to take care of.

I do not know what to do or if I can even do anything at that so here goes.

About 6 months ago, I started a contract with some landlords for an apartment lease. Real good deal, 300$ per month, all utilities supplied.

I am very good with the landlords here, however, as of recent they've been showing their true face around.

First off started the day they found out I was letting some friends occasionally come here and spend the night on nights they'd play FFXI during the week. They didn't live here they did nothing wrong, typical invite friends over for fun stuff, right?

So happens, I have them coming in the morning twice and my friend is here, then they get real mad at me, and tell me they don't want him here if he is living with me.

I assure them he is not, and is occasionally here to play a game called FFXI with me, and the other time was when he was locked out of his apartment/house. Fully understandable by them, right? Wrong.

Threatened the next time they see him here, or think he is living here, they will kick me out. Ok, thats understandable, no one else supposed to live here...but what is there wrong or against the law to allow someone into my own home to chat/talk/have fun with?

Next thing. Landlords when they knock, they only knock once, don't even ask if I am here.

If I do not immediatly get up as fast as lightning, to open the door for them...they automatically unlock the door to come in.

Well, I have one of those chain locks...well...HAD...one of those chain locks that no one could get into the apartment less they had the person inside unlock it for them. This was a lock there PLACED by them alone.

The one day they couldnt get in, they automatically came over the next day, and fed me some bullshit story that the previous people that lived here before(3 people before) used to make crack and put that lock there to prevent them from getting in/see what he/she was doing. Pure bullshit story and I knew it.

If they had a problem with that lock, they'd of removed it beforehand, instead of 2-3yrs later.

Now that they can get into the apartment anytime they want, they come in as they please with or without me knowing about it. I've purposely set up my door to see if anyone has opened it while I been away or asleep in bed and they've came in here.

I've caught them just walking in to without permission as well. VERY big form of invasion of privacy.

I have never once not opened the door for them have they knocked and asked if I was here, never ignored them, nor have had any reason for them to walk in due to wondering if I had something done to me.

By law on a contract, a landlord is not allowed into your place unless a requirement has been met such as: COntact with the apartment renter has ceased/have reason to believe they are hurt or dead, something wrong with appliances in the apartment etc you get my drift.

You are considered the owner of that apartment under a contract renting under said person/from said person for said period of months. They have no valid right to randomyl walk in.

To validate this further: They came here today, I was asleep, they found out I was jobless, to an extent, in this town jobs are hard to come by all the factory jobs and the sort lay people off like its in style too.

He was ticked off, surprisingly this time he did not/nor did I give him time to walk in as freely as he could. Its 10 A.M, I just went to sleep at 7 A.M...he asks why I was asleep.

Told him I was up all night downloading stuff and updates unto my PC. While "Bazaaring a character on a game" Explained to him what that was when he asked about it.

He starts lecturing me about not wanting people ot be here again asking if anyone living here, he was pissed off/telling me he was mad that I had the air conditioner on when its humid and muggy as hell here...

He gets even more pissed off when he sees I have a T.V. And a PS2. Which are not on currently.

He sees the computer on and automatically tells me he doesn't want it in the kitchen. It's not hurting anything, I got a nice thick cloth on the table in here won't scratch the table. It's in no one's walkway when they come in here, its not effecting my way to live.

He wants it moved into the living room, now this is getting kind of extreme.

He gets mad that this computer is running up the electric bill. Its a storage buld PC with real low power usage while on standby mode. Very conveniant PC I got here. This comes that they rented this to me with all utilities paid.

Not saying "I paying for it I can do it when I want" 300$ a month is godly in this town for such a nice apartment. I don't abuse the fact I get free utilities, I keep the palce clean and swept. But this is just getting out of hand.

Ok. I got a mat that my friend sleeps on when he is here, maybe 2 nights out of the week when he comes to play FFXI. I can not really stick it anywhere else, and I told them what it was used for and why it was there.

