Connie Nompelis wrote: On the subject of the "Gramma" who rented the apartment and then allowed gangster-types in:
Why is illegal activity on the premises grounds for eviction? How does "Gramma" avoid and/or contest eviction when the terms of the lease have been broken? (So long as the lease bans illegal activity) [Gregory D. Luce]: Sheesh. Complicated and big question, you betcha. Gramma avoids or contests the eviction by putting the landlord to his or her proof. If the proof is not in the pudding (i.e., by a preponderance of the evidence), then she stays unless she also owes rent and cannot pay that rent. Sophisticated tenants know and understand this (as do even unsophisticated lawyers) and it's sufficient leverage in many ways to avoid an all out trial on the issue of a breach of the lease or a breach of the statutory covenants. In many cases the fact that there was a drug raid and contraband was found is sufficient for the tenant to know that they will ultimately lose--thus there is typically a settlement that the tenant will move within a certain amount of time. Much more complicated (for the landlord) are the cases where there was a raid but nothing was found. Moving up the complication scale is proving that Gramma--the only person on the lease-- knew or should have known about the illegal activity. Little ol' Gramma may have been knitting in the back room while it all went down. Also complicating things for landlords: getting the cooperation of the police and even neighbors in going to court to testify about the illegal activity. So, if I put the landlord to his/her proof on the evidence, it gets costly pretty quickly for the landlord to put together a solid case. Same goes, in many ways, for tenants putting together a good defense. And believe me, I've seen many a case that looked solid at first for the landlord but fell apart quickly when the proof just wasn't there. You do not need a lease to evict a tenant for certain illegal activities, namely drug-related activities, prostitution, unlawful possession of firearms, and receipt of stolen property. These are the statutory covenants which the landlord and a tenant agree not to allow criminal activity on the premises. In most other cases, you need a lease that sets forth what constitutes a breach before you can evict a tenant for that breach. One caveat before I put away the cheat sheets: the general notion that the landlord must show that Gramma knew or should have known about the illegal activity--and thus should be evicted-- is a complicated one that generally (big emphasis on generally) differs between private market housing and federally subsidized housing. A federal crackdown on criminal activity in public housing in the late 1980's resulted in new regulations that stated a tenant in public housing could be evicted if the tenant, a member of the tenant's household, or even a guest engaged in drug-related criminal activity on or near the premises. Courts have since held that even if Gramma did not know of the drug-related criminal activity she could still be evicted. The seminal case in Minnesota is the MPHA vs. Mai Lor case, which is online at: http://www.lawlibrary.state.mn.us/archive/supct/9904/c2971756.htm So, ask a complicated question, get a long-winded complicated answer that in many cases comes down to a lawyer's favorite word: depends. Gregory Luce St. Paul www.project504.org __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
