Okay, this is going to be a long/detailed post -- I will try to make it as readable as possible, but I apologize ahead of time if it's a little overly verbose or confusing.
SO. I moved into a lovely new apartment on April 15th, and at that point handed over a security deposit and a full month's rent. Rent is "due" on the 1st of each month, and considered "late" after the 5th. When May came around, I got a bill for over $100 more than half a month's rent, and called the property management office to ask them what was going on. The person I spoke with expressed her own confusion about the amount as well, and told me that she'd look into it and call me back. I never received a follow-up call, and never mailed in a check. The summer goes by, and I'm traveling and wrapped up in projects, and because I am an irresponsible idiot, I literally forgot to mail off the rent checks. Suddenly it's August, and I realize that I've just failed to pay June and July rent as well -- so I call the management office, on Aug. 4th, to apologize profusely, ask how much I owe, and offer to come in to discuss the confusing May rent as well as drop off a check for the rest. The person on the phone tells me not to worry, that everything is fine and that I should just drop a check in the mail sometime soon and that (again) that she'd get back to me about the questionable May amount. So on Aug. 7th I sent a check, certified mail with receipt (it was received on 8/10), for the June, July, and August rent, and wait to finally hear back about the May issue.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, and on August 19th I received a postcard from the Civil Court saying that nonpayment proceedings have been brought against me, and that I need to come answer in person as soon as possible. **Note: The above is the full extent of my interactions with the property management company, verbal and written, and I never received any written or oral rent demand, was told specifically on Aug. 4th that no action was being taken against me as of yet, and never received any other paperwork besides the postcard from the Civil Court.** So the very next day I run down there. I am shown papers alleging that the property management company had served me with a rent demand on 7/28 by "affixing a true copy for each respondent upon a conspicuous part" as well as mailing copies via certified mail (which, again, I never received) and that a petition for non-payment was filed on 8/3. Their petition for non-payment includes the disputed May amount, June, July, August (which isn't "late" until 8/5?) as well as $500 in legal fees.
SO, I filled out the response form as follows:
(1) "The Respondent did not receive a copy of the Notice of Petition and Petition,"
(2) "No rent demand or proper rent demand, either oral or written, was made before this proceeding,"
(3) "The monthly rent being requested is not the legal rent or the amount on the current lease," (w/r/t May)
(4) "The rent, or a portion of the rent, has already been paid to the Petitioner." (i.e. all of it except the disputed May amount)
They have indeed cashed the check that I sent on 8/7, and the only outstanding amount at this time is the half-months-rent from May that they are overcharging me for and never returned phone calls about. I would be happy and able to pay the remaining amount whenever we can work out what's going on with it, I just don't want to hand money over when it's not clear what's going on.
The nonpayment over the summer was never an issue of my trying to evade paying rent; I have been living here for the extent of that time and have been home nearly all of the time to be honest (I work mostly at home), and am really skeptical about this alleged attempt to give me a formal rent demand, since I was definitely here during the time that their papers say that they attempted to deliver it. Also, what is up with them telling me on 8/4 that everything is fine? If they had told me at that point that I had to pay up or they'd be taking me to court -- which is sort of what I was expecting -- I would've been down at their office in person in 15 minutes to give them a check and try to work out the confusion about the May rent. And, again, I offered during that conversation to come to their office in person to work things out and was told that it was unnecessary and not to worry about it.
