Eviction Notice while under automatic stay

[waitonHim201]

Cant say that i saw this one coming....landlord has last month rent+security deposit from lease origin in 8/2009.....I owe 300 from October and the 890 from November.....i filed in November on the 10th and included that 1190 in payment plan and made out an agreement to make addl rent payments until caught up.....I got a 3day notice because I told him to quit calling me and stopping by asking me about rent when i in fact have paid 475 of 1190 since filing 3 weeks ago. I gave him 3 Notice of filings/landlord right fact sheets/and written letter as a packet to essentially remind him that I am under stay and he informed me that the Court doesnt own his house or my security deposit and last months rent...I know he is in completely over his boundaries and possibly looking at sanctions...whats my first course of action?!?!? I thought about a motion to extend stay and filing rents with Court.....

[free2breathe]

Do you have an attorney? A firm phone call from your attorney might set him straight.

[frogger]

Let your ll go ahead a file for eviction, and when you go to court, take a copy of your bk paperwork and any documentation that you have given the landlord concerning your case. You should win.

On the other hand, your ll is probably as broke as everyone else and you are holding his house hostage.

Just my two opinions.

[papie]

Call a lawyer.

Just for the sake of humility though, try to see this through your landlord's eyes. He has bills to pay, possibly even a mortgage on the house you are living in, and he isn't getting any money from you right now. His bills for that house keep coming in and you aren't helping the situation. If I were landlord in his situation, I would do whatever I could to get you out. I'm not trying to be snarky...just sayin'. It sounds like he wants to put up a fight with this situation and you're on his crap list. Is it possible to rent somewhere else and start clean with a new landlord?

[FishersMike]

One thing is for certain -- I doubt you will be getting a renewal lease as sounds like he is pissed off.

[Lissy]

I'm actually surprised you can do this in BK when renting. I know it's different for people who own homes and stop paying on their mortgages, but when you rent, you're screwing with other people's finances and that's not right. I get that you have given him notice of your BK, but that's not his problem and I'm sure he just wants his money. In any case, your best bet is to consult your attorney to find out what you can do.

[FishersMike]

In all technical requirements of bankruptcy -- if the OP was behind on rent when filing the bankruptcy I think he has no choice but to include the balance due in the bankruptcy -- and by doing this I don't know if it would be considered preferential treatment to pay the past due balance..... so maybe he is just following what the law is requiring? I guess someone else can buzz in on this. However, personally, I would never you know what where I sleep so I would have found a way to have it paid before filing, assuming I would want to stay there in the future. I could imagine finding another place to rent with a Chapter 13 filing already being really difficult, but finding out you left the other landlord in the cold might make it next to impossible to find another place. Just my 2cents.

[987654]

Wow guys. Take a step back. We all got into bankruptcy somehow, and when the OP filed he was behind on the rent. It appears that s/he wants to pay it, just whatever circumstances are there meant they couldn't. At this point the landlord has a full months rent (the last month per the lease), and assuming the security deposit is equal to a months rent then technically has *more* than he is owed at this point in rent alone. Regardless of all that, the automatic stay means the landlord can't seek an eviction based on the late payments.

As a small business owner I can understand how that landlord feels, but seriously, giving the OP grief about it isn't going to help pay the rent.

[Nicollette]

I had a situation similiar to this when I filed. I was behind on rent, and included the apartment complex in my Ch 13. Right before I filed, I found another place to move to, so I really wasn't concerned that the prior apartment complex wanted me out. In the meantime, since I was under the automatic stay, the company that owns the apartment complex(the one I included in my BK), filed a motion to lift the automatic stay, and a court hearing was scheduled. I ended up not having to attend because I had moved into my newer complex before the court hearing date.

[walkthaplank]

Wow guys. Take a step back. We all got into bankruptcy somehow, and when the OP filed he was behind on the rent. It appears that s/he wants to pay it, just whatever circumstances are there meant they couldn't. At this point the landlord has a full months rent (the last month per the lease), and assuming the security deposit is equal to a months rent then technically has *more* than he is owed at this point in rent alone. Regardless of all that, the automatic stay means the landlord can't seek an eviction based on the late payments.

Correct. Bankruptcy hurts everybody's finances. Big companies may spread the pain much further around, but they feel it too. Every one of us who have filed for BK protection have damaged our creditors in some way. True, some of them asked for it, perhaps even helped engineer it, but we have caused them damage. BK sucks for everybody, but it is necessary.

Unfortunately the landlord is acting further to damage his own situation by violating the automatic stay.

[Slingerland]

Also take into account that landlord-tenant law varies a great deal from state to state, and we do not have the legal language in the OP's lease. I own a dozen rentals in Arkansas, the majority are for "blue collar" tenants. My lease handles bankruptcy as allowed under Arkansas law: the moment a tenant files BK, the lease changes from fixed term to month-to-month. At this point, if the tenant is up-to-date on their rent I would wait to see if the tenant can continue to pay the rent. As soon as a rent payment is missed, and/or the tenant tries to delay through BK, I simply terminate the month-to-month lease in writing and the tenant MUST move out after 30 days.

All normal and legal here. But in a state such as Califonia or New Jersey, the landlord would be on the hook for months of delay and loss of income. The OP is from Ohio, and I don't know their laws very well. Also, we don't have the exact lease in front of us. Also the landlord has a security deposit and last month's rent. I would hope they could communicate and work out an arrangement politely.

[waitonHim201]

Thanks guys.....let me loop you in...my grandson wasted milk in laptop...i prayed it back on...then my daughter burned the transformer out....i prayed and spliced in an old one......when it rains it pours.....anyhooo....I filed pro se.......The landlord is not at a disadvantage at this point because he has two months deposit.....so i am not crying for him at this point......since i have paid the 475 since ive been in bankruptcy....in Ohio LL must file a motion to lift AS which would allow him to proceed with eviction...at that point I would simply leave within the 3 days and he would subtract oustanding monies...and mailed me diff within 30days...the issue here is that I gave LL paperwork as to how to properly do this via BK court...he filed civil suit to PREVENT any other LL in my community from accepting me so Id be stuck here....my daughter is a junior and an athlete and he knows I would screw her up by moving out of District...he playing "hardball" in his mind.....my community is affluent except for me....so background checks and credit checks are done..u can have BK but no one will touch u if u have recent EVICTION

[dma1010]

It is a domino effect...renter files bk, landlord also needs the rent to pay for mortgage. Once tenant rent is late, landlord mortgage is also late or affected in some ways as you just can't pay half of your mortgage. It will still be considered late. And so, once landlord can't get rents anymore, he may also face foreclosure...and bk in the end due to deficiency. I was in the same shoes as the landlord...that is why I am here. No judgments here...just stating the fact as it is. Anyhow, I was a small time landlord with not much capital to handle unpaid rents.