They think he is living here now, well they just constantly saying they see him living here/here again when they come over they are kicking me out.

He wants me to move the Computer, to the living room, being the small apartment this is there is no wya in hell that is moving there let alone going to fit there with the TV and PS2 and Chair/TV Stand/Mediacom stuff setting there. Starting to piss me off.

Microwave, its in my Bedroom. On a twirly chair. I never use it. Its never used, ever nothing ever cooked in it. I thought I'd be nice and set it in there instead of on top of the refridgerator so that it doesn't scratch up the top of it for him. He flips out, he wants my pile of paper on top of fridge(all Bills in a box) off there and the microwave on top.

What the fuck is this?

Then he also mentions, even tho I have been on and off a job, I have NEVER been late on payments or bills etc, he knows jobs in this town are horrible, I pay him his rent and assure him I have plenty of years worth of $$$ saved in my account to pay for rent.

I end up quitting a job because of some major probs that were happening to it. He finds out about it, then comes over and threatens me that he doesn't want me without a job. Thats understandable I told him I'd get another job, I got money to easily pay him rent between then and when I got a job.

But he threatens me he'd remove me if I didnt get a job, because he doesn't want me here during the day running my computer all day or the air conditioning or the lights.

I am gone half the day most the time anyways, and even when I light up the town in my apartment and leave everything all things all lights/water/PS2/Systems/PC/air conditioning on 24hrs a day 7 days a week, they are STILL profiting like a cow from this place. Not that I do that, but they whining that they want me gone least 8hrs a day at a workplace so I Quote "So we can earn more money"

Its purely obvious they removed the locks on the door, its obvious crap is going on, they are harassment from hell, and they are threatening my place to live that I can afford because my computer is on idle...I have air conditioning on in muggy/warm weather...friend coming over to play FFXI with me...my computer being in the kitchen where it touches/hurts NO One and its easily accessable...not like they live here to care rather or not I got 2-3 feet of space between my PC and sink to wash dishes and all that good shit.

How can I go about proving what they are doing, filing for something or whatnot, because this is absolutly pissing me off and I want to just stab them in the eye. But I am holding back, but today just was the last straw after they just threatened to kick me out cause they didnt like how I had the place organized with PC in Kitchen and how I was jobless(I can still see here, but I even showed them how much in my account so no problems even close there).

And they went off on my friend to threatening him if he was gonna be here he better be renting a 1-room.

If it comes down to it, I am going to take these people to court, but I need to know how to do this and what I should do.

Oh, just a FYI, they tried to lecture me about the placement of things. So they told me to come downstairs, and they said "Dont tell this guy I showed you"

But we went to the apartments they owned next door, the guy was at work, they unlocked his door and walked straight in. And told me to come in as well.

Are they doing this while I am gone too? I don't want random fucking people in my house, could steal my shit when landlords not looking!

Fuck that, please help me out or I'd like some legal advise if any can supply it. Sorry for my choice of words in here, but man you can only imagine how mad I am right now and cant say or do nothing about it.

Thanks.

- Talk to that guy that lives next door to you, the one's home you entered with the landlord. Talk about everything including that time you were invited into his space.

- Threaten your landlord that your on the verge of pressing charges for harassment. If your landlord threatens to kick you out over that, then have the law decide.

- Tell your landlord to leave, and only return upon business related issues. Scheduled maintenance, and or repairs that need to be done on necessities at your request. What the landlord is doing to you is indeed harassment, and you should be able to file harassment lawsuits and sugar coat it with claims of current emotional distress.

- Call the 6 'o clock news. They love stories that anger people and they'll cover it no problem, and it'll be a no win situation for the landlord. Really, you needn't be a celebrity to tell the news your story and have a reporter at your place.

With the news video, a fellow neighbor ready to back you up, and a few other pieces of easily required evidence, you can fix your landlord.

