Renting

Question: My landlord is trying to collect the rent for the month of september 2008 we had a letter put on our door telling us this place is up for foreclosure the auction will be held august 28 2008 i called and told him whats this about he said oh we already took care of all that but i keep calling the phone number thats on the paper all it say is that the auction date was changed to september 29 2008 when i called the place they said yes its up for auction the 29th of september i called a real estate attorney and asked him. He told me to give a 30 day notice and have him keep my deposit as last mouths rent. My landlord would not take my 30 day notice and also said that i must pay this mouths rent and that once i moved he will give me my deposit back. i also let him know of all the things that needed to be fixed from when we moved in not till after i told him about the foreclosure. he start saying oh as soon as they save the house there going to fix every litte thing not to worry and when i told him, well i’m just going to move. he said well you still owe me my rent. then why did i give first and last months rent when i moved in? then he had nothing to say to that all he did was to start threating me tell “you don’t want to mess with me i’ll take you down” also “i know how to take care of you if you don’t pay me my rent” and now today september 13,2008 he gives me a three day notice i just said ok thats fine here’s my 30 day notice that i’ll be moving “he says i don’t want that why would i want that you have three days to get out of my house i’ll be back thursday to make sure your out” i told him you still have to give me a 30 day notice all he said was “no you have three day thats all”. what could I do about this man because come thursday september 18,2008 i don’t know what he will do. will he follow thru the threats. so please help me as soon as possible. should i call the police or what should i do. i am worried i have a three year old litte girl also a 14 month old daughter with a seizure disorder that still dose not hold her head up or nothing she is like a new born chid still what if trys something and one them get hurt please help please

Answer: -listen, this sounds like more than just a rental issue. Clearly this landlords intentions are not good. It sounds like he has already spent your deposit and has no intentions on paying it back. He’s just trying to get as much money as he can from his tenants before they foreclose on the property. In many cases this can be considered ‘rent skimming’ which is illegal. This is where the landlord uses the rent money to pay for personal belongings and lets the property go into default. If he is giving you 3 days to vacate, I would get the heck out before something worse happens, especially if he is threatening you. Let him keep your deposit money a better place to live. And if you feel you need to contact the authorities, do it. Who knows, they may even help you find a better place. Good Luck