Q: I have a landlord who is telling me to get out and threatening me and my family

A: First, your posting is listed in Oregon Landlord-tenant but as lists as being posted in Tacoma Washington. So please understand that my comments are based solely upon Oregon laws and procedures. Washington's may or may not be similar, but the ones that will apply are whichever State your rental dwelling is in. Assuming you are in Oregon, your landlord cannot legally remove you from the dwelling or terminate your tenancy (and certainly not destroy or dispose of your belongings!) without providing you adequate notice and, unless you voluntarily comply, not without first obtaining a court Order evicting you. How much notice he must give depends upon what the reason for terminating your tenancy is - if it is for not paying your rent on time, he cannot legally serve you a notice until it is at least 7 full days late. So assuming it is due on the 1st, the soonest he can legally serve a 72 hr. notice is on the 8th. All notices, whatever the reason, purporting to terminate or potentially terminate your tenancy must be in writing and either handed to you personally; mailed to you by regular first class mail (NOT certified, etc.) with at least 3 additional days added to the notice to allow for the mailing time; or, if your written lease expressly provides for it, by posting a copy of the notice on the main entrance door to your dwelling and mailing you a copy by regular first class mail (in this case, no extra 3 days is required). Other alleged breaches of your lease require a written notice similarly served that gives you 14 days to "cure" whatever the breach is or 30 days to get out; if it is for no cause - i.e. he cannot prove that you breached the lease but wants you gone anyway - then it must give you at least 30 days to leave or 60 days if you have been there for a year or longer. If you reside within the city limits of either Portland or Milwaukie, then at least 90 days advanced written notice is required to terminate your tenancy without just cause. So be sure to actually pay your rent and unless you have been served with a written notice, any countdown to when you have to leave has not yet even started. IF you think he is not complying with any of this, or have other complaints against the landlord, you should review it all with a landlord-tenant attorney in your area. Most violations by landlords are penalized by awarding you 1 or more month's rent for each violation, plus your court costs plus your attorney's fees. You do not need to put up with his attempts at bullying and I agree - if you have adequate grounds for a restraining order against him, get one. It should at least shut him up for awhile. Good luck.