I just got an eviction notice!? What the Hell do I do?!

[sir.rutthed]

So ya, that's about it. I've always paid my rent by the due date, this month I did it on the due date. I've never gotten any notices about late rent or missed utilities, never gotten any kind of communication that I was in trouble from my landlord before this. It says I have three days to vacate and that I have sixty dollars outstanding that I have to pay. I'm really panicking here guys, I have no fucking clue what to do. I didn't get the notice until about 10:30 when my room mate dropped it by in the middle of my D&D game. I didn't really look it over until we were done playing, and then I saw what it was. This is the first I've EVER gotten about 'late' payments, and I'm scared shitless. What do I do guys? I'm going to talk to my landlord in the morning, but what do I say? I've tried looking up eviction laws in Texas, but they haven't been very helpful. PLEASE HELP!

 

[Hal10k]

Talk to your landlord. You said you've paid your rent; you're the one in the right. This might just be a matter of miscommunication.

 

[Lucem712]

So ya, that's about it. I've always paid my rent by the due date, this month I did it on the due date. I've never gotten any notices about late rent or missed utilities, never gotten any kind of communication that I was in trouble from my landlord before this. It says I have three days to vacate and that I have sixty dollars outstanding that I have to pay. I'm really panicking here guys, I have no fucking clue what to do. I didn't get the notice until about 10:30 when my room mate dropped it by in the middle of my D&D game. I didn't really look it over until we were done playing, and then I saw what it was. This is the first I've EVER gotten about 'late' payments, and I'm scared shitless. What do I do guys? I'm going to talk to my landlord in the morning, but what do I say? I've tried looking up eviction laws in Texas, but they haven't been very helpful. PLEASE HELP!

I hope this helps, mate.

Spoiler: Texan Eviction Laws

V. My landlord is evicting me. What should I expect?
An eviction suit (also called a "forcible detainer") is the process by which a landlord tries to regain possession of the premises. It begins with a notice to vacate. A notice to vacate is the landlord's written request that you move. However, it may also be a request that you either pay the overdue rent within a specified time or move out. If you receive this pay or move type notice and desire to stay, you should tender your rent to the landlord within the time specified in the notice. Remember that the initial notice to vacate is only the landlord's request that you move. Your landlord may not lawfully resort to self-help measures such as putting your property out on the street if you don?t move within the time specified in this notice to vacate.
If you don't leave by the date stated in the notice to vacate, your landlord will have to take the second step: filing an eviction suit in justice court. The eviction suit may add a claim for delinquent rent as long as the amount owed is less than $10,000. However, if you have any other causes of action against your landlord, you must file them in a separate lawsuit. Eviction suits must be filed in justice court in the precinct where the property is located. In Harris County, for example, there are 8 precincts. Each precinct has 2 justice courts. The landlord will have the option of filing in either of the justice courts in the precinct.
In the third step, a constable or other process server will serve you with a citation and a copy of the eviction suit. The citation will inform you when and where you must appear to contest the eviction. The court date must be between 6 and 10 days after the date on which you were served. It is usually set one week from the day you receive the citation to appear. You may have a jury trial by requesting a jury and paying $5.00 within 5 days of when you were served with the citation. Read the citation carefully to determine when and where you must appear in court.
The fourth step of an eviction suit is a trial to determine the right to possession of the premises. If you don't appear at trial, the court will grant a default judgment against you. If your landlord doesn't show up, the case will usually be dismissed. If the eviction suit is because you didn't pay rent or because you held over after your lease expired, your landlord may be represented at trial by an authorized agent, such as an apartment manager. However, if the case involves other claims against you, your landlord must represent himself or hire an attorney, unless you default by not appearing at court.
If you are representing yourself at trial, make sure the landlord has followed the above process. You should also take all witnesses, documents and other evidence with you to court on the trial date. At the eviction trial, you are allowed to use a claim of retaliation as a defense. However, an eviction for actual non-payment of rent is not retaliation. Some other defenses available to you in non-payment of rent evictions include: no notice or improper notice to vacate; payment of all rents owed; and the fact that rent was offered but refused.

Sorry for that wall of text. I hope everythin' works out.

 

[Nickolai77]

Well it says you are short of $60 behind the last rent payment, but if you say you've already paid it's probably your landlords fault. Go speak to him and prove that you've paid that $60.

(And when you next pay him, get a receipt as evidence if you don't already, and make sure you can always pay the rent. Your landlord sounds like a bit of an asshole already serving you an eviction notice if your re-payment record has been consistent.

Important thing is not to panic- by the sound of things you just need to explain the landlord that you've already paid the money.

 

[JochemHippie]

You're probably in the right here. Just make sure you get everything he get's on paper or e-mail, atleast then you'll have a case if it comes to that.

 

[sir.rutthed]

Just got back from talking to the landlord. Turns out paying the day it's due is actually paying late, and the notice was their little reminder to pay my dues. I'm not getting evicted! Thanks for your help guys, I'm glad it was such an easy (if expensive) fix. Thanks guys!

