Landlord Liability for Illegal Evictions
A tenant who is evicted illegally, in violation of a state statute or local rent control ordinance, may be able to sue the landlord for the damages suffered as a result. And a tenant who is forced to give up a dog because of an illegal eviction may be able to recover money specifically for that loss. A landlord in Hayward, California, agreed to pay a ten-year-old boy $5,000 for the emotional distress the boy suffered when he had to give up his dog. The landlord had evicted the boy's family from their apartment in violation of the city's rent control ordinance, and the dog was not allowed in their new apartment.32