On a side note, i don't know how any human being could withstand such treatment for six months. They are making you into a monster y'know. The day you take a chance and bring over a girl you REALLY LIKE, and the landlord does something to fuck you up over that, you might end up learning something "terribly" new about yourself.

Seek out a new home and go there, after going through that, you should feel happy paying more for an apartment of at least equal luxuries. Stay cool.

 

[Astraea]

If I was you, id walk around naked covered in peanut butter and let them walk in. And ask them "What? Dont be walkin my house if you dont wanna see this hot body at work"

haha this is a grate idea, and funny as hell and it would make them think twice next time.

 

[Grandphoenix]

How much peanut butter would that take really?

 

[exodusamphi]

In most properties ive stayed at, people are allowed over at 3 nights a month maximum before being considered a resident, check for that. Im sure there is a stipulation on that and dont use your "Hes only over 2 nights a week tops" excuse incase you do go to court.

Besides that one little flaw, everything is in place for a swift release of contract and charges for harrassment, etc.

 

[Genkaku]

Same thing. "Nothing short of illegal" is just a...non-direct...way of saying that.
Don't worry, you're not the first person who's brought that up. It's probably a saying which exists mainly in Scarborough or Toronto (noticing you're from Bramalea). I should really stop using that saying.

yeah my bad. I just read and posted and didnt think about how much sense that actually made lol. Scar-town? You poor bastard lol

While I agree with most of what Genkaku said (a little bit iffy on that whole peanut butter part...lol), there is one thing which you can't do:

You know deep down in your heart of hearts you agree with me.

You can't legally change the locks on a rented place. The landlord would be the only one who can do that, but would be responsible to give you a key if they do change it for a security reason.
If you can come to an agreement to change the locks, you would have to give a key to the landlord so they can get in based on emergency situations. However, this doesn't solve the problem Xzerper is having.

Oh, yeah, after thinking about it, it wouldnt really be legal to do that. You should ask him if you can walk in his place when hes not around and do shit in his place lol.

Stuffs

Ant's got it down. Tell your neighbour. i would want someone to tell me if someone was up in my house just snoopin.

@GP - A half container would make them "WTF?" but a full one so you look like the greased up deaf guy from family guy would be golden.

 

[Xzerper]

Been trying to get a hold of my neighbor all day they not home or ignoring me.

Sad part is, their apartment is torn to pieces, have machine parts on the floor with oil with stains on the carpet.

They said they've rented to him for 8yrs. Kind bullshit if you ask me.

They are itsy with me when I barely do nothing wrong or have anything messed up in my apartment, let alone how torn up my neighbor's apartment is.

If they cant stand me that much, then doubtful they'd put up with him for 8yrs. And he seems like a kid last I noticed.

I'll be looking into that as well.

 

[Myst]

In light of the new info revealed, it really sounds like that landlord is either very unstable or has something against you personally Xzerper.
If your neighbour's place is in that condition and he's picking on you, I'm assuming the second of the two possibilities.

- Call the 6 'o clock news. They love stories that anger people and they'll cover it no problem, and it'll be a no win situation for the landlord. Really, you needn't be a celebrity to tell the news your story and have a reporter at your place.

This is actually a really good, very creative idea. This would work wonders.
I second the motion for Xzerper to do this.

Scar-town? You poor bastard lol

Oh, I forgot the obligatory "A good part!".
Small area outside of the UofT campus consisting mainly (but a decreasing amount) of retired people. Crime is pretty much non-existent in my area, minus the "hi-jinx of some young'ns".
Too many people always out and about or looking out the window to see what's going on in the streets.

While I agree with most of what Genkaku said (a little bit iffy on that whole peanut butter part...lol), there is one thing which you can't do:

You know deep down in your heart of hearts you agree with me.

A half container would make them "WTF?" but a full one so you look like the greased up deaf guy from family guy would be golden.

I'm not quite that bold. You wouldn't catch me doing that, thus I can't recommend it to others. (lol)

 

[Xzerper]

I do not know any T.V Stations that have a newscam to record what was going on, nor do I know specific dates as to when he'll come over.

