Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Pennsylvania
Judgment that I was not aware of
I lived in an apartment complex for approx. 3yrs. I wrote a letter stating I would not be renewing my lease Dec.1 2002. I moved out mid- August. I left on good terms, they wished me well, and I gave them my forwarding address to send my 2mo deposit.I never received any money and never pursued it because from experience, mine and others, landlords find excuses to hold back money for fresh paint & misc. things that tenets should not be responsible. It was not worth the headache.
Four yrs later I find out on my credit they filed a judgement against me for 1mo. rent plus legal fees that was not sent to my forwarding address but to my old apt# where I lived dated Sept13 2002 well after I had moved out Sept 1 2002. I know this because the courthouse sent me a copy. I am now applying for a mortgage and of course this hurting my FICO score. What are my legal rights to remove this from my credit file.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Judgment that I was not aware of
If you have proof of giving your landlord a forwarding address all documents/legal filings should have been sent there. If they did not use the new address after you vacated the apt then you have a few things going for you: 1) you certainly can challenge the old judgment where it was filed and 2) they owe you double your security deposit if they did not return it to you or provide you with a letter as to why they are keeping it.
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Re: Judgment that I was not aware of
Well you can definitely put your side of the story on your credit report. I doubt that will do much for your FICO score.
To clean it off your record would take challenging the default judgment. If they had your new address then they should have served you with papers at your new address. I suppose this was filed in a magistrate's court. The clerk not given your new address used the address of the apartment you rented and whose rent you were being sued for. Still if they knew of your new address and didn't use it then whether the service was proper is an issue. An issue that may upset a default judgment.
Feel free to contact me. The initial consultation is free.
{John}
By the way if they had you new address they needed to send your security deposit or a bill for damages to that address in 30 days of you leaving the apartment.
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