 

[TheLastSamurai14]

Turns out paying the day it's due is actually paying late

This doesn't seem to make sense to me. In every other kind of situation, a due date is the last possible day to complete whatever it is you're doing. I don't know if it's just Texas or if it's a national thing, but it seems fairly inconsistent and, in my opinion, stupid.

Good thing you managed to get it sorted out though, OP. Lucky break for you.

 

[gambler778]

You just got an eviction notice?! You'd better make a topic on the Escapist forums about it before talking to the landlord!!!

 

[For.I.Am.Mad]

Just got back from talking to the landlord. Turns out paying the day it's due is actually paying late, and the notice was their little reminder to pay my dues. I'm not getting evicted! Thanks for your help guys, I'm glad it was such an easy (if expensive) fix. Thanks guys!

Sounds like a shitty landlord. I have a 5 day grace period on my rent.

 

[coolman9899]

Just got back from talking to the landlord. Turns out paying the day it's due is actually paying late, and the notice was their little reminder to pay my dues. I'm not getting evicted! Thanks for your help guys, I'm glad it was such an easy (if expensive) fix. Thanks guys!

Sounds like a shitty landlord. I have a 5 day grace period on my rent.

Nice! Awesome landlord is awesome

 

[antidonkey]

Late on the day it's due? That makes no sense. Sounds like you landlord is being an ass. Hell, my apartment complex is pretty strict and even they don't consider rent late until the 3rd of the month.

 

[Misho-]

I don't want to sound like I'm trying to be funny, but maybe your landlord doesn't like you playing D&D and probably considers it a work from the Devil or something... (I've heard that not so long ago from someone who's a US citizen so...) Also it could be for a number of reasons... In my country you can't get evicted without first a month's notice. Also if you have signed a contract for a set-leasing-time and it's before that time expires I think he/she is actually breaching the contract and the law... But again, I'm not from your country so I wouldn't know. :/

 

[Yopaz]

Just got back from talking to the landlord. Turns out paying the day it's due is actually paying late, and the notice was their little reminder to pay my dues. I'm not getting evicted! Thanks for your help guys, I'm glad it was such an easy (if expensive) fix. Thanks guys!

Happy to hear things worked out for you.

 

[JdA]

Best practice I've found in renting - make everything PAYABLE for the "day it's due" and give it to the property manager/landlord shortly before.

Post-dated cheques can be mighty handy here - I normally have the next 4 month's cheques written and in a lockbox so I can can drop'em off on my way out the last business day of every month.

It was, however, a pretty brutal approach by the landlord to give a "warning" via eviction notice.

 

[RJ 17]

Just got back from talking to the landlord. Turns out paying the day it's due is actually paying late, and the notice was their little reminder to pay my dues. I'm not getting evicted! Thanks for your help guys, I'm glad it was such an easy (if expensive) fix. Thanks guys!

Yeah, I actually work for a property management company. I fully admit I don't know Texas law seeing as how I work in Missouri (as such this could all be a load of crap for your case) but at least up here they can't give you the boot without advanced notice. That said they can send you as many warnings as they want, mostly as an attention-grabbing tactic. In our case we lease to a lot of people whose cell-phones have a mysterious tendency to get disconnected after about a month and as such we have no way of contacting them. So we send them a "you're about to get evicted" notice and surprise surprise: they call in wanting to work things out.

But yeah, that's absolute crap that paying on the due date is considered late. I'd take a look at your lease because there should be something in there that specifically says "rent is considered late if received on or after the (x)th date" followed by a description of the late fees. It really does sound like that landlord is trying to screw you over. "Rent is due by (blank)" has an entirely different meaning than "Rent is late by (blank)".

 

[Qitz]

Going to echo the other statements with, when the hell is "Day Of" late? Most things are on time till 11:59pm the day it's due.

Also, rather shitty giving you an eviction notice over a late payment instead, you know, coming up to you and telling you.

 

[mikey7339]

It says I have three days to vacate

Bullshit on their part, at least where I live you are legally required to give 30 days to vacate.


EDIT:

Remember that the initial notice to vacate is only the landlord's request that you move. Your landlord may not lawfully resort to self-help measures such as putting your property out on the street if you don?t move within the time specified in this notice to vacate.
If you don't leave by the date stated in the notice to vacate, your landlord will have to take the second step: filing an eviction suit in justice court. The eviction suit may add a claim for delinquent rent as long as the amount owed is less than $10,000...The court date must be between 6 and 10 days after the date on which you were served. It is usually set one week from the day you receive the citation to appear. You may have a jury trial by requesting a jury and paying $5.00 within 5 days of when you were served with the citation.

There, unless you have actually gone to court and lost or did not show up over this, then he can't evict you. Landords are lazy assholes and will try any kind of shady scare tactic to work in their favor.

EDIT AGAIN: Glad things worked out...I need to read through threads before posting in them.

 

[CD-R]

Your land lord is an asshole and doesn't understand how rental agreements work. Find a new place. Handing you a bullshit eviction notice and making you worry like that is just a massive dick move on his part.