Can my landlord really evict me if I don’t have my rent receipt butI do have back-up documentation which proves that rent was in fact paid?
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Can my landlord really evict me if I don’t have my rent receipt butI do have back-up documentation which proves that rent was in fact paid?
2 months ago I paid my apartment complex with a money order of $300 on the first; I also signed a promise to pay (a promise to pay is a written contract where you pay half your rent on the 1st and the rest by the 15th and accept late fees). I paid the rest on the 15th. Now, on the 5th of this month I got a notice stating that I have 5 days to pay or quit. They stated that they never received my original $300. I do not have the receipt for the money order but I have the signed copy of the promise to pay which shows the initial $300 payment. Can they still file for eviction since I can’t provide the receipt. Will I loose in court?
Asked on August 11, 2011 Arizona
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
If you have paid the rent and can prove that, you can't be evicted for nonpayment. The issue becomes, can you prove payment? The promise to pay may or may not function as a receipt or acknowledge of payment--it depends on what it says. For example, if it says that you have paid $300 or $300 was received or something like that--and it's signed by the landlord or the landlord's agent--that would very likely prove payment. On the other hand, if it's not signed by the landlord or his agent, only by you, it does will *not* be a receipt (e.g. it could simply be something you made up later, or something you proposed to landlord but he did not accept). So the issue may hinge on precisely what the promise says and who signed it.
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