Pride and Judice

September 14, 2009 8:53 PM

How do I defend myself against a spiteful landlord?

In January, I was training for a job and I came home late when I realized that I forgot my keys inside. None of the doorbells were in operation and no one was answering the phone. It was cold as hell so after an hour, I chipped the bottom half of the fiberglass of the storm-door so I could reach the knob and let myself In. He had me arrested the next day.

The charge (so far as I know) is criminal mischief in the 4th degree. I can settle out of court for $270 dollars. I feel he is ganking me because only the fiber glass was damaged and it is replaceable.

Having me arrested was retaliatory because I was already willing to pay to fix the door. He and I were already at loggerheads over the state of disrepair of the building and the old wiring which caused frequent black-outs in the dead-of winter. Plus, his absurd stinginess with the heat.

I stopped by there today (I since moved out) with a guy I hired to fix the door. My guy said we can simply go buy a fiberg-glass screen at Home-Depot for $60 and replace it. The landlord was irate and threatened to call the cops. I in turn proceeded to curse him out and communication lines are closing fast. part of me wants to just pay and not deal with this anymore and another part of me wants to fight this because I know I'm being taken advantage of. What recourse do I have for fighting this so that it is a fair to me?

posted by anonymous to law & government (11 comments total)

Did you get your security deposit back? If not, he is going to take the $270 out of that for starters. Your recourse is small claims or other legal action, but that takes resources such as time and money, neither of which is abundant I suspect. Chalk this up to "it sucks" and move on. Maybe after you have gotten whatever sec dep back post a blog about his crappy building. THat has risk too though.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:57 PM on September 14

You're being an ass. You don't have the right to make modifications to property that you don't own, and that you don't even live in anymore. Even without hearing the landlord's side of the story, you seem totally in the wrong. Keep in this mind before trying to appeal to some other independent party.

You should talk to a lawyer about the criminal charges. Criminal charges do not necessarily go away because you have paid for the damage. But you should pay for it.
posted by grouse at 9:41 PM on September 14 [2 favorites]

Just fix it, get a receipt, bring that court, and that's what you'll likely have to pay, no more. Document any other grievance and bring that to court as well, even though those are separate matters. If you want to piss him off, sue him, and represent yourself.
posted by xammerboy at 9:53 PM on September 14

Your landlord was beyond ridiculous to have you arrested, but it's bizarre for you to have shown up to fix the door after you moved out. Your landlord was negligent with the heat, disrepair, etc., but you've responded to him irrationally.

Great. Everyone's wrong.

The right and fair thing for you to do would go fight the bogus charge, but pay for the damage to the door. Dunno if either side is willing to do the right and fair thing at this point, though.
posted by desuetude at 9:53 PM on September 14 [9 favorites]

As I read your post, you wrote arrest. This was back in January??

If you really got arrested, booked, and all that noise - get legal aid or see a lawyer asap.

Do you have any letters, emails, etc detailing the lack of services? Bring those.

Your landlord is just NOW getting around to replacing the damage? Get pictures of the still unfixed door (w/ a newspaper showing date in the frame) and a written estimate for the repair.

I'm pretty sure you have to disclose arrests on all future job applications. Don't pay (plead guilty) until you expend EVERY option to get this thrown out, overturned, or whatever is legally appropriate.

(your post is unclear in terms of what is really going on. If I had received a traffic ticket back in January, I would have had to pay or contest it in court LONG before now. I'm confused.)

I hope it isn't too late for you to contest this. Don't wait.
posted by jbenben at 9:53 PM on September 14 [1 favorite]

Oh yeah, and if you still lived there, this guy would be kissing your ass. You would hold every card in the world.
posted by xammerboy at 9:54 PM on September 14

If there are dangerous conditions, you might contact the Housing Department of your city. Most large cities such as Los Angeles have standards that MUST be met at the owner's expense.

For the landlord to arrest you even if you could prove that you live there (especially if they are not on-site landlords) is a bit much. You might try to go over his/her head, and contact the management company or owner directly if possible. It won't make the landlord happy, but the owner needs to know wtf is going on at the property, as they are ultimately liable!

Definitely YOU SHOULD MOVE if your landlord is resorting to these activities against their own income, and if the lines of communication are so degraded. They could become even worse and even threaten you physically.

The arrest seems highly specious, and you SHOULD make every effort to have it thrown out or expunged ASAP.
posted by Jinx of the 2nd Law at 10:02 PM on September 14

also call the building inspector and have them do a checkup on the building. if he wants to throw the system at you, you can do it right back.
posted by rhizome at 1:33 AM on September 15

You can prevent yourself from having a criminal record for $270? It's a steal at twice the price. Pay and walk away from this.
posted by Dasein at 6:06 AM on September 15

How can you be arrested for breaking into your own place? The landlord could certainly hold you responsible for the damages, but I don't see how there is any crime in entering your own apartment, regardless of how you do it. Willful damage may be a violation of your lease, but that is a civil matter.
posted by COD at 6:20 AM on September 15

Get a lawyer to send him a letter telling him you're going to countersue for wrongful arrest or some such thing as well as threatening to take him to small claims court for your entire deposit back and psychological damages if he doesn't drop all the charges immediately. He will. Letters from lawyers inflict +10 damage on evil landlords. Also, what rhizome said.
posted by mygothlaundry at 7:24 AM on September 15