He said within the next 2 days, and today is the 'second' day.

I haven't moved my computer yet, and will have the air conditioning on, as well.

When he asks, and I'll reply "I did not see any reason for it to be moved"

If he tries to kick me out, I will personally tell him to call the authorities to have them remove me. Law here dictates you must be given notice of when you're removed rather it be 2 days or 2 weeks.

It must be a reliable amount of time to remove all items of worth from the area of the apartment.

It's spick and span completely clean top to bottom. I got alot to say today...and about my friend coming here he was agrivated about...

I'll simply imply when he asks why he is here, that he is here as a friend to hang out, and if needed, a witness. Witness to what? He asks...? Exactly what it implies will be my simple answer.

Today or THURS will be a very interesting day, Indeed.

-On last note, there is no reason to even have personal edgyness against me. I have never caused trouble here, never caused disturbances, don't trash the place or make a ruckas. I even ask or insist I help them when stuff when they come over to mow the lawn and the sort.

Haven't said a thing that could instill hostility into them. Only thing I had told them I had quit a job and went to another one because the manager at the present one was very very mean twords a friend of mine. So I left. And they were very mad I left because I left cause my friend was hurt in the proccess of what happened.

Only possible thing they can kick me out for is not having a job, for the likeness of "Not being able to pay the bills."

Considering the fact I have yet to be late one on a single payment and most the time pay them 2 months in advance, and have no issues paying them rent, I find it highly unlikely they'd be able to kick me out because of that.

Plus, I got a sidejob that makes the quoted apartment rent now each week, 100$ a weekend, weekend job only SAT and SUN. 350~$ per month. Pays rent and Internet, and my adoptive Mother invites me over to eat alot, so barely need food. Nice person she is.

Getting a job here sucks tho, really does. Essex just laid off 300 people at the plant there of state road 30. Gogo unemployment benifits.

 

[exodusamphi]

Good luck, be strong friend!

 

[nukutasha]

mmmmmmm peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaanuttttts

 

[Hexx]

mmmmmmm peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaanuttttts

PC +1 if I ever saw one......

On-topic: X dude, raise hell against these people, if you dont, they may do this to someone else in the future. Call around, email a local news station, for all you know, these assholes have pulled this shit on other people.

 

[skreb]

How much peanut butter would that take really?

about a 16 ounce jar.....not that i would know personally >.> lol

 

[Jinxy]

Oh man, had a LOOOOONG post wrote out and lost it...here it goes again.

To give you a little background on who I am. I have been a renter for about 13 years, I move once a year because of bad LL's (landlords). I have personally gone through most of the things you are talking about and even more. In this process of bad LL's, have learned a TON of laws and what is/not allowed to go on. I have successfully sued numerous LL's in court, you can too if you know your rights.

#1
It is very Illegal him entering your apt without giving proper notice. Proper notice is between 24-48 hours and must be in written form. A loop around this is if emergency repairs need to be made. If he does not follow by that, he is trespassing/breaking and entering...which can land him in trouble. Side note, DO NOT under any circumstance enter into anyone elses apt even if he tells you it is ok, you would also be tresspasing/breaking and entering. I would also take the time to inform your neighbor every time the LL does enter his apt. See if you can get them to call the cops too and for permission to call the police if LL enters apt.

If he does enter into apt, call the police as soon as the door swings open...don't even give him a chance of saying anything. He is considered an intruder at that point, treat him how you wish and make sure you tell police you have an intruder in apt when you call them. When they get there, they will be more than happy to tell him he is breaking the law and that next time, he's in trouble.

