HELP PLEASE! disabled single father received unfair eviction notice

[ddslack]

UPDATE: I am receiving emails "occasionally" regarding this post, so I thought I had better update.
Jeremy and his son have since moved. We filed a discrimination claim against the Landlord and he dropped the eviction BUT then raised his rent so high that he could not afford it.
Jeremy and his son are now living in a beautiful 2 bedroom, subsidized duplex in a small community with a great school system. This was all due to the help from the Director of a Housing Authority Agency, but mostly due to many answered prayers!!!!

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My 28 year old son that is totally disabled (Tourette Syndrome & Movement Disorders) and has FULL CUSTODY of his 6 year old son (my son has raised his son, Dylan alone, since Dylan was 5 months old) received an eviction notice from his landlord today. The reason on the notice was, "undue damage to tub & shower unit". There have been small hairline cracks in the fiberglass tub since my son moved in. I guess the tub is now leaking to the apartment below. Why should this be reason to evict my son?!?!?!
My son has been there for 1 1/2 years and never had a problem. Rent is paid up to date. He lives completely on a small monthly disability check, so he has very little money and nothing for a down payment on another apartment.

How can this landlord, who has been very nice all along, suddenly put a disabled father & son out on the street?
How can we fight this. We have no money for legal fees. What is a person to do?!?! Legal Aid is terribly hard to get in to see any one, you have to wait & wait which is hard to do since his son is in kindergarden, appts. have to be worked around those couple of hours that Dylan is in school. My son has a transportation problem, no car, etc. & has to depend on others for transportation, which is also hard to find.
If there is any help out there, PLEASE HELP HIM!

My son has had numerous problems over the years with him being handicapped, no money, transportation, etc and having to raise his son alone.
We have fought many battles over the years and I just made the comment to other day about how things had been going fairly well for him the last couple of months, and then BOOM, now this!! I am getting tired and too old for any more battles, but I am the only person my son has. Can someone PLEASE HELP HIM?!?!
If anyone has any advice or can help, feel free to email me at ddslack123@yahoo.com
Thanking you in advance!!

[wiggedout]

i'm curious what the mods would say about this. some ideas... in my area there are services available to disabled, including free transportation by shuttle to doctors appts. and other things. also meals on wheels if he needs help w/that to take the burden off cooking for his son every night. he ought to call legal aid and fast, to get help w/eviction. take pictures of hairline cracks in tub, that is normal wear and tear and it is unlikely a judge would okay an eviction based on that b/c how would someone PUT hairline cracks in a tub? can you watch your son's boy while he goes to legal aid.

also is your son friendly w/the downstairs neighbor? if so, go into that apt. and take pictures of the leakage. it's probably in fact caused by bad plumbing. contact building / housing dept. of your municipality, they can send an inspector.

act quickly! i think he'll be okay.

[ddslack]

Thank you for your reply.
We are calling Legal Aid. I also called a Fiberglas Specialist and he said from the pics I took & the description that it sounds like it was never installed properly. Over time the hairline cracks, water seepage and then no support underneath. I get sooooooo tired of having to fight these battles for my son. Being the "mother", people look at me as being over protective and then we still don't get the proper help or even a little compassion that he needs. I having been looking everywhere for an advocate for him when these things arise, but cannot find anyone for the "little guy". It seems like the Disability Organizations, Advocates, etc. help the BIG problems out there or the Total Disability Community, which is GOOD, but there needs to be agencies for the individual problems that arise for handicapped people.
Thanks again for your response, it is TRULY APPRECIATED!

[elklaw]

1) It depends on the terms in your son's lease that list grounds for eviction. It could be that your son's usage of the property was causing waste if it resulted in problems with other units.
2) But it sounds like your son's usage is ordinary wear and tear. Therefore, there may be a possibly American With Disabilities Act claim here. Your son should seek legal advice. Legal Services or Legal Aid should be able to assist him in maybe writing the landlord and asking him to back off, or bringing court action. But regardless, if there is any terms in the son's lease that allows for a legal eviction and it is enforced, he may have no other recourse unless he can prove he is entitled to damages under federal or state legislation.

[smarty_marti]

Was your son issued a 30 day notice to correct the problem or lease terminates? Was he given the proper notification for any problems in writing from the landlord of the property? Have you contacted his social worker regarding the eviction notice? Finally what state are you in?

[cactus jack]

Sounds like an ADA issue to me, as well as a Fair Housing Act violation which could be a HUD issue. ADA would be US Dept. of Justice.

