ashley
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Posts: 3,400
Jun 17, 2016 12:36:53 GMT
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Post by ashley on Jul 1, 2020 12:18:59 GMT
This happened Sunday morning and I’m becoming increasingly upset. My mom owns a trailer, it is permanently parked in a privately owned trailer park, where we pay rent every year. This arrangement is covered under the Landlord Tenant Act and therefore I have the same rights as if I was renting an apartment or house anywhere else. This does mean the trailer park can set their own rules as any land lord can but it also means they need to provide written notice if entering my property including my yard. On Sunday I came to the park. I have four legal cannabis plants and I brought them with me for three days while I wait for my irrigation system at home. I had not been told they were not permitted here and I have still not been provided with a copy of the rules stating so. Had I known or been informed I would have left them home or taken them home immediately. I left the park at 10:30 am to go home and get the kids (two trips because it was our first visit of the summer and we had a lot of supplies to stock). I came back at around 1 pm and my plants were gone. No note, nothing. I assumed they were stolen. It took me a couple of hours walking around and talking to people but someone eventually told me to go see the manager as they’d seen him on my property. I spoke to the owner first, explained the situation and he said nothing about the rules, just that if they were stolen it was my fault. It turns out the manager saw them, took them, ripped them up, put them in the bottom of a dumpster and forbade me to retrieve them. The dumpster was full and when I tried to get them back he threw bags of garbage on me and threatened to close the dumpster lid on me (I was standing outside leaning in and he was closing the lid over my head). He also threatened to evict us if he saw me near the garbage can again and called my mom and said he would evict us. He had no right to enter my property. He needed to provide 24 hrs written notice. He had no right to take my plants. He had no right to destroy them and assault me. If there was a rule saying no cannabis plants allowed he was required to give me time to move them, he had no legal rights to steal my property. My mom is concerned about getting evicted because it means we would have to pay to have the trailer moved, which looks like it can be anywhere from $5000-15,000 depending on the distance. I feel very violated. He is completely in the wrong here. I am uncomfortable being threatened and bullied. He took great pride in his actions and boasted over how he’s done this before and will do it again. Not one person out of the 20-25 I spoke to on Sunday morning even said “actually plants aren’t permitted here”, and the few people I have since told had no idea so it obviously isn’t a well known rule. To compare, there is a message board at the front of the park which contains rules such as: No glass on the beach Children must be in their home sites by 11 pm Visitor dogs are not permitted. What do you think he does to visitor dogs or children left wandering after 11 pm? I don’t know what to do, but I am really upset and also stuck in a hard place because my mom doesn’t want me to do anything else because she’s scared of being evicted. I don’t think they can evict us — for example, if our yard was messy or trailer in disrepair they’d have to go to a Board overseeing landlords / tenants, apply to have us evicted, and if we fixed the issue before the eviction notice arrived we would no longer be evicted. Since he destroyed my plants he can’t evict us I didn’t report the theft of my plants to the police because at the time the landlord /tenant rules were unclear to me and I was lead to believe that because it’s a private park they can do as they like. But that’s not the case and my rights here are the same as if I was renting an apartment or house. The manager cannot come into my yard or balcony and steal and destroy my items. His only right was to ask me to remove them and not bring them back. I also have no way of verifying that he didn’t steal them for his own personal use or had sold them since I was not permitted to see their remains. It is unclear to me that if I were to report his actions to the board, if they’d be able to terminate our contract and have us removed from the park for other reasons. Like, I don’t know if they can just say “we are no longer renting this land to you”. Not sure if this is a vent or WWYD. My happy get away is now extremely stressful.
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ashley
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,400
Jun 17, 2016 12:36:53 GMT
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Post by ashley on Jul 1, 2020 12:20:51 GMT
Btw, cannabis plants are estimated to have a value of $1000-$2000 each so this isn’t a small matter. It’s also too late in the year to start anything else growing.
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freebird
Drama Llama
'cause I'm free as a bird now
Posts: 6,927
Jun 25, 2014 20:06:48 GMT
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Post by freebird on Jul 1, 2020 12:22:59 GMT
do YOU actually live there? Or your mom lives there and you visit? it's unclear in your post.
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ashley
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,400
Jun 17, 2016 12:36:53 GMT
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Post by ashley on Jul 1, 2020 12:25:13 GMT
My daughters and I are the only ones who come here. My mom has never spent the night and I believe has only been here twice to drop off sheets and kitchen supplies and she closed the trailer last fall.
This is not a permanent residence. We come here for a few days a week for vacation. The park is only open from about April/May- October. However that does not change my rights as a tenant.
Also perhaps relevant information: I’m legally permitted four plants, and I can drive them or walk around with them, etc. I can only grow four plants total — not four at home and four at the trailer and four at my friend’s house. So by bringing them here temporarily I broke no laws.
