There's No Place Like Home - Part 2

Credit Advocates is dedicated to educating tenants on their rights with a new addition to the series: There's No Place Like Home 

If you’ve been illegally evicted, call the police

Examples of illegal eviction include but are not limited to: 

• Being locked out 
• Having the door removed 
• Anybody using or threatening to use violence 
• Discontinuation or threatening to discontinue essential services (ex/ electricity, running water, heat) 
• Removal of your property or appliances 

There are many other methods of illegal eviction depending on your state. 

Be sure to document all offenses and if possible & take pictures! 

What to do if you are illegally evicted: 

• Call the police. Sometimes the police do not like to get involved and will claim it’s a civil matter. However, to trespass, to illegally evict you, and illegal eviction itself are all crimes – so it’s NOT just a civil matter. 
• If the officer refuses to help you, tell the officer, “The law says that under procedure 117-11 (this procedure refers to New York State specifically, however it is law in ALL states - the procedure name just varies), police are required to assist tenants in circumstances of illegal eviction, which is why I’m calling. I would like a police officer to come to my apartment and write up a report.”  
• If you do not get cooperation, ask for the name of the person you are speaking to and the sergeant or supervisor in charge at the 911 call center and speak with that person. If you still have difficulty, call your local precinct and repeat these steps. Write down the names and badge numbers of all police personnel you have contact with.

If the police come to your apartment or you have to go to the precinct, it’s tremendously important to get a police report documenting the incident. You want a written record of your illegal eviction, and any other relevant documents, which your attorney can show in court. Your landlord may even be arrested. If neighbors can back up your story, and the police can take statements from them, that can also help. 

If you must call to restore the utilities, explain to them the situation of illegal eviction and explore your options. Keep a log of everything that happens, along with a list of names, and the date and time of each conversation. Winning against your landlord requires evidence to support your position.

Be sure to have a copy of your lease and your Driver’s License is up-to-date with the address of the apartment you were illegally evicted out of to prove you live there. Mail sent to you at your residence is also proof of residence.

In NYC, if you were illegally evicted and have no place to stay, call the Emergency Unit at 1-800-994-6494 for temporary shelter. 

BE AWARE: If you were evicted with a legal court process and then try to break into your apartment, you become the criminal. Always remember, upon being illegally evicted, the first thing to do is contact the police.

A landlord may try to evict you for using your LEGAL right

A landlord may try to evict you if you have exercised a legal right (ex/ using the right to deduct from future rent the amount necessary to repair defects covered by the implied warranty of habitability – this amount cannot be more than one month’s rent) . A landlord may also raise the tenant’s rent or seek to punish the tenant for complaining or lawfully exercising a tenant right. In both cases, the landlord’s action is called retaliatory.

The law will assume the landlord has a retaliatory motive if the landlord seeks to evict you (or other retaliatory action) within six months of exercising any of these tenant rights: 

• Using the repair and deduct remedy - the right to deduct from future rent the amount necessary to repair defects covered by the implied warranty of habitability 
• Complaining about the condition of the rental unit to the landlord or a public agency after giving the landlord notice 
• Filing a lawsuit or beginning arbitration based on the condition of the rental unit 
• Causing an appropriate public agency to inspect the rental unit or to issue a citation to the landlord 

Protecting your rights begins by knowing your rights - Stay tuned for part 3