Extended Stay Hotel Illegal Eviction Lawsuit Lawyer

Extended stay hotels are a big business in California, where guests come to stay from all over the world. Those who are residents may also need long-term stay lodgings due to the housing crisis and shortage of rentals throughout the state. Others need a place to stay while their home is undergoing major renovations after a fire, flood, or some other natural disaster.

No matter why you are renting from an extended stay motel / hotel, there are many conditions on these properties that cause you to be injured. Slip and falls, broken staircase accidents, assault and battery, bed bug infestations, electrical fires – these are just some of the incidents that can be caused by negligence at a hotel. As an injury victim, you have the right to file a claim and seek compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other expenses.

Of course, filing a lawsuit against the owner of the hotel you are staying at is an awkward situation, and it’s understandable that the owner may want you to leave. However, they cannot force you out of the property as an act of retaliation. They also cannot use policies in order to circumvent the eviction laws in California, which is a practice at many hotels in order to avoid the responsibilities associated with a landlord-tenant relationship.

However, it’s clear that renting an extended stay room at a hotel is not the same thing as renting a house of apartment. With that in mind, we understand why people are confused about their rights and legal options if they are evicted from a residential hotel after an accident on the premises. Our lawyers are here to answer your questions and guide you through the legal process, so contact us if you are wondering:

• I am being evicted from my hotel room / motel room / extended stay lodgings after I was injured in the apartment. What are my rights?
• I’m being kicked out of my long-term stay motel room after I filed an injury case. Can I sue?
• Is there a lawyer who can help me if I am being evicted from my extended stay hotel room after I complained of bed bug infestations?

Our Recent Verdicts and Settlements

The 28 Day Shuffle at Residential Hotels

According to California law, a guest is classified as a “tenant” when they stay more than 30 consecutive days in the same hotel or motel. Thus, residential hotel owners effectively become landlords, who owe their tenants a greater degree of care than they would if they were simply hotel guests. This includes the right to written notice of any violations prior to the filing of an eviction. Even once the eviction order from the court is served, the tenant has a right to respond and defend themselves at a court hearing.

There is a clever way that extended stay lodgings owners use to get around the landlord-tenant laws. Essentially, guests are forced to check out and check back in to the same room every 28 days. By forcing them to move out every 28 days, the guest essentially forfeits the protections they would have if they had stayed 30 days and became a tenant of the business owner.

Even if you were not evicted due to a pending lawsuit against the hotel, you may be a victim of the 28 day shuffle, which is illegal in California. Sadly, many tenants go through this aggravating process of moving out their belongings, paying the motel a storage fee, and checking back in month after month, without realizing that they can take legal action against the owner.

As you can see, there are many ways that extended stay hotel owners get away with skirting the law and cheating tenants out of their rights.

Other Examples of Wrongful Evictions under California Law

It’s very common for landlords to force tenants out as a form of retaliation if they file a lawsuit for an accident on the property. Aside from the 28-day shuffle, there are many other methods that owners can use to unlawfully evict a tenant:

• Taking the tenants belongings out of the room / apartment
• Changing the locks while the tenant is out
• Shutting off heat, electricity and other utilities
• Refusing to make repairs or provide other services in order to make the place uninhabitable
• Harassment or intimidation of the tenant, like constant phone calls, threats of bodily harm, sending people to harass them, etc.
• Not allowing the tenant back into the unit after major repairs or damage from a natural disaster (fire, earthquake, etc.)

Case Values for Extended Stay Unlawful Eviction Lawsuits

A wrongful eviction lawsuit in California can be worth anywhere between $20,000 and $1,000,000. But these are estimates, so please be aware that some settlements fall below this range. On the other hand, there are exceptional cases where people who are wrongfully evicted end up with several million dollars in compensation. How much you can receive depends on various factors, including the monetary damages you are entitled to. For example, there are specific fines that landlords have to pay for legal violations, like intentional misconduct for the purpose of illegally evicting a tenant. These fines can range from $100 to $500 per violation for each day that the hotel owner was in violation.

At the end of the day, each case is unique with its own set of issues that will impact the amount that should be paid to the victim. To get a sense of how much your lawsuit is worth, contact our office as soon as possible.

How Much Time Do I have to Sue for a Wrongful Eviction?

As a general rule, the statute of limitations for a wrongful eviction lawsuit in California is 2 years, starting from the day you were evicted. But your case may have circumstances that can lengthen or shorten the amount of time for a lawsuit against an extended hotel owner for unlawful eviction. That’s why you should talk to a lawyer right away, who is familiar with wrongful eviction laws in the state of California. Our legal team is here to help you 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, so contact us if you would like to verify how long you have to file a residential motel illegal eviction lawsuit.

How Long will my Case Take to Settle?

Settling a long-term stay hotel wrongful eviction lawsuit can take anywhere from a few months to over 2 years. Generally, most of our cases are settled within 6 to 12 months, but there are numerous factors that can extend the amount of time to reach a settlement. These include the method of eviction, the total sum of monetary losses you are seeking, and whether the motel’s insurance company is willing to negotiate in good faith. Based on the details of your case, we can give you a better sense of how long it may take to settle your lawsuit, so call us today and schedule a free case review.

Legal Advice from a Wrongful Eviction Attorney

An illegal eviction can have devastating consequences for you and your loved ones, and it’s unacceptable that motel and hotel owners take the law into their own hands. We here at Normandie Law Firm understand the struggle you are going through, and we are prepared to help you obtain justice for the harm you’ve suffered.

It all starts with a free consultation, where you can learn more about your rights as a tenant that was wrongfully forced out of a residential hotel. If you decide to file a lawsuit, we will charge you $0 and wait to receive payment from the business owner at the end of your case. We also provide a Zero Fee Guarantee, so you owe us absolutely nothing if you don’t receive payment from an extended stay hotel wrongful eviction lawsuit.

Our tenants’ rights lawsuit attorneys look forward to speaking with you, so contact our law firm if you can have been asking yourself:

• The extended stay hotel I was staying at evicted me after I filed an accident case. Can I file a lawsuit against the owner?
• What are my legal options if I got evicted from a long-term stay motel after I was bitten by bed bugs?