Tell me about small claims court
September 8, 2023 11:48 AM Subscribe
My previous landlord has owed me money for almost two months and won't pay up. (He acknowledges he owes me money and keeps telling me the check is coming.) In Massachusetts, this can be handled in small claims court. Should I get a lawyer? What is my best course of action? (Details inside if you're interested)
When we moved in, we paid first and last month's rent. We had to move out two months early because we bought another house. We filed paperwork to move out a month before our early termination. We agreed to continue to pay rent through the end of the lease if he couldn't find anyone to live there. (In Massachusetts the laws are generally tenant-friendly in this matter; if the landlord finds a new tenant, they can't run two leases on the same property at the same time.)
When I found a potential subletter, I learned that he'd had someone there for nearly two months, while we had been paying rent on the unit. He acknowledges that he owes me the last month's rent, but has not paid - every week he's said, "My accountant only comes in once a week, this week for sure."
Today I received a letter from his property management company warning me that I was in arrears on rent for the last month PLUS the month after my lease ended (a month where I was not a tenant, did not have a lease and he had a new tenant). I want my money back, I want this over and I want to understand if I need a lawyer to do that.
When we moved in, we paid first and last month's rent. We had to move out two months early because we bought another house. We filed paperwork to move out a month before our early termination. We agreed to continue to pay rent through the end of the lease if he couldn't find anyone to live there. (In Massachusetts the laws are generally tenant-friendly in this matter; if the landlord finds a new tenant, they can't run two leases on the same property at the same time.)
When I found a potential subletter, I learned that he'd had someone there for nearly two months, while we had been paying rent on the unit. He acknowledges that he owes me the last month's rent, but has not paid - every week he's said, "My accountant only comes in once a week, this week for sure."
Today I received a letter from his property management company warning me that I was in arrears on rent for the last month PLUS the month after my lease ended (a month where I was not a tenant, did not have a lease and he had a new tenant). I want my money back, I want this over and I want to understand if I need a lawyer to do that.
I think seeing a lawyer, soon, is worth your while because a well-worded letter on law-firm letterhead might help you avoid small-claims court entirely. (If it doesn't, legal advice and starting the documentation process will be helpful anyway.) Gather up copies of the original lease, early-termination paperwork, proof of the payments made after you moved for the "empty" rental, email and text exchanges, date/time of phone calls, anything your potential subletter received in their dealings in this matter, and, of course, the brass-ballsy mail from the property management company.
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:50 PM on September 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:50 PM on September 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
[In less infuriating circumstances, I'd rec mailing a polite-enough response yourself, with signature-confirmation/proof of delivery, with pertinent details and some gracious "simple company clerical error" framing? But it's been months of lies, monies owed you, and now BS "arrears" so yes, lawyer-lawyer-lawyer. Check with your local legal aid or bar association for free or low-cost consults.]
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:00 PM on September 8, 2023
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:00 PM on September 8, 2023
Best answer: Yeah, you're kind of asking two different questions. I sued a former landlord in small claims court in DC, because in DC the tenant is entitled to a walk-through inspection within a certain amount of time after termination of the lease, documentation of any damages being taken out of the security deposit, and, finally, within a certain amount of days, return of the security deposit, plus interest, minus any documented expenses for damages. I had gotten none of those things despite multiple attempts to schedule that inspection.
I documented every communication with my former landlord (not to mention every attempted communication after he stopped answering my calls or replying to my emails), calculated the amount he should owe me, made a guess as to damages, and filed my claim. And then my landlord failed to respond to service and the case was automatically closed, so I had to show up in court, request that the case be reopened, and hire a process server to document the service. After that there was another court date, where I presented all my evidence and had the judge ask me things like "where'd you get that number for interest?" and say things like "you'd only be eligible for those damages if this specific thing happened, so I'm going to remove that, but the base claim stands." Then the judge asked my old landlord factual questions only (did I move out when I said I did, did I try to schedule the inspection, etc) and pretty much shut him down on anything that related to a previously strained relationship my landlord and I had before I moved out. In the end the judge asked me if I was OK with a settlement instead of a judgment, and told my old landlord, basically, "you can write him a check now and I'll close this as settled, or you can get a judgment against you that will show up on your credit report for at least ten years. Are you willing to write a check right now?"
If I hadn't had all the documentation, if I hadn't hired the process server, or if my old landlord had shown up with a lawyer things might have gone differently, but I got the money I was owed and that was that.
If you're not prepared to present a case yourself, then sure, get some legal help. You might start by seeing if there's some sort of tenant assistance center where people (in my experience, law students who haven't yet passed the bar) provide advice. If such a thing exists you may be able to use their help to write a scary enough letter yourself without having to pay a lawyer. But if all that scares you, then sure, find a lawyer who'll take a small claims case. They won't make much money on it, but they may guarantee victory for you, especially considering that a property management company that tries to dun you for rent beyond the termination of your lease probably has a lawyer to go to court for them.
posted by fedward at 1:13 PM on September 8, 2023 [5 favorites]
I documented every communication with my former landlord (not to mention every attempted communication after he stopped answering my calls or replying to my emails), calculated the amount he should owe me, made a guess as to damages, and filed my claim. And then my landlord failed to respond to service and the case was automatically closed, so I had to show up in court, request that the case be reopened, and hire a process server to document the service. After that there was another court date, where I presented all my evidence and had the judge ask me things like "where'd you get that number for interest?" and say things like "you'd only be eligible for those damages if this specific thing happened, so I'm going to remove that, but the base claim stands." Then the judge asked my old landlord factual questions only (did I move out when I said I did, did I try to schedule the inspection, etc) and pretty much shut him down on anything that related to a previously strained relationship my landlord and I had before I moved out. In the end the judge asked me if I was OK with a settlement instead of a judgment, and told my old landlord, basically, "you can write him a check now and I'll close this as settled, or you can get a judgment against you that will show up on your credit report for at least ten years. Are you willing to write a check right now?"
