Can I file an injunction to stop an unlawful eviction?
I live as a tenant in another person's home. I recently signed my second 6-month lease which expires in July 2012. The landlord decided after we both signed the lease that the rent amount should be increased and utilities should be 50/50. I refused to sign a new lease. The landlord then brought over a friend to be a witness and told me in the presence of the witness that 2/29/12 would be my last day in the residence, and that notice was given to vacate.
The mailbox keys were taken this week and I was told I will be leaving the residence on 2/29/12 as previously stated. I have NEVER been late on rent payments and haven't violated the agreement. Can I file an injunction to STOP an unlawful eviction to keep the landlord from changing the locks? I work at home and have equipment there.
Subject to reading the terms of the lease, the technical answer is yes you could seek an injunction.
As to a practical answer, the facts you have stated indicate living under the same roof with the landord may be too much to allow you to have quiet enjoyment of your premises, and may want to consider declaring a contructive eviction and breach of the lease and moving out.
Before doing this you should discuss this approach with an attorney, since as a legal matter, the landlord must file an eviction proceeding against you in Justice Court in which you will have the opportunity to present your lease and seek a judgment that you are entitled to stay until the end of the lease term.
If you file a lawsuit against the landlord for breach of the lease terms there may be statutory damages available as well as loss of the benefit of the bargain if you have to pay a higher rent during the remaining term of the lease.
Good luck. Note: This response is: a) limited in scope to questions involving Texas law for a Texas resident; b) is intended only as a general information discussion of an issue raised in the question presented; c) does not constitute legal advice as all relevant facts are not known nor analyzed; and d) does not create an attorney-client relationship.
It is illegal for a landlord to force you to move out without going through the court process. A landlord should give you written notice before changing the locks or filing an eviction petition with the court. Also, the landlord does not have the right to change the locks if you are not behind on the rent. You may be entitled to statutory damages of $1,000 plus two month's rent or more if the landlord changes the locks, especially if the landlord does not immediately give you a key to the new lock upon request. If you are locked out and the landlord will not give you a key, you have the right to go to the justice of the peace for your precinct and obtain a court order (perhaps as quickly as the same day) forcing the landlord to give you a key to the new lock.
To answer your question, you can file an injunction in county or district court if you believe the landlord is going to circumvent the legal process. Before filing an injunction, however (which can be an expensive process), getting a local attorney to call or write the landlord may be enough to convince the landlord to leave you alone.
DISCLAIMER: This is not specific legal advice and does not establish an attorney/client relationship.
From what you have written, it sounds like you have a valid lease and that your landlord does not have grounds to evict you. In order to evict you, the landlord must go through a very specific judicial process--merely stating that s/he wants you to move out is not sufficient. Until that happens, you do not have to move out and there is no need for you to seek an injunction. In fact, the landlord's actions may actually be opening him/her up to liability. You should contact a local landlord-tenant attorney immediately to discuss your options. The attorney will be better able to make your landlord see the light. With all that said, as a practical matter, to avoid having to live with this person who can (legally or not) make your life difficult, you may want to start looking for another place to live and come to an agreement that you will move out at an earlier date. That's a personal decision, obviously.
