When mom lost her job back in 2007, we talked to the leasing office and agreed that while we could not have the entire rent on the 15th, it would be paid by the end of the month (IIRC, the only due date actually mentioned in our lease is the last day of the month).
Since their office got a new manager 3 or so years ago, we've been getting near-constant letters hand-delivered any date after the 15th of the month. Return address of the envelope says "Constable" but the only name on the letter itself is this office manager. The verbiage of the letter has also changed recently; before last month it simply said "you are hereby ordered to pay and quit these premises within 14 days". Last month's letter was much wordier after that section, stating that "any eviction action is up to the courts" but the pay window had been reduced to three days and we always get these things on a Friday evening. The one we just got not 20 minutes ago is back to the old threatening wordings "pay or else"...and now there are two copies in the envelope (that may actually be good for us as we can give Town Housing Authority an original...but why do they give us two all of a sudden?).
When this started happening mom actually did contact the state, and was told that this is harassment (especially given that I am technically disabled and mom is now officially elderly...both 'protected classes' in terms of housing) and they legally can't even send a letter unless a tenant has had no payments of any kind for 90 days..one would think a constable would know this, but there have been questions raised about the legal powers they actually have in this state vs. what they get away with. We've gotten these things over a $500 balance that was paid the day the letter was dated.
We are on the priority waitlist for town public housing (these letters are what finally got things moving), but we don't want to bring more attention to ourselves. Should we try to contact a housing lawyer (just to confirm what they can and cannot do to tenants in good standing)? It must cost management some money each time they do this, so what do they hope to get out of it? Unless it's to somehow put a 'blemish' on the payment history...
Since their office got a new manager 3 or so years ago, we've been getting near-constant letters hand-delivered any date after the 15th of the month. Return address of the envelope says "Constable" but the only name on the letter itself is this office manager. The verbiage of the letter has also changed recently; before last month it simply said "you are hereby ordered to pay and quit these premises within 14 days". Last month's letter was much wordier after that section, stating that "any eviction action is up to the courts" but the pay window had been reduced to three days and we always get these things on a Friday evening. The one we just got not 20 minutes ago is back to the old threatening wordings "pay or else"...and now there are two copies in the envelope (that may actually be good for us as we can give Town Housing Authority an original...but why do they give us two all of a sudden?).
When this started happening mom actually did contact the state, and was told that this is harassment (especially given that I am technically disabled and mom is now officially elderly...both 'protected classes' in terms of housing) and they legally can't even send a letter unless a tenant has had no payments of any kind for 90 days..one would think a constable would know this, but there have been questions raised about the legal powers they actually have in this state vs. what they get away with. We've gotten these things over a $500 balance that was paid the day the letter was dated.
We are on the priority waitlist for town public housing (these letters are what finally got things moving), but we don't want to bring more attention to ourselves. Should we try to contact a housing lawyer (just to confirm what they can and cannot do to tenants in good standing)? It must cost management some money each time they do this, so what do they hope to get out of it? Unless it's to somehow put a 'blemish' on the payment history...
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