If I hadn't had all the documentation, if I hadn't hired the process server, or if my old landlord had shown up with a lawyer things might have gone differently, but I got the money I was owed and that was that.
If you're not prepared to present a case yourself, then sure, get some legal help. You might start by seeing if there's some sort of tenant assistance center where people (in my experience, law students who haven't yet passed the bar) provide advice. If such a thing exists you may be able to use their help to write a scary enough letter yourself without having to pay a lawyer. But if all that scares you, then sure, find a lawyer who'll take a small claims case. They won't make much money on it, but they may guarantee victory for you, especially considering that a property management company that tries to dun you for rent beyond the termination of your lease probably has a lawyer to go to court for them.
posted by fedward at 1:13 PM on September 8, 2023 [5 favorites]
In New York, NYPIRG has a small claims center where you can get advice about taking your own case to small claims court (open to all, not just their student activists). A quick search suggests that MASS PIRG was also planning to offer something similar but I can't find a direct link. Perhaps a call to whichever of their offices is local to you would turn up more info.
Also, there are tons of tenant hotlines/centers that can advise on the other issue without you having to hire a lawyer as your first step. I don't know MA options, but if you have a city info line or trusted community organization, you might start with them to see if they have any referrals.
posted by snaw at 2:14 PM on September 8, 2023
Also, there are tons of tenant hotlines/centers that can advise on the other issue without you having to hire a lawyer as your first step. I don't know MA options, but if you have a city info line or trusted community organization, you might start with them to see if they have any referrals.
posted by snaw at 2:14 PM on September 8, 2023
Rules about what you can claim, and the relevant penalties your landlord might find himself liable for, are super location specific. Find some local tenant rights organisation to help determine what you're owed and what to do.
As for the property management company, dispute the charge before they try and taint your credit record. I wouldn't necessarily give them much in the way of clues, just tell them to talk to your landlord and come back with the correct bill. They haven't got a leg to stand on, but likely they're also on autopilot right now. This is more a holding action, but it might bear fruit.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 2:52 PM on September 8, 2023
As for the property management company, dispute the charge before they try and taint your credit record. I wouldn't necessarily give them much in the way of clues, just tell them to talk to your landlord and come back with the correct bill. They haven't got a leg to stand on, but likely they're also on autopilot right now. This is more a holding action, but it might bear fruit.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 2:52 PM on September 8, 2023
Best answer: If you decide to write your own letter before filing for small claims court, I'm sharing this. For the record, I lived in MA when I similarly had a landlord withhold my deposit beyond 30 days (and I just wanted the money back). I consulted legal services (as a grad student at the time I had this for free), and after they reviewed the lease and what I had done, I was given guidance by legal services to write a letter that included the following:
Include the specific dates (day 30 day notice sent, day of move out, and current date) and a note that 30 days beyond my move-out date had already been reached and my deposit and documentation had not yet been received
A statement that according to Massachusetts law, if a tenant does not receive their security deposit within 30 days of the end of tenancy, a tenant is entitled to triple times the damage (security deposit and legal fees).
I would be pursuing this in court if my deposit were not returned in full within one week
The legal services person also instructed me to make a copy of the letter and send the letter by registered mail, keeping proof that it had been sent (in the event it went to court).
It worked; within a week, I received my deposit back. (No idea if it will work for you, but I am assuming the same laws are applicable and similar verbiage might get someone to comply). Good luck.
posted by Wolfster at 3:54 PM on September 8, 2023 [6 favorites]
The legal services person also instructed me to make a copy of the letter and send the letter by registered mail, keeping proof that it had been sent (in the event it went to court).
It worked; within a week, I received my deposit back. (No idea if it will work for you, but I am assuming the same laws are applicable and similar verbiage might get someone to comply). Good luck.
posted by Wolfster at 3:54 PM on September 8, 2023 [6 favorites]
Getting the property company to cancel the bill can be more complicated and sometimes you cannot sue to remove that kind of thing. You have to wait until they sue you, or ding your credit, or garnish your wages.
I would write to the company, email if possible, with a paper letter sent in addition to the email. This is not something to only say over the phone because you want proof that you informed them. Tell them you moved out on X date, the landlord rerented the unit by X date, and you owe nothing. If he can't get it together to pay you what he owes, you can assume he hasn't told them anything either.
Getting him to return your deposit will be much easier if you have anything from him, a voicemail or text, that acknowledges he owes you the money. Bring that to court with you.
posted by soelo at 4:14 PM on September 8, 2023
I would write to the company, email if possible, with a paper letter sent in addition to the email. This is not something to only say over the phone because you want proof that you informed them. Tell them you moved out on X date, the landlord rerented the unit by X date, and you owe nothing. If he can't get it together to pay you what he owes, you can assume he hasn't told them anything either.
Getting him to return your deposit will be much easier if you have anything from him, a voicemail or text, that acknowledges he owes you the money. Bring that to court with you.
posted by soelo at 4:14 PM on September 8, 2023
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posted by DetriusXii at 12:19 PM on September 8, 2023