Q: I am at high-risk COVID can landlord force entry into my apartment where I am sheltering in place as retaliation?
I exercised my rights for COVID rental relief (deferral) and in retaliation my landlord is harassing me and trying to gain entry into apartment where I am sheltering in place. His excuse is that if I won't pay rent he will sell apartment and needs to come and do an inspection and take photos (he has TONS of photos already so this is just intimidation and reckless endangerment of my precarious health conditions). Help!
A:
I suggest that you call the police when he comes. This is a violation of your rights as a tenant, and potentially can be a defense to an eviction proceeding or a claim in Small Claims for invasion of privacy, and denial of your right to quiet enjoyment of the premises.
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A:
If you have a job and are earning your usual salary then you must pay rent. If you can prove tat Covid 19 has impacted your ability to pay rent, then you must provide documentation to prove your case.
Once you have proven your case, then you shall be protected from paying rent until your County’s Ordinance is lifted. After the Ordinance is lifted, you will start paying rent. Plus you will start paying the back rent. The Ordinance is not an excuse not to pay rent is a way the Government has opted to protect the millions of people in severe economic distress due to the Covid epidemic. It is not a panacea. If the landlord violates the Irdinance, some counties are authorizing fines of up to $1000.00 per violation. Hope this information helps you and the thousands of people who may be in similar situation. Best of luck!!!
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