Housing Court
one of my tenants left an unregistered vehicle in the parking lot behind the building (parking lot is on my property). I got a summons from an inspector on this. The car has since been removed. What should I expect in the court hearing?
Thanks.
Well a range of possibilities present themselves. You want to point out that "sombody" (I wouldn't volunteer that it was your tenant) "abandoned" this car on your property and that you are feeling the victom here since it wasn't your car, you didn't put it there, etc.
Depending, as far as I can tell, on how desperate the city is for cash (and how efficiently they are wringing it out of landlords) you will either be dismissed (since you corrected the situation) or fined (probably no more than a couple hundred bucks) for allowing this person to abandon their vehicle there in the first place. If you are in court that is better than if you are in an administrative hearing.
Thanks
Sounds like good advise. Just claim it had been abandoned on the property and you had it removed as soon as you were aware. If it were still there, you also could have filed (I think) a lien sale on it, if it were worth doing so. .
Good luck
IThe day after I went to the court, the tenant brought the car back. It seems he moved it temporarily. I told him not to get me in trouble with the city. Can I tell him I can tow his car or impose some kind of a penalty on him including eviction?
Putting a lien on it won't be a bad idea. How do I do it?
All cars are gone, but the inspector made his round, saw a tenant changing tires, gave us another court date. Even the judge was surprised that you cannot change tires in the backyard. Who has the time to go to the court so many times, missing work? The inspector says that's the 'problem' with absentee landlords, they don't live there and do this part-time.