harassment by landlord?

[mandiebezotte]

Jurisdiction

Washington

I have lived in my rental home for 9 years. My landlord informed me in a text message that he had sold the hose & I would have to move. It costs anywhere from $1000-$3000 to move into a new place after you pay 1st mo last mo & a security deposit. I couldn't afford to pay my rent & find the $ to move out on & my landlord sent me a screenshot from his home computer of a 3 day eviction notice. I know it has to be a legal document served to me by mail or personally so I ignored it. a week later I received a 3 day eviction notice from an attorneys office that was left with my 23 year old son that doesn't even live with me. it is to my understanding that if a notice is served but not to the tenants a copy must be mailed as well which I've never received. My son did give me the served copy but they don't know that. The day before my 3 day notice was up my landlord sends me a text message asking when I'm leaving because the new owner wants to know. later that day when I went to check my mail there was mail that I didn't recognize the name on only to realize the person had put in a change of address with the post office saying they lived at my address & my notice isn't even up yet. later that afternoon my landlord pulls up to my house and sits there in his vehicle for some time before I finally go out & ask him what he's doing & he informs me that he's waiting for law enforcement to arrive with their K-9 dog to search the premises. I don't have anything to hide so I wasn't worried but when I told him he didn't have permission to come into my house without proper notice he told me I have no rights it's his house. and if i'm not mistaken I believe it's a civil matter anyway? The police ended up leaving because he didn't have my permission to come in so he couldn't give them permission to come in. He then sat outside my house in his truck for another 45 min to an hour just watching my house. I went outside to ask him to leave and he started taking pictures of our license plates with his camera. he left after that but went over to the neighbors house and sat in their lawn watching every move we made for most of the evening. I don't have $ for an attorney so I want to find out what my rights are & what I can do to defend myself in court? I know nothing about the courts or laws so it's like I'm going into all this clueless & with 2 of my 4 children going back to school in 2 weeks I'm in a real bind!!! please help me any advice would be of some comfort

 

[adjusterjack]

I couldn't afford to pay my rent & find the $ to move out on & my landlord sent me a screenshot from his home computer of a 3 day eviction notice. I know it has to be a legal document served to me by mail or personally so I ignored it. a week later I received a 3 day eviction notice from an attorneys office that was left with my 23 year old son that doesn't even live with me. it is to my understanding that if a notice is served but not to the tenants a copy must be mailed as well which I've never received.

You're right. A 3 day pay or quit notice served on your son who is not a tenant must also be mailed to you per RCW 59.12.040.

RCW 59.12.040: Service of notice—Proof of service.

That buys you a little time, maybe just a few days until they get the notice right.

Frankly, if you didn't pay your rent when it was due and you don't pay it now, you have no rights. You get evicted and that's that.

There is nothing illegal about a landlord monitoring his property when a defaulting tenant is in possession.

 

[mightymoose]

It isn't clear from what you wrote. Did you fail to pay rent because you were saving to move?
If so, you complicated things for yourself.
If you did pay your rent in time and there is no delinquency then your landlord likely needs to give you much more than 3 days notice, possibly as much as 60 days.
The writing is on the wall... You are going to be moving. The question is how soon. Do yourself a favor and don't delay in searching.

Also, if the landlord continues to come around as you described you might look into obtaining a restraining order.

 

[mandiebezotte]

It isn't clear from what you wrote. Did you fail to pay rent because you were saving to move?
If so, you complicated things for yourself.
If you did pay your rent in time and there is no delinquency then your landlord likely needs to give you much more than 3 days notice, possibly as much as 60 days.
The writing is on the wall... You are going to be moving. The question is how soon. Do yourself a favor and don't delay in searching.

Also, if the landlord continues to come around as you described you might look into obtaining a restraining order.

It isn't clear from what you wrote. Did you fail to pay rent because you were saving to move?
If so, you complicated things for yourself.
If you did pay your rent in time and there is no delinquency then your landlord likely needs to give you much more than 3 days notice, possibly as much as 60 days.
The writing is on the wall... You are going to be moving. The question is how soon. Do yourself a favor and don't delay in searching.

Also, if the landlord continues to come around as you described you might look into obtaining a restraining order.

It isn't clear from what you wrote. Did you fail to pay rent because you were saving to move?
If so, you complicated things for yourself.
If you did pay your rent in time and there is no delinquency then your landlord likely needs to give you much more than 3 days notice, possibly as much as 60 days.
The writing is on the wall... You are going to be moving. The question is how soon. Do yourself a favor and don't delay in searching.

Also, if the landlord continues to come around as you described you might look into obtaining a restraining order.

You're right. A 3 day pay or quit notice served on your son who is not a tenant must also be mailed to you per RCW 59.12.040.

RCW 59.12.040: Service of notice—Proof of service.

That buys you a little time, maybe just a few days until they get the notice right.

Frankly, if you didn't pay your rent when it was due and you don't pay it now, you have no rights. You get evicted and that's that.

There is nothing illegal about a landlord monitoring his property when a defaulting tenant is in possession.

You're right. A 3 day pay or quit notice served on your son who is not a tenant must also be mailed to you per RCW 59.12.040.

RCW 59.12.040: Service of notice—Proof of service.

That buys you a little time, maybe just a few days until they get the notice right.

Frankly, if you didn't pay your rent when it was due and you don't pay it now, you have no rights. You get evicted and that's that.

There is nothing illegal about a landlord monitoring his property when a defaulting tenant is in possession.

 

[mandiebezotte]

I have no rental agreement it expired in 2016 so his rights are limited as well. so that's not that and I still haven't been served anything since the 3 days were up. & to monitor his property is one thing but to get k-9 dogs & take pictures of our license plates before our 3 days is up is wrong

 

[army judge]

I have no rental agreement it expired in 2016 so his rights are limited as well. so that's not that and I still haven't been served anything since the 3 days were up. & to monitor his property is one thing but to get k-9 dogs & take pictures of our license plates before our 3 days is up is wrong

Slowdown, easy goes it, OP, you might be better off than you imagine.

An eviction through the courts takes weeks, not three days.

The three days refers to the notice a tenant must receive BEFORE the landlord can file for the eviction.

Eviction timeline GENERALLY in WA:

Eviction Timeline - Know Your Rights - Tenants Union of Washington State


Eviction generally in WA:


http://tenantsunion.org/en/rights/section/eviction


As you describe it, the old landlord sold the property you're renting.

If that's true, the old landlord can't legally cause you to be evicted, as he no longer owns the property.


The new owner might have to evict you.

If that's TRUE, he/she wants to move in.

You might be able to STILL get that CASH FOR KEYS!

 

[mightymoose]

And it is still unclear if you are behind on rent.
If you have paid your rent and there is no violation of your lease the landlord may not be able to begin an eviction without first giving you a 30 or 60 day notice to end your tenancy.
If your original lease expired a few years ago the same terms of that lease remain in effect until the landlord offers you a new one. At minimum you can follow the basic guidelines set forth in your state statutes.

I agree that you are in a good position to request cash from the owner in exchange for your quick move.

If the property has already been sold then your rent may now be payable to the new owner. You might try and obtain that information.