At normal capacity, Loyola’s residence halls house approximately 1,400 students, according to the Residential Life Web site. Considering this capacity, a significant number of Loyola graduate and undergraduate students live off-campus, and therefore possibly have come across rent and landlord issues.
According to Judson Mitchell, staff attorney at the Loyola Law Clinic, the number of students with issues is in the hundreds.
The Loyola Law Clinic set up a program after Hurricane Katrina to help students deal with these landlord-tenant problems by offering free legal advice.
Since September, the Law Clinic has provided, through phone calls and e-mails, more than 200 students with free advice on how to handle situations with difficult landlords, said Judson Mitchell, staff attorney at the Loyola Law Clinic. He said the majority of students seeking the clinic’s advice have been under leases and want to know their rights, but there have been cases of landlords trying to break lease, presumably to get rid of pre-Katrina tenants. Increases in rent while under lease are legal under Louisiana law, Mitchell said. Landlords hold the right to raise rent because of increased market values for residences, he said, and raises have been between 25 and 30 percent.
If a tenant is renting under a month-to-month lease, Mitchell said the landlord has the right to evict him or her with, at the most, 30 days to vacate.
Ultimately, the problem most tenants run into is the disparity between their perceived rights and what the law prescribes.
“Landlord-tenant laws in Louisiana do nothing for tenants,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell said the clinic is currently providing legal services beyond advice to about three or four clients. The cases are still in the early stages of writing letters to landlords and nothing has been formally filed.
“We haven’t gotten there yet, but we may,” he said.
To help students protect their rights, the Law Clinic outlines basic tenant’s rights on their Web site.
If your apartment is partially destroyed, you may either end the lease or ask for a rent reduction.
If repairs to your apartment require that you move out while they are being made, you do not have to pay rent for that time period.
If your use of rental property is substantially impaired through no fault of your own, you can also ask for a rent reduction.
The loss of utilities is a “substantial impairment” which does not allow you to live in the property. For the time period when utilities are out, you should get a rent reduction.
Under Louisiana law, a landlord can’t use self-help to get his apartment back. He has to file a lawsuit to have you evicted by a court. This means that he can’t legally throw your stuff out until he gets an eviction order from a court.
If your landlord puts your stuff out without going to court, you may have a claim for damages due to wrongful eviction or conversion.
If you want your security deposit back you should send a letter to your landlord by fax, e-mail, regular mail and/or certified mail letting your landlord know that you want your deposit refunded. You have to give the landlord at least 30 days to refund your deposit. Also, you must give him your forwarding address. If he does not give it back or you disagree with his response, you can file a lawsuit in Small Claims Court for the money. If you have to file a lawsuit, you may also be able to get a $200 penalty, interest, court costs and attorney fees.
If your personal property got damaged, your landlord is usually not responsible for damages. If you have renter’s insurance, you should file a claim. If you do not have this kind of insurance, you should file a claim with FEMA as soon as possible.
If you have a written lease and you are in the middle of your lease term, your landlord can’t raise your rent unless the lease allows for rent increases during the lease term. Also, check your lease to see if it allows the landlord to end your lease early by giving 30 days notice.
A rent increase solely because of a hurricane may be illegal “price gouging.” If you think the only reason that your landlord is raising the rent is because he can get more due to the hurricane, you may want to file a price gouging complaint with the Louisiana Attorney General’s office.
If your apartment was totally or partially destroyed, you have the right to end the lease. You should let the landlord know immediately if this is what you want to do. Also, ask for your security deposit back by written letter.
If your property was livable, but subject to a mandatory evacuation order, you should also be able to end your lease.
If you are evicted by a new landlord, you may have a damages law suit against your landlord. A landlord can’t get out of his contract to you by selling the building to another person. For example, if you had a lease for $800 per month for six more months and can only find a new apartment for $1,500 per month, your landlord may owe you for the increased rent of $700 per month.
Naomi King can be reached at [email protected].
