Q: If we have made partial payment of rent, can they landlord still win an eviction (72hour) in court?
landlord served eviction notice on door and via first class mail. I don't believe she gave additional 4 days for mail. we paid half the rent about a week later, so after the due date. she filed in court and we have been to the preliminary hearing. our main hearing is wednesday and i think we can win due to a couple technicalities. we have found another place to live but cannot move in until friday (bad timing!). I also ask if there is a way we can postpone the hearing date to get the heck out of here first!
A: You are unlikely to be able to postpone the trial. Extra days for mailing are not required if it was both posted and mailed (written lease provides for that?). If partial or all rent paid and not refunded within 10 days you might well have a winning argument but you would be best off having an attorney represent you. IF it appears you do have a solid winning argument, it is possible that a local landlord-tenant might represent you on a contingency whereby you wouldn't owe anything for the attorneys fees beyond any initial evaluation fee but rather the attorney would collect their fees from the landlord upon winning. If you somehow did not win, the attorney simply would not be paid. If you want to even consider this option, you should contact the attorney of your choice immediately - even strong cases take time to prop
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