Am I screwed because of my idiotically airheaded behavior? Can they still evict me at this point? The court date is set Thursday morning, and several of the things listed under "possible defenses" seem to be true for me, but it's really hard to tell what in the world is going on and how dire this situation really is. I have the receipts for the certified mail and I can get copies of the cashed checks, but how am I supposed to prove that they never sent me a rent demand, or prove anything about the conversation on 8/4? Should I try to figure out who that was who I spoke with and try to get them to be a "witness" or is that a stupid idea / overkill? I need help orienting myself to this mess; I absolutely love my apartment and my neighborhood and was hoping to live here for years, and desperately do not want to be evicted
SO. I moved into a lovely new apartment on April 15th, and at that point handed over a security deposit and a full month's rent. Rent is "due" on the 1st of each month, and considered "late" after the 5th. When May came around, I got a bill for over $100 more than half a month's rent, and called the property management office to ask them what was going on. The person I spoke with expressed her own confusion about the amount as well, and told me that she'd look into it and call me back. I never received a follow-up call, and never mailed in a check. The summer goes by, and I'm traveling and wrapped up in projects, and because I am an irresponsible idiot, I literally forgot to mail off the rent checks. Suddenly it's August, and I realize that I've just failed to pay June and July rent as well -- so I call the management office, on Aug. 4th, to apologize profusely, ask how much I owe, and offer to come in to discuss the confusing May rent as well as drop off a check for the rest. The person on the phone tells me not to worry, that everything is fine and that I should just drop a check in the mail sometime soon and that (again) that she'd get back to me about the questionable May amount. So on Aug. 7th I sent a check, certified mail with receipt (it was received on 8/10), for the June, July, and August rent, and wait to finally hear back about the May issue.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, and on August 19th I received a postcard from the Civil Court saying that nonpayment proceedings have been brought against me, and that I need to come answer in person as soon as possible. **Note: The above is the full extent of my interactions with the property management company, verbal and written, and I never received any written or oral rent demand, was told specifically on Aug. 4th that no action was being taken against me as of yet, and never received any other paperwork besides the postcard from the Civil Court.** So the very next day I run down there. I am shown papers alleging that the property management company had served me with a rent demand on 7/28 by "affixing a true copy for each respondent upon a conspicuous part" as well as mailing copies via certified mail (which, again, I never received) and that a petition for non-payment was filed on 8/3. Their petition for non-payment includes the disputed May amount, June, July, August (which isn't "late" until 8/5?) as well as $500 in legal fees.
SO, I filled out the response form as follows:
(1) "The Respondent did not receive a copy of the Notice of Petition and Petition,"
(2) "No rent demand or proper rent demand, either oral or written, was made before this proceeding,"
(3) "The monthly rent being requested is not the legal rent or the amount on the current lease," (w/r/t May)
(4) "The rent, or a portion of the rent, has already been paid to the Petitioner." (i.e. all of it except the disputed May amount)
They have indeed cashed the check that I sent on 8/7, and the only outstanding amount at this time is the half-months-rent from May that they are overcharging me for and never returned phone calls about. I would be happy and able to pay the remaining amount whenever we can work out what's going on with it, I just don't want to hand money over when it's not clear what's going on.
The nonpayment over the summer was never an issue of my trying to evade paying rent; I have been living here for the extent of that time and have been home nearly all of the time to be honest (I work mostly at home), and am really skeptical about this alleged attempt to give me a formal rent demand, since I was definitely here during the time that their papers say that they attempted to deliver it. Also, what is up with them telling me on 8/4 that everything is fine? If they had told me at that point that I had to pay up or they'd be taking me to court -- which is sort of what I was expecting -- I would've been down at their office in person in 15 minutes to give them a check and try to work out the confusion about the May rent. And, again, I offered during that conversation to come to their office in person to work things out and was told that it was unnecessary and not to worry about it.
Am I screwed because of my idiotically airheaded behavior? Can they still evict me at this point? The court date is set Thursday morning, and several of the things listed under "possible defenses" seem to be true for me, but it's really hard to tell what in the world is going on and how dire this situation really is. I have the receipts for the certified mail and I can get copies of the cashed checks, but how am I supposed to prove that they never sent me a rent demand, or prove anything about the conversation on 8/4? Should I try to figure out who that was who I spoke with and try to get them to be a "witness" or is that a stupid idea / overkill? I need help orienting myself to this mess; I absolutely love my apartment and my neighborhood and was hoping to live here for years, and desperately do not want to be evicted
