What Can I Do If I Am Illegally Kept Out of My Apartment?

HG.org
Oct 8, 2015
3 min read

Question: I got evicted from my place without any notice. They threw away all my things – including my furniture and children’s items - without notice. I was locked up for about a month and a half. But I did not owe them any money.

Answer: Because landlord/tenant laws are state and city specific, much more information would be necessary for a lawyer to provide competent legal advice regarding the subject and your particular options. However, there are some general rules that apply to many landlord/tenant cases that may help you become better aware of your rights so that you can make an informed decision about you should proceed. In most states, landlords are not allowed to lock out tenants unless they have had a sheriff execute a specific writ against you that informs you that you are being evicted or if you have abandoned the property. Both of these terms have very specific meanings under applicable state and city laws. For example, abandoning the property usually requires the tenant to stop paying rent or acting in another way that demonstrates the tenant’s intent to abandon the property, such as moving out all of his or her things, which does not sound like the case based on your description. Most states prohibit “self-help” measures from landlords, such as changing the locks, adding new locks, turning off utilities to help get you to leave or keeping you from entering the property in other ways. Even if you owe rent, most states require landlords to follow very specific directions regarding how to legally evict you, including providing notice of a pending eviction against you within a specific number of days of the eviction. However, “notice” is also city-specific. Notice may be effectuated by adding a posting to your apartment door or sending you a certified letter in some jurisdictions. Other jurisdictions permit notice by posting a letter at the local courthouse. When dealing with issues regarding notice, the court’s inquiry is not usually whether you received the actual notice but rather if the method used to provide notice complied with the relevant law and was reasonably calculated to reach you. If you were locked up, the landlord may have attempted to notify you but was unable to locate you. However, if the landlord did not follow the proper steps, this may provide you with the basis for recovery. If the landlord illegally locked you out of your property, you may be able to recover damages and associated costs with having to go to court to recover these damages. Some tenants go to Small Claims Court for this purpose. However, if your goal is to be able to reclaim your right to occupy the property, these courts do not have the authority to grant this request. Instead, you would have to file a civil lawsuit in court with the assistance of a lawyer for this goal. There are usually very specific guidelines that landlords must follow regarding removing a tenant’s property from the unit, too. For example, state law may prohibit the landlord from removing your belongings without permission unless a writ for eviction was executed against you or you abandoned the unit. State law may require the landlord to place your belongings in storage for a specific amount of time, such as 30 days. State law may also require the tenant to provide the landlord with a written request to store or not store the property. These storage expenses must often be paid by the tenant. Court action may yield compensation for the value of your belongings if the landlord did not act within the mandate of the laws. If the landlord actually sold your belongings, there may be a relevant law that prohibits such sale if the value of the property was less than a statutory amount or if the landlord did not provide notice and opportunity for you to recover your property. The landlord may need to provide you with the difference in the sale proceeds and any amount that he or she shows you owe. Copyright HG.org Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.