Categories: Family & PersonalLaw

How To Protect Your Rights When Landlords Violate Their Own Contract

June 4, 2020

It is an unfortunate fact that many landlords violate the rights of their tenants every single year, and those issues can quickly escalate into major legal battles. If your landlord has recently broken their own contract, then you need to come up with a comprehensive plan for protecting your finances and your rights in the coming months.

Collect Information

As soon as it becomes apparent that your landlord is violating your contract, you should immediately begin to collect as much information as possible. In order to sue your landlord or protect yourself against any legal claims, you need to have a solid paper trail. Some of the information that you should try to collect includes receipts for payments, copies of written requests, and photos of the apartment.

Submit a Written Request

Once the contract has been violated, you will need to submit a written request to fix the issue. In some cases, legal troubles can easily be avoided as long as the landlord is immediately notified in writing that they are violating the terms of their contract. That written request should be signed, dated, and sent as Certified Mail through the post office. At the end of the request, you should ask your landlord to sign and date the paperwork if they agree to rectify the situation.

Contact an Attorney

If your landlord doesn’t respond to the written request or fails to fix the problem, then you will probably need to call a civil litigation lawyer. One of those legal professionals can explain all of your legal rights so that you can come up with a long-term plan. They can also build a case if the issue is going to result in a civil trial that goes before a judge.

Don’t Escalate the Situation

These types of situations are always going to be stressful, but it is vital that you don’t antagonize your landlord. Being petty or aggressive is only going to weaken your case and potentially cause bigger problems down the road. In the coming months, you should try to minimize contact with your landlord and avoid any meetings where arguments could occur. Once your attorney has been hired, most of your communications should go directly through them.

To avoid landlord disputes entirely, you need to spend a little bit of time researching your state’s laws regarding tenants. Every state has slightly different rental laws, and you should fully understand all of your rights and responsibilities well before you sign a lease.

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