Just what I dreamed of

[mousme]

 My landlady is trying to evict me, claiming the aforementioned fictitious damage to the house. I am at my wits' end with this woman, and so I'm going to go, but I'll be damned if she gets to then sue me for nonexistent damage, which she has also said she's going to do, in writing. She has summoned her lawyers, so the plan is to go find myself a legal representative this week (yay) to make sure that my rights are represented. She can't just make things up and expect me to lie down and pay her to go away.

I can't tell you how much fun this is!

I wish I knew why she was doing this. I can't think of a good reason. I'm quiet, I pay my rent on the first of every month on the dot, I am respectful of my neighbours. She herself told me not three weeks ago that I was her best tenant ever. I can only assume that there must be some sort of personal dislike involved.

Anyway, she's given me three months to move out, and I am inclined to accept. Mainly what's stressing me out is that I'll be in Europe for two weeks at the end of March, which is going to make packing and moving extra stressful. I'll be gone from the 18th to the 30th inclusively, which means I'd be back literally two days before an April 1st move-in date. I *think* I can get everything packed before I move, but it would be pretty hellish to come back jet-lagged and then coordinate a move. I was really looking forward to this trip, too, and now it feels like just an additional source of stress. Honestly, fuck her for partially ruining what was supposed to be the best part of my year. I will still love my trip, but I'll probably spend good chunks of it worrying about my move instead of enjoying myself.

On top of that, it's actually pretty difficult to find accommodations at this time of year. I've sent out a half-dozen queries, and with any luck I'll hear back soon, but the pickings in my price range seem rather slim.

I promise I'll be back with a more cheerful post, maybe about Clone Wars of the Walking Dead or something. Right now I'm kind of stressed about this whole situation.

Comments

[elanya]

She sounds like a piece of work, ugh, I'm sorry to hear all of this is falling on you.

Make sure those checks you wrote get dealt with, though. Ugh.

also *hugs* offered!

[mousme]

Thank you!

Ugh, she really is a piece of work. Dealing with the cheques is on the list. I am going to ask for them back, but am resigned to having to pay the fee to get most of them cancelled. :/

[elanya]

Bleh. Do you mostly communicate with her in person? Or do you have any documentation?

Also, the suggestion on your LJ about getting a storage unit is a good one if you can manage it.

[mousme]

She's a fan of verbal communication. To the point where since this fiasco began, I realized I don't have either her address OR her email for correspondence purposes. If I can't get her address I'll just send stuff to her lawyers, I guess. Sheesh.

[lunarwolfik]

Oh jeez, that's ridiculous! Hopefully the lawyer search goes well!

*extra hugs*

[mousme]

Thank you!

I've been given the name of a paralegal and just have to call them to see what my options are.

[blackmare.livejournal.com]

Hm. The explanations I can think of are one of the following:

1. Batshit crazy.

2. She needs/wants extra money for whatever reason and thinks forcing you to pay for nonexistent "property damage" is a good way to get extra cash.

...in which case I'd have to say that circles right back to "Batshit crazy."

I am so sorry you're going through this.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'll survive. I was just hoping not to have to move before a couple of years' time. I pretty much agree with your assessment: batshit crazy.

[prolixfootle.livejournal.com]

Egad. Sorry you're going through this, but I'm guessing you'll be better off in the long run?

Have you considered a short term storage locker rental? You could move all but the essentials out at your leisure before your vacation, and then move them to your new abode when you get back. You'd have less to move (and hopefully less worrying and stress) after you get back from vacation. Just a thought...

[mousme.livejournal.com]

I will be better off in the long run, for sure. It's just that the timing is terrible. Moving in winter is awful, and my shed (where I have my garden equipment and my packing boxes) is buried under several feet of snow. A storage locker is definitely in the cards, although if I can find a place by March, I may bite the bullet and scrape together the money to pay rent in the new place and here so I can move in at my leisure over the course of a couple of weeks instead of a mad scramble on April 1st.

I am exploring all my options, in short. I appreciate the support!

[kiwano.livejournal.com]

I've had a few friends who rent out spare rooms/units in their houses, and their experiences are pretty consistent that evicting a tenant takes a long time (3-6 months if memory serves correctly). Knowing that, if I were in your shoes, I'd wait until 1 of the 3 months had elapsed, and then negotiate for an extra month in order to have an easier move.

At that point you'd be in a very strong negotiating position, as her refusing your request and deciding to evict you would probably result in your continuing to live in the house until your desired move-out date, and also her losing the main threat she could use to make you do things that she wants (e.g. pay the rest of your rent).

Of course if I were truly in your shoes, I'd probably just do what the lawyer recommends :P

[mousme.livejournal.com]

I'm starting to lean more in the direction of staying the three months and moving in early May, but it will depend on the outcome of my meeting with the paralegal on Wednesday.

My landlady will have a dickens of a time evicting me, given that we signed a lease and there is no physical evidence of the supposed damage to the property. So I'm hoping she'll sign a release form in the meantime, or else I might file with the LTB to terminate my lease early.

We'll see what happens after Wednesday, I guess. Interesting times.