Can a landlord place an eviction on your record if he never ran a credit report and never obtained your ssn?

Question

I recently moved out of my residence due to a faulty and potentially dangerous water heater problem that my landlord refused to fix. The gas company would not turn on gas service due to leakage and the heater unit being unstable. When the notices were givin to my landlord he said it was not his problem. Due to safety, I notified the Dept of health who then in turn told him he was responsible. He continued to stall which forced me to move. Now he is falsely accusing me of damaging the water heater on purpose and threatening to ruin my credit report.

How can he file an eviciton if I vacated the premises prior to my last month rent being due and notified him of my intention to vacate? I also did not fill out an application and therefore he does not have my social security number.

Should I fight this with him or let it go?

Answer 1

He can file a small claims suit against you for damages, he does not need your social to file, you will need to fight it for if he wins the civil suit then the landlord can subpoena you to get your social number and bank accounts

Answer 2

He can file the eviction alright and the Superior Court will record it on your credit report, he does not have to do it personally.

You will owe him a months rent, that is a given, but a judge will decide about the hot water heater.

Answer 3

let it go as you have some paper work I assume that says he is responsible and the repairs are requested --so if it ever pops up then dispute it but hang onto your records

Answer 4

He has to file the eviction even if you are no longer living there.  The judge will give him the right to re-rent the property. That is his worry.....  That he re-rents it and you show up saying you still want the place  (we know you don't want it).  He can report you to a credit bureau but they prefer if he has a SSN. You have the right to explain to the credit people why the landlord is wrong.  You do that in writing.

Answer 5

You need a lawyer because yes, he can ruin your credit rating.  A lawyer trained in tenancy matters can help straighten this out so you don't have an eviction on your record or a damaged credit rating.  And you "may" be able to take the landlord to court (if you have concrete evidence showing that the water heater was the landlord's responsibility) to sue for the cost of the lawyer.  Good luck!