Is it considered harassment if your landlords nearly attack you but take turns restraining each other from doing so?

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Is it considered harassment if your landlords nearly attack you but take turns restraining each other from doing so?

Landlords have shown their disdain towards their 1st floor tenants shortly after they moved in. However, this is the first time where they both became very aggressive and nearly attacked their tenants because they were doing laundry at 9:30 pm. They used profanity, called them names, and demonstrated that they are ready for an attack but were restrained from doing so (they bizarrely took turns demonstrating they would attack and then restrained each other). At the end of the dispute, they threatened to evict their tenants. Do the tenants have the right to file harassment charges against them?

Asked on December 27, 2011 under Real Estate Law, New Jersey

Answers:

S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

The landlords could be sued for assault for nearly attacking you.  Assault does not require any physical contact.  Assault is intentionally placing one in reasonable apprehension of an immediate battery.  Battery is the physical contact.  If you reasonably believed you were going to be attacked, that is sufficient to sue for assault.  Assault is civil (lawsuit) and also criminal, but it is unlikely the police will take any action under these facts.  The civil case is separate from the criminal case.

As for harassment of the tenants, you could sue the landlord for breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment which means the tenant cannot be disturbed in his/her use and enjoyment of the premises.

If you are evicted for something that is not a breach of the lease, you could sue the landlord for retaliatory eviction.  Retaliatory eviction  is when the landlord retaliates against a tenant by evicting the tenant for something that is not a breach of the lease.


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