Two Atlanta siblings have won a lawsuit against their former landlord, who destroyed their credit.
The two-year nightmare is over for Carol and Caleb Blankemeyer. It all began when their Sandy Springs two-bedroom flat flooded with water from the above unit. The landlord, Trinity Property Consultants, refused to move them to a different apartment or assist with hotel fees after extensive water damage left the home uninhabitable. The brother and sister documented the deterioration, which included a completely non-operating kitchen. They sent a certified letter to the landlord and left their home, a process known as constructive eviction.
Georgia law states that a constructive eviction may occur when a landlord breaches the lease by failing to provide repairs and liveable conditions. Under this rule, the tenant does not have to pay rent.
“They did everything they were supposed to do. The legal term is constructive eviction, and so that’s exactly what happened,” consumer attorney Cyclone Covey said, according to Yahoo.
Instead of accepting responsibility for failing to provide a safe apartment, Trinity Property Consultants charged the siblings fees for breaking the lease, which ultimately landed on their credit reports as strikes against them. Caleb was denied a loan due to the balance on his credit report. Carol also saw a dramatic decrease in her credit score. That is when they decided to file a lawsuit against the landlord.
Eventually, Trinity chose to settle but did not follow through with having the negative marks removed from Carol and Caleb’s credit reports. In August, a judge ruled that Trinity was in contempt of court and fined them $2,000 a day for every day that the balance remained on the sibling’s credit score, totaling over $52,000.
Trinity ultimately paid the attorney fees and moving costs and had Blankemeyer’s credit scores repaired.
