Many Americans rent their living spaces, and the rest are homeowners. There’s an entire industry for helping home buyers and prospective renters find their next place to live, and real estate agents may prove very helpful for this. But there is also the opposite: when a person moves out of their current residence, or less pleasantly, when they’re forced out instead. Landlords sometimes evict their tenants, and homeowners may find their houses foreclosed upon. In the latter case, a mortgage holder may start foreclosure when the homeowner fails to make their payments, and the mortgage paperwork may specify when a mortgage holder can and should do this. But homeowners and renters facing such eviction may muster a legal defense in their interests, and an eviction defense attorney may be found for this very purpose. Renters will hire eviction defense attorneys, and homeowners may launch their foreclosure defense when they reach out to a real estate lawyer and similar professionals. What might an eviction defense attorney do for their client?
When You Need Legal Help
Landlords are property owners who rent out their property, such as houses and apartments, to renters, or tenants. Normally, this is a mutually beneficial arrangement, where the landlord receives rent to fund the maintenance and taxes on that building, and in return the tenant has somewhere to live and they aren’t responsible for everyday maintenance costs. But if a tenant is negligent on their rent, or if they are highly disruptive, commit major crimes or property damage, or unsavory acts, they may face eviction. In other cases, a landlord may attempt to force out a tenant who might not have merited such an action. In the latter case in particular, hiring an eviction defense attorney can be very helpful for the tenant.
A tenant will be handed an eviction notice, and should this happen, that tenant may look to local eviction defense attorney law firms and get consultations among the attorneys who work there (this may or may not incur a fee). The tenant will then hire a lawyer whose skills, experience, and personality are to their liking. Such lawyers are specialists who understand the law of tenants, landlord, and rental property, and they may devise a defense based on factors and conditions that the tenant may not even be aware of. Just as one example, an eviction defense attorney may argue that the landlord’s eviction was retaliatory in nature, and therefore illegal to do.
Landlords are bound by law to use certain means for evicting their tenants and only evict them for certain reasons, and some landlords may attempt illegal means to force out their tenants. This may include sealing or removing windows or doors, shutting off utilities, and other “take matters into my own hands” methods. Nothing on the landlord’s side can justify such measures, and if they are taken anyway, the tenant may want to turn to legal help.
Another reason to hire an eviction defense attorney is if the tenant strongly suspects, or can confirm, that their landlord evicted them based on discrimination. A landlord with ill intent might attempt to force out a tenant based on that tenant’s sex, their ethnic origin or race, their religion, disabilities, sexual orientation, or similar aspects of their being. In other cases, the tenant is not being evicted, but they face ongoing issues with their landlord such as a landlord who grossly delays important repairs or maintenance for security, utilities, basic comfort, and more. Finally, while it’s not strictly eviction-related, some tenants may hire a real estate lawyer if their landlord’s negligence threatens their health or the well-being of their property. This may include faulty electrical sockets that shock the tenant when used, or mold growth that causes health issues. Busted utilities such as ruptured pipes may damage a tenant’s property, and if they complain to their landlord, that landlord might retaliate by trying to evict them rather than effect repairs. A scenario like this would almost certainly call for an eviction attorney’s assistance.