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pancakes
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Feb 4, 2015 6:49:53 GMT
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Post by pancakes on Jul 1, 2020 12:28:29 GMT
Get a copy of the contract your mom signed originally when she moved in. Read the fine print. If there’s nothing about plants or rights there, I’d contact a lawyer and just ask. Many of them will do a quick phone consult to explore if it’s even worth pursuing. There are quite a few websites that do something similar and you’ll get answers from a handful of lawyers — they do this to prospect business. My husband used this for a question, talked to a couple over the phone, and is now going ahead with legal action against a business.
It sounds like they were in the wrong unless there was a loophole in the contract.
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ashley
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,400
Jun 17, 2016 12:36:53 GMT
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Post by ashley on Jul 1, 2020 12:31:21 GMT
I am waiting to see the contract.
Even if there is a rule about no plants permitted he was not allowed to take them, he was not allowed to “enter” my property (which includes the land outside) without 24 hrs written notice. And he was not allowed to destroy them.
I’ve never once found a lawyer that gives a free consult.
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twinsmomfla99
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Jun 26, 2014 13:42:47 GMT
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Post by twinsmomfla99 on Jul 1, 2020 13:02:04 GMT
Most lawyers will give a free consult in order to determine whether they want to take the case. In other words, they will talk to you without payment up front, and if you decide to pursue the case and they agree to take it, you then sign a contract. That initial meeting will generally include a very brief "yes, these are the things I could possibly do for you, and this is how much it would cost," or "no, you probably don't have a case, this is how much it would cost if you tried to pursue it, and I will not represent you because it isn't worth pursuing." Sometimes it ends with "I'm sorry I can't represent you because I have a conflict of interest."
As for the eviction, it is true that the landlord may not have a reason to evict, but every lease I have ever seen gives the landlord the right to not renew the lease. Is this a month-to-month or an annual lease? If it is month to month, the landlord has to give you one month's notice that your lease is being terminated. After that month is up, if you do not move out, the landlord then has grounds to start an eviction proceeding.
The cost of relocating absolutely needs to be factored into any decision to pursue a legal claim against the landlord. Can your mother afford to move it? Would your family be willing to sell it to someone else? If your mother cannot afford to move it, can you?
Is there even a location you can move it to? Trailer parks have been disappearing across the country, especially in areas of high growth, because developers want the land for other uses.
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ashley
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,400
Jun 17, 2016 12:36:53 GMT
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Post by ashley on Jul 1, 2020 13:07:21 GMT
I have called lawyers and all want $300-400 for a consult. This includes when I was first seaparated, when I got fired from my job recently, and now for this. I have no idea where you all are finding free consults but they simply do not exist here.
It’s an annual lease.
I cannot afford to have it moved and my mom would not pay for it. She was going to sell it this year anyway since she’s never once used it.
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Post by gar on Jul 1, 2020 13:09:44 GMT
Is there any chance of talking to him again when both of you are calmer? Can you ask why he did what he did? Did he realise their value? Was it because of what they were?
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freebird
Drama Llama
'cause I'm free as a bird now
Posts: 6,927
Jun 25, 2014 20:06:48 GMT
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Post by freebird on Jul 1, 2020 13:12:14 GMT
There are lawyer services online that you can pay for advice that's cheaper than talking to one in person. I did it years ago. I Probably would talk to the rental board and also talk to a lawyer. The value of the plants make it a felony theft. I probably would also talk to an officer on duty.
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ashley
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,400
Jun 17, 2016 12:36:53 GMT
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Post by ashley on Jul 1, 2020 13:12:32 GMT
He destroyed them because he hated cannabis. End of story. He repeatedly referred to me as “YOU PEOPLE”. When I said he didn’t have the right to destroy them — only to ask me to remove them from the park — he said that he had to destroy them because he wanted to and that if he didn’t he knew that “YOU PEOPLE all lie” and that I’d just come back and have plants hidden all over the park. This was purely personally vitriolic on his part and he feels that as a sad little trailer park manager he has some sort of power he can lorde over me.
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ashley
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,400
Jun 17, 2016 12:36:53 GMT
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Post by ashley on Jul 1, 2020 13:16:32 GMT
I’m going to talk to my mom. Obtain the rules / lease that she has. I’m considering filing a police report. And likely will at a minimum write a careful letter to the owner referencing the LT Act and how the manager acted unlawfully and outside of his rights, and request to be compensated for my plants. Depending on what my mom allows or decides to do I will report him to the Landlord Tenant Board. I have a year to file a complaint so I can take some time and think about this.
