Q: My landlord hasn't cashed my money orders, but they are taking me to court to try and evict me.
For 2 months they have been trying to charge me for a maintenance fee as rent even though my lease states they will give me a 30 day notice to correct the issue before they do it AND they will only charge $25! I received no notice before they came onto the property and completed the repair. I was even home the day they did it and they did not notify me they were there. However, they are not outlining this in the eviction paperwork. Instead they upped the price of everything I pay, i.e. trash, pet fee, utilities. I plan on fighting this, but I'm worried since I don't have proof other than my receipts for my money orders that I payed rent and an un-dated and un-signed letter from them when they first posted that states 'Short Payment We received your payment this, but your amount was short'. Seems dumb, but will that help in court? Please help!
A: Proof of the money orders is acceptable. The landlord can reject the payments if the landlord feels a violation of the lease term has occurred. You can challenge this in court if you can show your compliance. Bring all evidence that you have to court and prepare a reply to the eviction petition that you will eventually receive.
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