What to do if my apartment want to evict after years of my motorcycle being in the same spot?

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What to do if my apartment want to evict after years of my motorcycle being in the same spot?

I moved in my apartment 3 years ago;  Ipurchased a motorcycle shortly thereafter. It has been parked in front of my door covered in a tarp underneath a staircase after ever since then. A few months back someone stole the battery so it hasn’t been used. I received a letter yesterday saying its a nuisance and today a 5-day notice to vacate. Can they do this? Do I have grounds for a lawsuit?

Asked on November 3, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Louisiana

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

The landlord may be able to evict you for this, though they would seem have to give you a chance to move the motorcycle first.

As a general matter, you may only be evicted for lease violations (including nonpayment, of course), for willfully or grossly negligently damaging the landlord's property, for attacking the landlord or a member of his/her staff, for disturbing the right of  other tenants to quiet enjoyment, for causing safety issues or problems, for blocking access to common areas, or attempting to use space to which you are not entitled--e.g. using a common area for storage, when you are not renting that space for storage.

Your parking the motorcycle under a staircase could be a safety issue if its in the way of an exit; could impede access to common areas; and almost certainly constitutes you using space to which you are not entitled and are not paying rent. Therefore, there is a good chance you can be evicted for this.

But doing the above things generally does not result in automatic evictionn; the landlord generally has to give you the chance to


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