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Post by gar on Jul 1, 2020 13:20:05 GMT
I assume he doesn't know what you do
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twinsmomfla99
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Posts: 3,974
Jun 26, 2014 13:42:47 GMT
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Post by twinsmomfla99 on Jul 1, 2020 13:24:43 GMT
I have called lawyers and all want $300-400 for a consult. This includes when I was first seaparated, when I got fired from my job recently, and now for this. I have no idea where you all are finding free consults but they simply do not exist here. It’s an annual lease. I cannot afford to have it moved and my mom would not pay for it. She was going to sell it this year anyway since she’s never once used it. Since you want to get rid of it anyway, then you probably have nothing to lose by pursuing this. However, since you have a year to file the complaint, I would consider getting it sold now. If he gives you notice that he is not renewing the lease, that could affect the sale if the buyer thinks s/he will have to move it. He sounds pretty vindictive, and he may try to get back at you by making it hard to sell.
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ashley
Pearl Clutcher
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Jun 17, 2016 12:36:53 GMT
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Post by ashley on Jul 1, 2020 13:25:17 GMT
I assume he doesn't know what you do No, and when I told them they looked disgusted and said “then you have no excuse complaining because you should know this is a private park and we can do whatever we want” which is completely untrue. They just kept repeating “private park! We can do what we want!” My cannabis plants are no different than any other item they can ban. They can say “no big screen TVs allowed” but that doesn’t give them to the ability to enter my property without notice and smash my tv.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 24, 2024 7:29:22 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2020 13:25:27 GMT
It turns out the manager saw them, took them, ripped them up, put them in the bottom of a dumpster and forbade me to retrieve them. The dumpster was full and when I tried to get them back he threw bags of garbage on me and threatened to close the dumpster lid on me (I was standing outside leaning in and he was closing the lid over my head). He also threatened to evict us if he saw me near the garbage can again and called my mom and said he would evict us. At the very least you need to speak to the police about this, he assaulted you and threatened you. I'm sorry this happened, he sounds like a dick.
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Post by allison1954 on Jul 1, 2020 13:26:38 GMT
You still have not said if YOU signed a lease.
If not , what makes you believe YOU have tenant rights? It sounds as if this if your mother’s trailer and lease.
That may mean you don’t have a legal right to see the lease etc. Know that rules can be made after the signing a lease is done that are also binding upon notice.
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Post by librarylady on Jul 1, 2020 13:27:14 GMT
Are you in US or Canada?
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Post by gar on Jul 1, 2020 13:29:50 GMT
I assume he doesn't know what you do No, and when I told them they looked disgusted and said “then you have no excuse complaining because you should know this is a private park and we can do whatever we want” which is completely untrue. They just kept repeating “private park! We can do what we want!” My cannabis plants are no different than any other item they can ban. They can say “no big screen TVs allowed” but that doesn’t give them to the ability to enter my property without notice and smash my tv. Absolutely agree. I thought it might differentiate you from 'those people' (by which I assume he means cannabis users) in his mind a little but obviously not. They are so busy being righteous they have ignored all the laws and common sense. I would definitely be following up in one way or another!
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Post by mariemily on Jul 1, 2020 13:29:55 GMT
That sucks. I think you are right in saying he has something against drugs, even though cannabis is now legal in Canada. His behavior says that much. Is it possible that he wasn't aware that this was legal (not cannabis, but owning plants?) and panicked? That said, even if it's the case, there is absolutely no good reason to destroy someone's property. He could have just moved the plants elsewhere on the property so that they weren't in plain sight anymore until he contacted your mom.
At first, I didn't realize he was the manager and not the owner. I think contacting the owner is the way to go. The manager was extremely rude and threatening and that is unacceptable.
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ashley
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,400
Jun 17, 2016 12:36:53 GMT
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Post by ashley on Jul 1, 2020 13:30:44 GMT
You still have not said if YOU signed a lease. If not , what makes you believe YOU have tenant rights? It sounds as if this if your mother’s trailer and lease. That may mean you don’t have a legal right to see the lease etc. Know that rules can be made after the signing a lease is done that are also binding upon notice. I didnot sign a lease but I don’t think that matters — if anything it just means I’m subletting from my mom and I still have rights. My mom informed the owner / office that my family and I are the ones using the trailer, so they are aware of the situation. If they changed the rules or added any they were required to notify us in writing and there has been no notification.
