{"id":16461,"date":"2021-03-11T09:00:21","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T14:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=16461"},"modified":"2022-10-09T06:31:21","modified_gmt":"2022-10-09T10:31:21","slug":"heres-everything-that-was-illegal-about-the-eviction-letter-i-received","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/heres-everything-that-was-illegal-about-the-eviction-letter-i-received\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s Everything That Was Illegal About the Eviction Letter I Received"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Evicted author and acclaimed researcher Matthew Desmond recently mentioned on Twitter that 34% of Milwaukee renters<\/a> who received an eviction notice moved without going to court. That\u2019s a very stark statistic when you consider the fact that more than 10 million renters have fallen into delinquency<\/a> as a result of our flawed reaction to the pandemic. This accounts for nearly 20% of all renters nationwide.<\/p>\n

With the average delinquent renter being behind by approximately four months, the looming eviction crisis is neither exaggerated nor far from the horizon. Tens of millions of USA tenants stand to be evicted at this very moment.<\/p>\n

So, while you sip your coffee and scroll through your daily dose of news, know that somewhere nearby a child cries from behind a barricaded door while his mother frantically packs his teddy bear collection into a 50-gallon-trash-bag and rushes the whole family into their new place of residence: their minivan.<\/p>\n

But wait a minute, isn\u2019t there a temporary halt on eviction right now?<\/em><\/p>\n

There absolutely is. That hasn\u2019t stopped big real estate from resorting to scare tactics that tenants might not recognize as both deceptive and illegal. In a previous post<\/a>, I explained a recent debacle my family went through when our landlord, a shifty investment entity that never misses out on the chance to gloat about being the \u201cglobal leader in rental housing\u201d. This entity attempted to evict us during a frigid winter storm, in the middle of the Pandemic, while an eviction moratorium was in place, and with full knowledge that we were all positive for COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\"Personal<\/p>\n

Today, I would like to delve deep into the verbiage used in the letter they sent us when we were just 11 days behind on our payment. Here you will see which tactics were used and whether they were illegal, deceptive, or worse.<\/h4>\n

*Please note: This big real estate corporation manages more than 713,000 rental units right now. If my family got this jaw-dropping letter when we were just 11 days delinquent and had previously issued them a CDC declaration form, imagine how they might be treating a tenant who hasn\u2019t paid rent in months who might not be aware of their rights or their need to file for certain protections.<\/em> And this is only the beginning. Massive real estate conglomerates like this set the precedent for everyone else. So if they\u2019re willing to ignore the eviction moratorium, other companies with an equal or smaller number of properties in their portfolio will likely follow suit.<\/p>\n

1) Illegal & Deceptive: The Letter in Its Entirety<\/h3>\n

Before we even discuss the prose, it\u2019s important to note that the letter, which suggests that the recipient has \u201cno legal right to remain in the rental property\u201d if they do not make their delinquent payment in full within just five days, violates recent legislation. According to a representative from the Delaware State Housing Authority, it is illegal for any landlord to kick a tenant out without a court order. Furthermore, most courts are currently refusing to even hear eviction trials.<\/p>\n

If you scroll through the Justice of the Peace Court website<\/a>, you will find the following statement written and available to the public:<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernor Carney\u2019s Sixth Modification to the Declaration of a State of Emergency<\/a>\u00a0prohibited the filing of any non-emergency summary possession actions during the State of Emergency.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The website then goes on to explain that the courts are prohibiting eviction action and encouraging mediation. So not only does the tenant have the right to remain in the property while a trial is pending, but they also have the right to:<\/p>\n