What to do if my landlord is trying to make me move but has only given a written 3 day notice ?
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What to do if my landlord is trying to make me move but has only given a written 3 day notice ?
He hasn’t gone to file for any eviction. So can they call they cops and make us move out?
Asked on May 28, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you have a written lease, you may generally ONLY be evicted for--
- Nonpayment
- Other material (important or significant) breaches of the lease, and generally only after first getting notice of the breach and an opportunity to stop
- Willfully or recklessly damaging the landlord's property
- Threatening, assaulting, or committing other crimes against the landlord or his/her staff
- Disturbing the right of other tenants to "quiet enjoyment" of their premises, after first receiving notice and a chance to stop
If you have no written lease, only an oral, sometimes called verbal, one, then you can be evicted as above or on 30 days notice--not three days.
So the first question is, have you done something providing the landlord with grounds to evict you? If not, he or she can't.
Second, even if you have done something which might let the landlord evict you, the landlord cannot simply lock you out or call the police if you don't go. Rather, tenants may be only be evicted by court officers (such as constables or sheriff's deputies) after the landlord brings and wins an eviction action in court.
Evictions other than as the above are illegal; if you are illegally evicted, you could sue the landlord for reinstatement and/or monetary compensation.
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