Hacker News Reader

Lawsuits cost money, and in most cases there tends to be a large wealth disparity between landlord and tenant. Landlords know this, not just in general but also in particular since they've seen your finances (proof of income etc.) before letting you move in. So when the time comes to consider whether to try to screw you over, the choice tends to be rather easy.

In most US jurisdictions small claims court requires self-representation, so your landlord can’t out spend you on lawyers to win.

I thought what you said too before I filed the first time. It cost me $50 to file and I was able to do it by mail. It took forever to get the case heard because the landlord was a huge d-bag who intentionally dodged service for nearly two years, but I got my day in court and it took less than 20 minutes in front of a judge to be awarded my deposit back + interest + a penalty on the landlord. I showed up to court over my lunch break and was back to work before anyone knew I had left. No lawyers, just a single file folder of evidence, a $50 check, and one printed and mailed form to file.

It can sometimes be challenging to get paid, but many times it’s a manager acting improperly on behalf of a national corporate landlord and they will cut you a check immediately, they get sued so often it’s an expected business expense (says something about how scummy landlords are).

>> In most US jurisdictions small claims court requires self-representation, so your landlord can’t out spend you on lawyers to win.

Well, if most tenants don't know their rights, then they definitely will not know this either. :)

> In most US jurisdictions small claims court requires self-representation, so your landlord can’t out spend you on lawyers to win.

They can’t bring one in to the court, they absolutely can spend on lawyers to prepare though. Depending on circumstances, they may also be able to countersue with a claim that exceeds the small claims limit, which will transfer the whole controversy out of small-claims court.

I sued my land lord recently and it was an absolutely awful experience that took years and cost thousands of dollars. We won but havent been able to recover the money yet because our old land lord is a slippery scumbag. Now we need to put a lien on his property, which is a huge pain in the ass.

It almost wasn't worth it tbh. Posting a bad review is much easier and accessable

My experience is that just giving them written indication that you are aware of your rights, and (with specificity) that their actions are illegal, will often get them to back to off of whatever illegal thing they were doing and often even overcorrect.

Also cheaper, both in upfront cost and time, than suing (even in small claims court), and leaves suit open if you need it.

But step one in either case is knowing (or at least knowing how to research effectively when an issue comes up) what your rights are.

Can you talk about what that process was like

It depends on jurisdiction, but in most of the US small claims court is at the county level, this was the way it worked the first time I sued a landlord. You go on the website of the county courthouse and get a fillable PDF for the small claims court process, which contains instructions. Generally, you fill out your information (plaintiff), their information (defendant), and then a statement of allegations or affidavit, which you sign. It's just a statement in your own words of why you're suing plus the dollar amount of damages, which can't be higher than the cap for small claims in your jurisdiction (it's usually like $5k).

After that, you send this with a check in the mail to the court clerk to file, or you can take it in person to the courthouse and hand it over with a check to the clerk. The fee varies by jurisdiction, but is pretty much always less than $100. It was $50 as I mentioned the first time I sued in small claims. After you've filed, the court will serve the defendant and set a court date, this is usually done via certified mail. Depending on jurisdiction, if they don't show you get a default judgement in your favor, or you may be required to pay for personal service, which is $25-$30 for a sheriff's deputy to go to their home or place of business and personally serve them court papers. At any rate, once it's decided you can use that judgement and place a lien against their business, including accounts, properties, etc. if they do not pay you in full within 90 days of the judgement being entered by the court. Once a judgement is entered it's part of the permanent public record, which is a big reason I recommend this. There's no way for them to get this removed unlike a website review.

That's basically the process. It may differ slightly by jurisdiction, but it's relatively easy and painless. The main issue is just that you also must personally be in court on the court date, so if you move out of state you have to be willing to travel back and you usually cannot get your travel expenses covered in a small claims case, so it may not be "worth it" financially for you. For me, it's always worth it to stick it to scumbags, even if it costs me more than it gains in dollars.