Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Pennsylvania

This is a bit of a complicated question. Back in April of this year I decided to "rent" a space in my mother's house (legally the house belongs to my step dad). Prior to that, My husband and I were working full time and I had just went back to college online. I had completed one term (getting put on the Dean's list by the way) and My mother had called me and offered to let me come back home to make things easier for me to get my education. My husband and I and her husband and her spoke about the terms of me coming back (as she had been abusive to me in the past I wanted to know that things would be different among other things I needed to know). She said that she only wanted to help me and that getting rent from me wasn't that big of a deal. At first, they said, "don't worry about rent, just worry about school" then, "Let your husband work while you go to school and pay us $700 a month" (he only was able to work part time and that amount was too much), then we moved in without having an amount set, the amount was never decided when we actually made the move. It should be noted, that the house isn't zoned as a rental property. The township or other local governments were never alerted that the property was to be used as a rental unit. We also didn't have our own mailing address (such as Whatever Rd Apt #...) our mail was mixed with theirs. So we move in and things go ok for a week or so and she starts treating me like a teenager again. I, her supposed "Tennant" she is treating like a teenager. She tells me that I need to tell her where Im going, who Im going with and everything like that. I don't exactly comply because she has no right to tell me what I can and can't do even as my mother because I am of age, and as my "landlord" because she has no right. Things get progressively worse and worse over time and I decide that I need to move back to the town that I moved back from and pick up my old job and everything involved with that. I go out of town to start making arrangements with a new apartment and getting my old job back and everything. I spent the night out of town and the next day I needed to return to the house to grab some paperwork that I needed for the apartment and during that time she stole the spare key to my car (she has no ownership in the car, it is in mine and my husbands names) and demands that I give her the keys to the house back to her. I say no because I needed the time to move my belongings out which wouldn't happen for another three weeks or so. I leave to go back out of town to finish my business out there. Once I come back to the house I find everything in my apartment laying outside the house under the second story window. (It should be noted that i did not receive any "eviction notice" from her either verbal or in writing). It should also be noted that by this time I had my things packed into and sealed in boxes. When I discovered my items, the boxes were cut open and my things were then dumped out the window. Everything was damaged beyond repair, I will have to replace just about everything. Some things were damaged from the fall including my $200 printer that I bought for school, dish ware, my $50 cosmetic storage box, all of my husbands dads and vas (which were taken out of their containers before dropping them out the window), amongst other things. Things that were damaged by the air conditioner condensation pipe include our wedding memorabilia including our photo album, cards people gave us, other little objects, and most importantly our marriage certificate and license, and a $300 college textbook. Of the things that she stole out of my belongings include One of my paintings, my accounting textbook from college, a birthday gift, the internet equipment belonging to both me and the box owned by the cable company. Of the things that were destroyed by her angry force include all of the cards given to me and the pictures that i took at the going-away party that my old job threw for me upon my leaving to go back to school. Everything got torn up or burned. I was then forced to stuff as much of my stuff as I could in my economy sized car and I was expected to drive around like a vagabond. My husband and I decided to stay at his father's house in the area so that he could work all of the days that he needed to to complete his 2 week notice for his job. So for 2 weeks I have driven around spending gas money I don't have on the extra weight in my car. Tonight is the last night he has to work at his job here and I start mine out of town tomorrow morning. I told my mother that I will be returning during the first week of August with a haul to collect my things. However she is demanding a few hundred dollars from me for "rent" even though I have not lived at the residence for most of the month. I will not have the money to give her seeing as my money went to the security deposit and first months rent at the new apartment and the price to rent the u-haul truck I will not have anything extra. i do not believe she is entitled to anymore money, even as a "storage fee" because if I were to pt my things in storage there is an unspoken promise that I do not have to worry about my stuff being purposefully destroyed! I need to know how to proceed. I had considered possibly asking for a police escort to be present with me when I execute moving the rest of my things. Also, she said that she will not be giving me back the things that she stole from me until i give her the money she wants but I need to have my car key back as well as the other things that she stole. Please help me someone.


Asked on 7/26/16, 12:03 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

John Davidson Law Office of John A. Davidson

Damaging the property of others is Criminal Mischief. For that you'd have to talk to the police. Failing that you could sue her for destroying your stuff.

{John}

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Answered on 7/26/16, 12:14 pm


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