Grieving Before an Eviction

[Tinnley gave VTU permission to write this piece on behalf of her]

If you thought landlords were above evicting people after they’ve died, think again.

Tin (21y) is a dear friend and community member and on January 30th, 2024, her dad entered eternal rest.  And on Feb 13th, Prados West evicted her—well, technically, her dad. Tin was his dependent and a minor when the lease was signed and so although she was not on the lease, they had lived there together for 15 years. He never missed a payment. Prados West is in a predominantly low-income area and houses a lot of veterans, which Tin’s dad was. The place is like any other corporate-run neglected complex: fridge broken, sink coming off the wall, and roaches everywhere. They just couldn’t afford to move anywhere else.

On Feb 9th, Nicole from property management said they would go through an eviction process because February’s rent was not paid and that Tin could present a death certificate. She tried to make Tin sign a Release of Property document and said nothing about filing the home as abandonment. However, later that night, they changed course, filed a Notice of Abandonment, and said they were going to change the locks the following Monday, even though Tin was still living there and had yet to have a second to grieve or move her dad’s belongings. This was very traumatic for her. On Monday they didn't come, but then on Tuesday they knocked around 1pm and didn’t know she was still living there, but then they changed the locks at 5pm. She tried to stand her ground, but management threatened to call the cops so she left. They also told Tin that she could return for her stuff but it would cost a compounded fee and she'd have to sign a Release of Property document.

That night, Tin talked to Victor, a lawyer with the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), and per his advice, she returned the next day with a friend and member of VTU to present a letter stating that what Prados did was illegal. She took a picture of the changed locks with a newspaper to show the address and time of lock-out. Victor also sent a letter demanding that she has 3 more days to be able to return and collect her things without owing any fees. 

In the end, legal pressure helped push the property’s lawyer to convince Prados that Tin could retrieve her things without owing fees. However, Tin wants to highlight the language that this property’s lawyer (landlord-lackey attorneys from Cullimore & Coleman PLC) used about her. He claimed she was an “unauthorized occupant” and that she “lied to [his] client or to [my lawyer]”. They continued to push a narrative that Tin was breaking laws and forging stories, neglecting to confront the fact that 1) Tin was a minor when she moved here with her dad, 2) She was unable to retrieve a lease she personally didn’t sign, and the one who would have been able to access it had died, and 3) She was in the midst of grieving her father. This eviction, in the form of a Notice of Abandonment, demonstrated how landlordism will always prioritize property over people, and thus, must be abolished.

Reflections: Eviction = Death 

Tin was able to take some months to reflect on this extremely traumatic and difficult time for her. She never wants anyone else to experience what she went through and thus, here are some reflections she has gathered:

1. Power in numbers: Bring people with you when discussing with property managers, and do not speak to them alone. Having people with Tin at almost all times of this eviction allowed her to make rational decisions instead of just signing anything that was given to her. Additionally, it was harder for the property manager to intimidate her as her friends were there documenting everything. If you are by yourself, they will find it easier to take advantage of you.

2. Know your rights: Use their own intimidation tactics against them.

3. Document everything: Keep communication to email. If communication is exchanged verbally, record all interactions with property management/

landlords as they will try to twist their words. Take pictures and make copies of every single notice they give you. Start a google doc or journal to log every single conversation you have with them, with date and time stamps.

a. Again, have people with you during all interactions if possible. This will not only intimidate the property management/ landlords but also the other person will be there to confirm what you/the property manager says.

4. Legal assistance: Reaching out for legal assistance did push my demands forward.  However, she wants to clarify that it was Victor from the National Lawyers’ Guild (NLG), and a friend of VTU, who helped by standing his ground, intimidating the landlords with a demand letter, and advising her to buy a newspaper with today’s date to take pictures with the changed lock. This helped add to the evidence that they illegally changed the locks. She had reached out to Community Legal Services (CLS), but they didn’t get back until a week later when everything was sorted and moved out. The differences in nonprofit law groups like CLS (underfunded, understaffed, dependent on the state) and NLG (grassroots, activist- oriented groups) were blatant.

a. Check your last name on Maricopa County’s Justice Court Cases (https://justicecourts.maricopa.gov/app/courtrecords/casesearch) site since sometimes landlords will file a case against you without the proper notice. If you have a case against you, you can potentially go to the trials of the judge that is assigned to you so you are more prepared for your own trial.

5. DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING: Only sign if your legal advisor has approved the document and you have someone else present with you.

6. Do not agree to pay for any storage fees.

7. Review your lease.

Here is what she would have done differently:

● Stood her ground when they threatened to call the police. When she let them change the locks and lock her out, it was significantly harder to get access to the apartment. Would have stayed if had more support in numbers.

● Recorded all her interactions with the property manager as she tried to accuse her of lying.

● She wishes she did not give them a death certificate. If she didn’t, since she was not on the lease,  she would have more time to move out everything since the eviction process would be faulted to her dad (the deceased) which would have taken at least a month. Giving them the death certificate was a loophole for them to speed up the eviction process by classifying it as abandonment.

● If they threaten to change the locks, take pictures of everything in your apartment and estimate the value of everything. Preferably, do this with a newspaper with the day's date. This way, if they do not allow you back in, you will be able to estimate the value you can sue for.

Larger Reflection from VTU - Looking at the Horizon of Tenant Liberation

The eviction that Tin faced was not an isolated occurrence of cruelty at the hands of landlords. We know that landlords are legitimized through the capitalist settler colonial state, the police, the courts, and the pernicious fiction of “private property.” While legal and union support aided Tin in the process of retrieving their belongings and avoiding fees, it is important to note that we cannot and should not rely on legal protections alone. At best, they are tenuous, at worst, they set the terms of our ongoing dispossession. 

Landlordism is innately parasitic. It is thus unsurprising that even in death landlords strip tenants and their beloveds of dignity, leeching profit from the fragments of homes and lives. In the face of this, we must be clear and committed to nothing less than a world without rent, without landlordism, without private property.