Ideas to catch him while your gone:
Ask a neighbor to watch out and call the police if he enters.
Hide a video camera that has a mic so it can see door and most of apt. Maybe use a webcam and mic on puter as a cheap alternative.
Hide a cheap sound activated voice recorder (usually under $39). It will pick up him knocking on door and opening it...you can also use this to record convo's with him to prove what he is doing. Yes its legal for you to do this.
If you find he entered while you were gone, call the cops and present your evidence while stating he gave no written notice. They might let him slide a time or two, but will soon start getting tired of being called for same complaint and do something about it...they might look at one time being a mishap, multiple times being a serious problem. I would also tempt him with a $20 bill sitting out in open where camera can see, he just added larceny to his troubles if he takes it.

Put the sliding lock back on door. This will prevent him from entering apt while you are home. Again, if he cuts it to gain entry...he just made another big no no and it gives you that much more proof vs him. He can't say you added a new lock to door and that he had right to remove it, it can only be used when you are home and has no lock or key to its mechanism.

#2
You have full right to use as much power, when/how you want to use it. I personally would leave EVERYTHING on just to entice him to enter apt to shut it off. I would leave lights on at all times of day/night. If he bitches about it, state you are afraid of dark after getting assaulted once at night....I am very serious lol. It makes him look that much worse when you have some type of pity story why you do something and can possibly be used vs him in court if you want.

#3
You can put what you want...where you want. If you want to put kitchen table dead smack in front of door, you have the right to do so. If you feel the top of fridge is a good place to put computer...put it there. If you feel your microwave looks better upside down, by all means...put it that way. He has ZERO rights to tell you otherwise.

#4
He has no business of knowing your personal life. He doesn't need to know you stayed up all night in FFXI doing whatever, just the same you have no rights asking him and expecting an answer. If he asks you again, tell him something like..."I stayed up all night thinking of you and it really turned me on...so I unzipped my pants, pulled it out and wacked the hell out of it. Sorry I spooged all over the carpet, took me an hour to clean it out. After that I decided to cook some nachos but forgot I didn't wash my hands and the spooge got on those too, me not having a job i couldn't afford to waste the food so I ate it anyways." Give him a reason not to question you again out of fright of the answer lol. I would also drill him just as hard about what he did last night, if he answers it....dig more and ask stupid questions. Example: "So what did you do last night? Oh you ate dinner then went to bed. What did you eat, did you or your wife cook it, howd it taste, did you doink her in bed, howd u get it up being so old, how many viagra do you have left, how many does it take for you to get a hard on and next time...can I watch? Maybe i wouldn't ask stupid questions like this if you stopped asking me stupid ones that are really no concern to you" *Side note* You don't have to have a job to rent a place, just like you don;t even need a job to get a credit card, as long as you have sufficient funds all is good.

#5
Having people spend the night.
Read over the clauses in your lease to see if it states anything about overnight guests. If nothing is said, then read up on local laws for overnight guests. In one of the two there should be an amount of time stated that a overnighter is considered living in the premises. You are legally allowed two people per bedroom in a dwelling. If lease says nada bout this subject, it opens up a lot of leeway for you.

#6
EVICTION
This is the fun part most LL's hate. To be evicted, you HAVE to be taken to court....no legal way around it. Now the LL might try a self help eviction, if he does...oh man you will rape him in a law suit. Self Help Eviction is when the LL does things to kick you out without giving you your due process in court. Things like changing the locks, shutting off utilities or anything else that could be considered making the dwelling uninhabitable. If he does change locks on you, first call the police to make a paper trail of it, then you are legally allowed to break in. Go in trough a window, kick the door in...whatever your flavor is. Just remember you are responsible for damage. You can also legally change the locks as long as you give the LL a set of keys to it. In some circumstances, it is legal for you to not give him a set...but I would get some type of go-ahead with local law/courts first. Example: One LL of mine threatened physical violence vs me if I didn't pay him rent i already paid over the months(over 6k worth). 1st thing we did was call police then we changed the locks. 2nd thing I did was started keeping a loaded gun in reach encase the LL tried entering. I was told by the police to call them ASAP if he came over and that i was allowed to protect myself by any means necessary as long as it was done inside the house. I was not allowed to shoot him if he was in my garage =(. He never did act on it, but his mom one day just walked into the house when we were in other room, all we heard was someone screaming at the top of their lungs...they ran into my German Shepherd that doesn't like strangers and he went after her...man was that funny.

