Posted on 01/17/2012 10:22:29 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck
I got a buddy, a former Marine, who had been renting a room in a house in Nashville, Tennessee for several years. Lately he got behind a few months on his rent, and the landlady never followed the Tennessee or local law concerning serving notice, let alone asking for an order of eviction. Instead, the landlady, who is living in Texas, had a person in Nashville with whom she was in cahoots spirit my buddy's property (worth well over $2000) to parts unknown. I think this slick move was simply a theft. While maybe nobody is wearing a halo in this affair, does this sound like the landlady just facilitated a felony?
I’m not a legal type, but I’m with you.
Suppose the lady had his car towed somewhere but didn’t tell him, instead? Or maybe stole one of his kids. It just seems to me that there are limits to what you can do...
Unless there is an agreement for him using his property as collateral, it was certainly theft.
The only theft I can directly attribute to any of the parties is your buddy who is robbing some woman the rent she’s due on the property, who apparently had enough property to go dispose of to keep current with that rent if he intended to stay there.
Instead I see all this junk about serving notice and whatnot. I don’t approve of theft, nor approve of legalized theft. He’s just got accusations about property stolen while admitting he’s stealing from her right now. Tell your buddy to move the hell out and stop robbing people. Maybe that property will randomly reappear. Who knows.
Got a quick test though: If the dresser was stolen, it’s the landlady. If the TV was stolen, it was likely common burglary.
I never had a landlord who’d let me get by a few WEEKS on rent, let alone months, so I couldn’t tell ya.
EVERYTHING went, you self righteous twit.
Laws vary by state, but there is a legal process that must be followed.
IDK of any state where they can just take your stuff in lieu of back rent due or padlock the door without some type of legal proceeding and a notice being posted on the door, such as “pay or quit” withing X amount of days, then the Sheriff comes and boots you out.
But like I said, every state law is different.
California is more lenient, other states may not be.
Your friend should immediately call the police and a lawyer.
It is a felony if your buddy can prove that his landlady stole his property.
Your buddy is SOL if he can’t find the culprit and doesn’t have evidence of a crime.
The fact that your buddy is late on the rent is meaningless, because being late on the rent falls under real estate and contract law, and he can only be forced by the courts to compensate and be evicted under the civil statutes of Tenn, yet whoever stole his personal property is a crook and would be liable for punishment under Tenn criminal statutes.
One of the great things about living in the United States is that we live under a system of law that says two wrongs doesn’t makes a right.
There is no way in hell that any state or jurisdiction or court of law inside the United States would condone a landlord stealing a person’s property in order to compensate for non-payment of rent.
I have to agree with the “self righteous twit”.
I don’t have much sympathy when thieves (rent deadbeats) get robbed.
I suppose the landlady could have made several trips to TN to properly evict the deadbeat, and/or hired a lawyer to do it, both at considerable expense to herself. I guess that did not appeal to her.
As our laws become ever more unreasonable, unjust, & bureaucratic, more people are willing to break the law in order to obtain a perceived justice. Taxes are too high, then cheat on taxes; no job, don’t pay the rent; no rent payments, steal the tenants belongings. All the same, for essentially the same reason: “I’m being screwed, so I have license to screw someone else.” It’s the new Golden Rule.
If the landlady had his stuff removed, well, you reap what you sow.
Certainly, it is property theft, but you have to prove it! Your friend might have to hire a lawyer & pay for a private investigation. But that might not appeal to him!
Things sure do turn around on you sometimes, don’t they?
The legal term is conversion of property. Have him get in touch with a Law School (Vanderbilt is in Nashville) to see if they have a Pro Bono Program. A Law Student can handle this without breaking a sweat.
People like your buddy are the reason I’m not in the business of renting. I have too many friends that have been taken across by deadbeat tenants. Late on the rent is measured in days not months.
Seems all the self righteous twits are deathly afraid of putting pen to paper, though they can snipe well from behind screen names. This landlady was blowing hot and cold on the issue, pretending it was no big deal then getting into sudden snits. And never, ever, bothering to send a certified letter. (And no lease.) Even Old Testament times had better defined terms for commercial transactions.
He’s renting a room in a house......sounds pretty informal, and it’s not like she isn’t allowed in her own house.
You don’t mention if he’s contacted her to ask about his stuff - and been refused.
He should probably ask the lady for the property back and work out some sort of repayment plan for what he owes her.
See? No lawyers involved, no cops. He’ll probably get his stuff back. He’ll also probably have to agree to pay back rent.
Research seems to show that she’s the one with more to lose. She committed crimes. He, at worst, committed a tort.
“Seems all the self righteous twits are deathly afraid of putting pen to paper, though they can snipe well from behind screen names. This landlady was blowing hot and cold on the issue, pretending it was no big deal then getting into sudden snits. And never, ever, bothering to send a certified letter. (And no lease.) Even Old Testament times had better defined terms for commercial transactions.”
You DID post this to the internet.
No lease? All the more reason for you buddy to make sure he paid his due. Your buddy might find he was not a renter, but a guest, and the lady just arranged to have her house cleaned.
I think there are a few things in the Old Testament that would apply to your buddy, too.
So, why don’t you offer him a room in your house?
Pen to paper sounds like a wonderful idea. If it concerns you so much, why didn’t you put your name on a paper check and pay the overdue rent? Your buddy should be thankful the property owner didn’t have bubba take the rent out of his hide.
We are both penniless, but with business prospects looking much better later in 2012. But she took the stuff of his livelihood. Even bankruptcies are more merciful.
Anyhow it isn’t because the legislature all decided to smoke LSD one morning that it promulgated fixed rules and regulations on tenancies. Anyone who has stayed in a hotel probably has read the arcane rules of that state on its door. Different rules apply when the facility is a home, not a hotel. No, the strawman objection that the landlady would have to come in person would not apply here — she obviously had a local sidekick she was willing to do dirty work on her behalf, and there are things called powers of attorney are they not?
Those pointing at my buddy and saying “scofflaw” need to look in a mirror.
Law means nothing to you too I see.
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