Several forms of harassment could occur between a tenant and the landlord. Most of the time, it’s the landlord who gets the upper hand because he is the owner of the property, thus giving him a self- entitlement to do whatever he pleases with his tenant. You as the tenant could be harassed or threatened by the landlord in so many ways. The types of landlord harassment that may disturb your peace and your right of enjoyment are:
- He is hostile or violent when he deals with you.
- He intentionally moves in another tenant who is a big nuisance to you.
- Discriminating you about your gender, your race, your sexuality, your status.
- He forces you to sign papers which guarantee dissolving your tenancy.
- He interferes with your mails.
- He enters your rented unit without your knowledge.
- He visits your unit late at night without prior notice.
- He stops you from receiving guests.
- He doesn’t spend a dime on repairs on your unit.
- He removes essential supplies such as gas, electricity, water without prior notice.
These acts make your landlord guilty of harassment and threatening. What you need to DO are the following:
- Hire a lawyer. An attorney specializing with landlord-tenant laws best know what to do, legally speaking.
- Keep records of the threats and the harassment. If you can produce photos or videos of the harassment, it will be a great help.
- Whatever you agreed with the landlord, always put it into writing.
- Document and produce witnesses whenever you meet with the landlord. Two or three persons would be ideal.
- Report incidents of harassments right away. You report it to the Board so they can take actions.
- Ask help from the police. If it’s already too much, call 911.
- Group out with other tenants. A bad landlord has consistent bad behavior. Get together with the other tenants and plan an action with them.