As I stated above, you DO NOT need a job to rent a place and not having one is no where near a justifiable reason for eviction. As long as you pay rent, he has no right to ask where you get the money from or care if you have a job or not. As long as you do not disturb anyone, wreck the place, pay rent on time...he can fuck off. Example: A person with a hefty trust fund rents a place, has no reason to work...should he not be allowed to rent a place?

Something should watch out for/take into consideration. Depending on how long your lease is for (month to month/1year/2years) he can raise your rent legally. The laws about this are differ from area to area so be sure to look them up. On a month to month lease, the LL has the option of not renewing your lease or can jack the rent up...but he still has to go to court to evict you. On a lease longer than a month, he can still raise your rent with proper notice. Proper notice can be anywhere as little as a month up to a few months. Rent going from $300 to $600 would be looked at differently then rent going from $300 to $350. Rent with a BIG increase could be looked at as a self help eviction, I would make the LL take you to court and state your case to the judge along with bringing in ANY evidence you have for what is going on.

#7
The solution
First off, start looking for a new place to live or setup temp place to stay until you find one. In the end, it will come down to you having to move no matter what route u take besides giving in. Also don't forget about your security deposit. Normal wear and tear (paint and carpet after so many years is considered normal wear n tear) can not be deducted from deposit. Past rent, unpaid utilities, damage can be taken from deposit. In most places if an itemized list of what deposit was taken for is not given to you within 30 days of moving out, you can sue for 3 times the deposit. Most likely you were over charged for security anyways. Dependong on area, you are only legally allowed to ask for 1.5months of rent, so in your case $450. Some places do a allow 2 full months rent...but not many. Its a very common law broken by LL's. So is a clause in lease saying you are responsible for all attorney fees.

What you want to do is collect as much evidence as you can to what is going on.
Make a written dated log of happening between you and LL, it is admissible in court. ANY interaction you have with LL should be put in that log with as much detail as you can fit in. Also make sure to hide it in something that if he tossed your stuff on street, it would be in that stuff(him tossing belonging on street is illegal btw).
Start making police reports any events you feel are notable enough for police interaction. Him entering apt, threats, self help eviction, harassment and anything else you feel to add in. Make sure to get the report number so you can gives these to the judge at a later time, if you can obtain a copy of the report...that also helps.
What you are doing is creating what is known as a paper trail. Makes it so a 3rd party can look over court admissible evidence and see the time line of happenings...which is gold.
Call your city/county courts and find tell them your tale, see what help they offer. Inquire about if the LL has a license to lease out the apt, see if the apt has had a safety inspection. If answer is no, request that one be done. This works great for slum lords.
Fire up your computer and find your Counties website, most have an online search of court cases. Punch your LL's name into them and also if his wifes if he has one. This will give you a tremendous amount of info about him. You can see if he has been sued by past tenants and what for, you can see if he has ever evicted anyone legally and so on. This will give you an idea of how he does things and if your problems are also shared by past tenants. If your motivated, you could even get in touch with those past tenants and possibly get a notarized statement from them.
If you catch him on video or tape, make sure you take a device that can play the audio and also put the movie on a removable media like a cd or dvd so it can be viewed by judge if he wants to see it. Do not edit either audio or video in any way, keep it in its entirely.

I am beat atm, I have been writing this for over 3 hours. I will have my wife look over it and add to anything I have missed, she is about 300% more knowledgeable in this subject than I am.

In the meantime, read up at this link...read it all and any links it may contain. Knowledge is power. Also do nt forget visiting your county court website.

http://www.badlandlords.info/indiana.html
Once you start finding proper terminology, google is your friend.