Continue to pay the rent into court. If you cannot pay all or some of the rent in the order, take all of these these actions:
If your landlord agrees, get that in writing. An email from your landlord is ok. And,
- Contact your landlord to see if they will agree to:
- modify the rent escrow order so you can afford the payments, or
- agree to not request a Writ of Possession if you miss a rent escrow payment. (A Writ of Possession is an order served by a sheriff to get you to move out within a certain number of days.)
If your landlord agrees, get that in writing. An email from your landlord is ok. And,
- Ask the court to reduce the amount you are ordered to pay into court so you can afford the payments.
- Attach a copy of your landlord’s agreement if they have agreed to a smaller amount.
- If the landlord has not agreed to reduced or no rent, tell the court about your situation: how many are in your household, what money is coming into the household, your rent and expenses, and how much you can pay in rent right now, if anything
- Send a copy to the court and to the attorney of the landlord (or the landlord if there is no attorney). Keep a copy. And,
- Keep paying whatever rent you can until you get a new order from the court.
Keep in mind: There’s no guarantee that a judge will change the rent escrow order.
Take these actions, because if you haven’t paid the rent into court you were ordered to pay, the court could issue a Writ of Possession for non-payment of your rent-into-court order.
Contact us if you have questions, or if you get a Writ of Possession.
