ERICA TAYLOR | December 20, 2019
Landlords will resort to extreme tactics to scare renters our of their homes – which is why it’s so crucial to know your rights.
Ms. Smith emailed me around midnight in a complete panic.
She had received a letter from the landlord stuck to her door. In bold letters, it read “a Writ has been granted.” Next to those words was a picture of a person’s property thrown out on the street.
She also received several harassing calls from the property manager. Each time, the property manager said that the Marshal would be coming to put her things out.
It wasn’t true.
Knowing your rights makes you better able to protect them.
If we educate ourselves on all of the steps that a landlord must follow in order to legally evict someone from their home, we are better protected from manipulative tactics like the ones Ms. Smith’s landlord was using. Knowing your rights makes you better able to protect them. Here are the basic steps:
- The landlord has to notify the tenant that they are terminating their lease and give them a deadline by which to vacate.
- After that time runs, they must go to the courthouse and file a dispossessory action.
- Next, they have to have that filing served on the tenant and the tenant has seven days to answer. If the tenant doesn’t answer, the Landlord has the right to file for a Writ of Possession.
A Writ of Possession is the document that legally allows the landlord to evict a client from their property. A landlord has to apply for a Writ of Possession. This means that they must go to court, pay a filing fee, and request that the judge issue a Writ of Possession.
That Writ must be signed by the judge and sent to the Marshal’s office. Then, the Marshal has to be scheduled to be present. Only then can a landlord legally remove the tenant’s things from the home.
No writ had been filed. No Marshal was coming. But imagine if we hadn’t been there.
If a tenant does answer the dispossessory filing, then the case gets set for a hearing and the tenant gets a right to dispute the landlord’s right to evict the tenant from the property. The landlord cannot file for a Writ of Possession unless the judge finds in the landlord’s favor at the hearing.
But, if the tenant doesn’t show to the hearing, the landlord wins automatically. Plus, if the tenant leaves the property voluntarily, the landlord doesn’t have to file a for a Writ of Possession.
Luckily, Ms. Smith had already contacted us. We had helped her file her answer and a court case was pending. No writ had been filed. No Marshal was coming.
Even still, Ms. Smith was panicked. She didn’t know if the landlord really could have the Marshals come and evict her. I was able to reassure her.
Ms. Smith did attend her court date and with our assistance, was able to negotiate a waiver of a full month and was given an additional month to move.
But imagine if we hadn’t been there. If she hadn’t been able to email me and ask if what the landlord was saying was true, she would have most likely moved out to avoid having her things thrown out in the street.
She would have moved out in a panic and a hurry without any plan on where to go. Maybe she would have found a storage unit for her things and a hotel or rooming home, like some of our clients do. Or maybe she would have ended up sleeping in her car with all the possessions that she could fit in there. That is also what happens to a lot of our clients.
Ms. Smith did attend her court date and with our assistance, was able to negotiate a waiver of a full month and was given an additional month to move.
For every tenant like Ms. Smith that knew her rights and knew she was being exploited, there are so many more that don’t.
But, for every tenant like Ms. Smith that knew her rights and knew she was being exploited, there are so many more that don’t.
We’ve received those calls before. A woman called us once to say that she had been sleeping in her car because the landlord told her she had to leave. They didn’t send her a proper notice to vacate and they didn’t go through the proper eviction process. But, because she had already left voluntarily, there was not a lot that we could do.
For our Eviction Defense program, 97% of the cases that are placed with attorneys have positive outcomes.
When recruiting volunteers for our Eviction Defense Program, I always stress how important it is to have an advocate by your side when you are facing an eviction.
What I often say is “a little bit of lawyering can go a long way.” For our Eviction Defense program, 97% of the cases that are placed with attorneys have positive outcomes. Having an advocate beside you to help guide you through these difficult times is so vitally important ant should never be underestimated.
The more that people have someone beside them to advocate for them, the less likely the kind of manipulation and exploitation like the kind that this apartment attempted will pay off.
Interested in volunteering? Let us know.
Erica Taylor
Staff Attorney/Saturday Lawyer Program Director
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Erica is the staff attorney for the Saturday Lawyer Program, AVLF’s flagship program. She spends her days recruiting and supporting volunteer attorneys who represent clients with wage and housing claims.
Previously, Erica was an associate attorney at Thompson, Sweeny, Kinsinger & Pereira, P.C. in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Erica brings a wealth of experience to the position, as she previously practiced in probate law, estate law, elder law, family law, real estate law, zoning law, and local government. In addition to her legal work, she interned at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Education, investigating discrimination claims. Erica holds a B.S. in psychology from Oglethorpe University and a J.D. from Mercer University.