Should You Take Your Landlord To Court For Damages Or Suffering?
Posted on: 28 April 2015
If your landlord has left your home in an uninhabitable state, you can make a claim to your state's tribunal for up to $10,000. However, if you feel the extent of the damages or your suffering exceeds that amount, you may need to hire a solicitor and take your landlord to court. To determine if the latter is the right move for you, take a look at the following questions
1. Did landlord negligence result in more than $10,000 worth of property damage?
If you have suffered material losses worth more than $10,000, you may need to take your landlord to court in order to reclaim those losses. For example, if you rent a property and your landlord fails to fix a hole in the roof, you may lose some of your possessions due to water damage. In a residential rental, expensive possessions may include art, musical instruments or electronics. In a commercial rental, you may lose inventory, appliances or other expensive goods.
2. Do you have proof of the damage you suffered?
Having an adequate amount of proof can be essential if you are going to take your landlord to court. If you lost possessions, do you have pictures to prove that? If you got hurt, do you have proof of your injury and a record of your medical bills?
3. Was the landlord negligent?
Proving the extent of your damage is merely one half of the equation when it comes to taking your landlord to court. You and your solicitor also have to prove that your landlord was negligent. For example, if you lost possessions due to a leak in the roof, the landlord needs to have known about the leak and failed to repair it. If you feel that you have gotten a serious illness due to mould, the landlord must also have been notified about the mould and failed to mitigate it. Similarly, if you fell on a slippery sidewalk, clearing that pavement must have been the landlord's responsibility and he or she must have ignored that responsibility.
4. Can you prove that your livelihood was hurt?
In most cases, if you are taking your landlord to court with the help of a solicitor, you may be bringing forward pain and suffering claims. In order to make a pain and suffering claim, your livelihood must have been damaged. Have you lost your job as a result of a landlord-caused injury or illness? Can you no longer surf or lift up your children? Do you have other limitations due to an injury caused by landlord negligence? If you can answer yes to questions like these, a solicitor like Ferrys Law Firm may be able to help you bring a case forward.
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