Contact the state governor's office and ask for direction. Likely they will direct you to the Civil Rights Division. If not, try contacting the United Way. They can't help you, but they should be able to direct you to the right place. If not, then try the Salvation Army. It is truly amazing how many of these "small groups" have lists of resoruces to which they can refer you to.

I don't know what state you're in, but it usually goes this way-
1. Written eviction notice (verbal usually has no value that i know of).
2. If your son is still there by the time they want him out, they have to get a court order. This gives him a chance to dispute it.
3. If it's in a small community it could get him an additional 1-2 weeks on top of the 30 day notice. But if it's in a larger area, it can take upto several months.
4. Remember- keep filing motions. Motion EVERYTHING! This helps put up a good fight. But make sure the cause of motions is just. Frivolous motions can work against you by building a bad reputation. Ain't worth it.

[Don2]

Replaceing a bath tub is a major repair. Sometimes whole walls must be removed so the new tub can be brought in and installed. Most of the time the toilet is removed also to allow room to work. There are variables in this that would not allow a tenant to stay in the apartment. This may seem unfair but things break and wearout from time to time.

[grasmicc]

If he's got a month-to-month lease then they can "evict" him, actually just not renew his lease, by giving 30 day notice.

If he has a long-term lease, i.e., not month-to-month, then they cannot rescind the lease for the stuff that you cited, which is normal wear and tear. If this is the case then he should stay put and refuse to leave regardless of what the landlord says, landlord needs a court order to forcefully evict him, and he will have a chance to explain the situation to the judge before he is evicted.

[madisonmatters]

Real simple stuff. always stay calm. Look up your state online. Look up disability laws. See what the extension is for disabled individuals. It varies from state to stae, Always they can relaocate you to another unit as opposed to eveiction if is the fault of the "tub installation/wear and tear and your son" that is one argument. You can file a claim in small claims ONLINE EVEN while waiting. Do not just sit. Do not do NOTHING. DO not just VERBALIZE. ALWAYS BREATHE. ALWAYS PRAY. ALWAYS TAKE "CALM" ACTION ON BEHALF OF THE DISABLED. I call myself the "SILENT WARRIOR. JUST MOVE THROUGH IT. THE LESS YOU TALK. THE MORE YOU WILL ACCOMPLISH. "JUST DO IT." SMILE, THANK GOD FOR EACH SMALL BLESSING.

FOR STARTERS. YOU HAVE ALREADY TALKED TO A FEW INDIVIDUALS...GET A NOTEBOOK TOGETHER AND START PAGES FOR EACH PERSON YOU TALK TO.

STAY ORGANIZED. Always Keep in mind too...that change is good. This apartment may not be the plave for your son. God may have a new and better place for your son. When a door closes...Itis Gods work...HE always....Without fail....has another one opened even better. For those of you who are non-believers...forget about God...and simply say to yourselves...was there ever a time in your life when you were happy that something bad happened...because something better came along. look at yuour wife...look at your husband, look at your child. what terrible thing occurred before they came along?

Relax....breathe....look for the answer....thand your higher bower, whatever it may be...th epositive, the blessings ytou have been receiving, th elkife, the gift of yoru son and your grand son....now what can you do...are you so tired to present them a gift with the knowledge you have. Help them now...you have it within you....do not give up....help them...you are not a victim nor are they. This is your new challenge...with all the intelleigence and greatness you possess....what greatness can you offer them? How far are you willing to go for these beautiful boys? How great is your love? How far will it carry you?

I know in my life....my sweet Madison Liberty Matters....and nothing has stopped me. I have beaten these scoundrels...and they are running for their lives now...I am speaking about Ovation Property Management and Karsaz and Associates Attorneys. Just little me and my 2 year old little girl who ...had a hair in her mouth. I thought. Turned out it was a cockroach antennae. It was a live cockroach. I tried to get it from her mouth and as it wiggled around....she fought to keep it in her mouth and I only managed to get half of it out. My apartment (Luxury style living) 1220 a month was infested for 1 year and a half) They sprayed repeatedly. and I was poisoned. I refused to sue. I finally was told I could get our of my lease early 2 months prior to it ending and then they called my rent due aafter I had paid on a new place and had movers lined up. More messes. I fought and fought.

Without details. I will say you can succeed.

Jessie

[Marketeer]

Um, madison, the original post is more than a year old. I'm sure that the issue has already been resolved, one way or the other.

[madisonmatters]

somehow...i think its important...for others to read don't you? Hmmm I mean afterall, you did. I am nobody special.

[Marketeer]

The moderators of the board ask that posters not revive posts that have gone dormant.

[Brook]

I thank the powers that be for spellcheck.