How Much Can I Sue a Landlord for Wrongful Eviction?

A landlord can evict a tenant for a variety of reasons. However, not all of these reasons are considered legal and may result in a wrongful eviction lawsuit. In that case, you may wonder, how much can I sue a landlord for wrongful eviction?

There are legal reasons to be evicted (failure to pay rent or violation of the lease) but illegal ones as well (retaliation or discrimination, etc.) and they cover a number of areas protecting the tenant. If you feel you were evicted illegally, you should think about suing your landlord. But consider your decision carefully, because it may still not be right for you because it can take a toll on your private life. If you decide to go ahead, there is a chance you will win your case and be compensated handsomely, as some recent cases demonstrate.

Let’s discuss how you might go ahead with a lawsuit and discuss the possible outcomes of a suit in your favor.

How to Sue a Landlord

In California, landlords must follow specific rules and procedures when evicting a tenant.

If you are served with a notice or summons with an Unlawful Detainer complaint, you have five days to file a response with the court. You need to file your response in the right form or your case might not be heard.

You can use illegal eviction as a defense or counter-suit to the eviction lawsuit being considered by your landlord. You can also sue for illegal eviction on your own in civil court or small claims court by filing a complaint that states exactly what your landlord did that was illegal, and how it caused you damage.

Related: 10 Reasons to Sue Your Landlord for Negligence

What Kind of Damages Will a Court Acknowledge?

There are several areas where a court may award you for damages. For example, if you had to find temporary shelter like a motel room to stay in, you may be compensated for the rent. These are considered out of pocket “actual damages.”

Other actual damages include compensation for damage to your property caused by the eviction. This can include damaged or stolen property if left outside or spoiled food if the electricity was turned off.

You can be compensated for any physical harm if your landlord used any violence against you. It’s a good idea to keep all medical records should this happen to you.

You might also be awarded financial compensation as punitive damages against your landlord and this can be very significant. In California, punitive damages can be up to $100 per day of violation and at least $250 per separate violation.

One of the main damages in a wrongful eviction lawsuit is the rent differential. Another is emotional distress. In wrongful eviction cases under local rent ordinances, your out of pocket (actual) damages are tripled, and in those cases where your landlord behaved egregiously, emotional distress damages may also be tripled. Typically, the longer the length of your old tenancy, the more your emotional distress is valued.

Rent differential is calculated in one of two ways. The first is to subtract what you were paying in your old home from what you are now paying. The second is to subtract what you were paying from the fair market value of your old home and multiplied by the length of time you would have likely stayed if you weren’t evicted.

Rent-Control Damages Can Be Significant

Rent-control awards can be very significant. Many law firms measure damages by hiring an expert to do a rental appraisal for your unit at the time you vacated and compare it with market conditions.

For example, if you were living in a three-bedroom apartment in San Francisco for 10 years and you might have been paying $2,000 a month. But your unit might go for $6,000 a month at the time you are forced to vacate. Your lost value is calculated as $6,000 minus $2,000, which is $4,000. That amount is multiplied by however long you would have lived there had you not been illegally evicted. In cases like these, juries have been known to award 10 years of that differential in damages. That monthly rent differential of $4,000 multiplied by 10 years means a potentially large payoff for you.

Here is a case in point. In October of last year, there was a story on a CBS station in San Francisco describing a case of harassment and wrongful eviction. A California couple had lived in their apartment for 20 years when the property was purchased by a new landlord. The landlord had a company with a business plan to acquire the property. The couple claimed that the company began a pattern of harassment and intimidation while decreasing the level of services offered, and their actions were targeting all of the rent-control, long-term tenants.

After a two-and-a-half-year-long battle with their landlord, the couple took the company to court. And after a four-and-a-half-week trial, the couple was awarded a record $3,528,000 verdict for harassment and wrongful eviction.

The Cost of Suing

The California couple won their case, but not without stress. They said they would have rather kept their home than won the award. This is not atypical. Many people wrongfully evicted have to give up a certain amount of privacy when they file a lawsuit, and they have to relive the bad experiences that led to the suit. The attorney for the landlord can take your deposition and can ask you questions about any emotional distress you may have claimed. This could include looking into your medical or psychiatric history.

A wrongful eviction lawsuit can also be very expensive if you lose. Many landlord/tenant agreements contain a clause that states if the parties go to court over the tenancy, the loser must pay the winner’s fees. So, you could face a huge bill for attorney fees if you lose.

If you are evicted but get another, better, less-expensive apartment right away, you may not want to consider a landlord suit. You might not be able to establish the kind of damages that would make expensive litigation worthwhile.

So, before you file a lawsuit for wrongful eviction, you may want to ask yourself if the law can really compensate you for the harm you suffered. Can you cope with the experience of litigation and the loss of privacy?

Suing May Still Be to Your Advantage

If you can face the challenge of court procedures, then go ahead and notify your landlord that you intend to sue for wrongful eviction. If you were a victim of any of the specific violations spelled out by the government, like retaliation, harassment, intimidation, or self-help actions like changing the locks or moving out your belongings, you have a case you might win.