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ashley
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,400
Jun 17, 2016 12:36:53 GMT
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Post by ashley on Jul 1, 2020 13:31:05 GMT
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ashley
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,400
Jun 17, 2016 12:36:53 GMT
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Post by ashley on Jul 1, 2020 13:33:33 GMT
That sucks. I think you are right in saying he has something against drugs, even though cannabis is now legal in Canada. His behavior says that much. Is it possible that he wasn't aware that this was legal (not cannabis, but owning plants?) and panicked? That said, even if it's the case, there is absolutely no good reason to destroy someone's property. He could have just moved the plants elsewhere on the property so that they weren't in plain sight anymore until he contacted your mom. At first, I didn't realize he was the manager and not the owner. I think contacting the owner is the way to go. The manager was extremely rude and threatening and that is unacceptable. I did initially contact the owner (he lives here, I went to his house) and he didn’t even tell me that my plants weren’t allowed! I haven’t spoken to him since learning about the manager’s actions and assault. My mom requested I not do anything further and until I did research did not know how widely the manager had violated my rights.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 24, 2024 7:29:22 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2020 13:37:49 GMT
Is your mom allowed to sublease the trailer? Are you on the lease? If not, your mom is the tenant, not you and you may not be covered under the LT act.
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JustTricia
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Posts: 2,825
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Jul 2, 2014 17:12:39 GMT
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Post by JustTricia on Jul 1, 2020 13:38:25 GMT
You still have not said if YOU signed a lease. If not , what makes you believe YOU have tenant rights? It sounds as if this if your mother’s trailer and lease. That may mean you don’t have a legal right to see the lease etc. Know that rules can be made after the signing a lease is done that are also binding upon notice. I didnot sign a lease but I don’t think that matters — if anything it just means I’m subletting from my mom and I still have rights. If they changed the rules or added any they were required to notify us in writing and there has been no notification. Check the lease to see what it says about subletters or visitors to the property. It may say subletting isn’t allowed (and even if it is allowed you may have to prove you are subletting which I’m assuming you aren’t paying your mom anything and couldn’t prove it). It may also say visitors only allowed when the person paying the lease is also onsite. You may be opening your mom up to being let go as a tenant anyway. He may claim he was protecting your mom’s property as the tenant was not on the premises and someone else was placing things on her property. I think you should file a report that your property was stolen, but just know you may be opening your mom up to a bunch of legal issues depending on how the lease is written.
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scrappinghappy
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Jun 26, 2014 19:30:06 GMT
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Post by scrappinghappy on Jul 1, 2020 13:38:59 GMT
At that value, I would think you have to report the theft to the police and while you’re doing it add the bullying details.
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Dalai Mama
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Jun 26, 2014 0:31:31 GMT
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Post by Dalai Mama on Jul 1, 2020 13:39:55 GMT
First, write a complaint to the landlord/owner of the park. Keep a copy. Then call the Rental Housing Enforcement Unit at 1(888) 772-9277. I say write the landlord first because the unit suggests that as your first step.
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Post by gar on Jul 1, 2020 13:40:23 GMT
Can you ease your Mum's fears about being evicted? That surely couldn't just happen under the circumstances you've described...there would have to be 'a process'.
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ashley
Pearl Clutcher
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Jun 17, 2016 12:36:53 GMT
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Post by ashley on Jul 1, 2020 13:41:18 GMT
I will check the lease details when my mom finds her copy. The park is aware of our arrangement. They know my girls are I are the ones who use the trailer and stay here.
I actually DO pay my mom to use the trailer — I paid the annual rental fees and for lawn maintenance and septic tank maintenance.
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Post by Basket1lady on Jul 1, 2020 13:41:40 GMT
In the US, you would need to prove that he did not give notice. You would also need prove that he removed the plants and physically withheld you from retrieving them. If you can get him to admit this in writing or have witnesses willing to testify, you may have a case.
About 10 years ago, our basement flooded. We were renting (we had only lived there 10 days!) and the home owners hired a water abatement company to come in and dry out the basement. Because the home owners were in another state, I let the abatement company in the house and signed the initial paperwork agreeing to the work. The home owners refused to pay the abatement company, saying that they charged thousands more than the agreed upon price. The abatement company then came after us for the money.
Luckily, I had a long string of documented phone calls and emails between myself, the owners, and the abatement company. I also had the paperwork that I signed stating that we were the tenants and to contact the homeowners for all decisions. It took almost 2 years to resolve this and in the end we had to get a lawyer to represent us. It took a letter from a lawyer vs us to finally have the abatement company drop the suit towards us and to agree on a price with the home owners.
It was a mess, terribly stressful, and incredibly time consuming. Consider that before you pursue this. We had to pay for the lawyer out of our own pocket and did not recoup that money. Luckily it was only $200. A lawsuit like yours sounds more expensive, but I suspect you are unlikely to get a trailer park manager to hand over $4,000-8,000 without legal action.
You may be in the right, but I suspect for your own mental health you will just need to let this go. In the future, if he physically restrains you, call the police then and there and make sure you have witnesses. Also realize he will likely not renew the lease.
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