My landlord is suing me for almost $7000 in back rent. My lease states my rent is $600 per month but my land lord and l had a verbal agreement that she would let me slide on part of the rent each month if l did not make her repair anything unless it was a major repair. I've lived there for over 2 years and never asked for any repairs except 2 things that l could not do. We never agreed on a set amount she would deduct, but I've been paying around $400 per month and she is never complained until recently. She said she wanted me to START paying the full amount of rent and when l couldn't, she evicted me. Now she is suing for thousands of dollars in back rent for the amount that she let me slide on for all these years. l have nothing in writing other than my rent receipts that show I've established a pattern of only paying around $400 per month. She did not require me to provide receipts of any repairs. She just said do not bother her with them. There are lots of things in disrepair now. Actually, this house should probably be condemed. The electricity blinks on and off and you can hear surges in the outlets. Mold is growing rampid in the bathroom due to a leak, among other things. l understood the discount as being compensation for repairs l could do and being inconvienced with the things left unrepaired which l had to deal with.
Once she filed the eviction, she sent me an email saying that once l got on my feet financially, that she would expect the back rent but did not specify how much. Even on my rent reciepts, in the section that says balance foward, she never put anything or said l owed her anything else. She was completely happy with me giving her what l was giving her until she had to make the first repair on the house which was a major repair l could not do. The all of a sudden, she is not happy anymore and asks for more money.
So what proof would help me in this case when l go to court?
I've taken pictures of the things that are wrong with the house. What else should l bring?
Well, l did go see my building and zoning commissioner and he said that l had to hire a private inspecter to inspect the house, which l cannot afford. l know she is in violation of so many codes.
But now, I am wondering if she planned this all along. Have me live here, make no repairs, say she is deducting the rent to only go and sue and hope to win the intire amount of rent anyways after not having to keep up the house for the past 2 years. l just hope the judge can see my point.

l would consult & attorney for this matter. l am thinking, '' implied contract & ''statute of limitations''. And another thing, l would try to avoid court & try to get a mediation & remove an eviction or unlawful detainer suit. Because even if u win this case in court it will be public information & then it will be visible for all future landlord to see, & it will only show as a unlawful detainer, not that u actually won. And no one will rent to u until it is off that report.

Peace bro

Bring all the receipts that show she is been accepting $400/month in rent, along w/your pictures of the condition of the apartment/house.

Hopefully the judge will see thru her & her attempts to now collect the rent. Unfortunately, because u did not get in writing that she agreed to the new terms, it will really be up to the judge. You do have a solid case though. Every month that she accepted the $400 & did not write that u had an outstanding balance, is what is riding on ur case.
The help of a lawyer could nail the case, l am guessing/betting she does not have any representation.
Good luck.

All u need to do is have a city building inspector come to ur apt. free of charge & write up all of the items that r hazards. He will then send a letter of complaint to ur landlord & he has a certain amt of days to have it fixed or else u can counter-sue.

If u do not have a lease in writing, there is nothing the landlord can do to get u to pay rent or back-rent

You have a right to counter-sue or bring ur landlord to court first with the proof that there is mold or electrical issues in the apt that r a health hazard.

Also, the landlord has no right to rent out the apt without maintaining the apt. so, therefore, u do not owe him backrent if it is as bad as u say it is! He is in violation of the law for keeping bad conditions for his tenant(s).

Call the county courthouse to find out what phone number u need to get a hold of the city building inspector immediately; & l would advise u not to tell ur landlord so that it comes as a complete surprise to him when he receives the letter of complaint in the mail.

Also, there is an implied contract, even though it is not in writing, u verbally agreed to the $400 (which is what u have proof of paying), in which the Landlord cannot sue u for backpayment on the rent because of the ''pattern'' of payments u paid over a 6 month time frame. So, either way, u DO NOT owe back payment to the landlord even if it turns out that the agreement was that he would not ''maintain'' it as well as if u were paying the full $600. The landlord is LEGALLY liable for maintaining the apt.

l think the rent receipts r pretty good documentation of ur side of the story. You r right, it establishes a pattern & shows that she was accepting lesser payments for quite a long time. l can not think how she would explain that one away. She could say that ur ''implied contract'' (which neither of u has any proof of) was reduced rent until she had to repair something, at which point it became void & she would be entitled to full rent including back rent. But that sort of agreement really sounds illegal to me & unenforceable. Also, if the lease u signed states that she would be responsible for making all needed repairs, but then she told u verbally that she wouldn't, then she was not standing by her own lease from the beginning. Again, that is a breach & the agreement is not enforceable.

You sound like u r on the right track. Stay on topic, avoid irrelevant information, bring all the documentation u can. Anticipate what questions a skeptical or hostile judge would have, & come up with for them. Tell the truth, keep ur story consistent, do not fudge details even if u think it puts u in a bad light. If the judge thinks you're lying or hiding something then they will be less likely to believe any part of ur story.