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An exhibit in court showing the trash strewn around the garage.
What’s the cost of a trashed garage?
That question was debated in a housing court, as part of a case in which a Westville landlord sued a tenant for tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent, plus damages related to the condition the tenant allegedly left the apartment in when she left.
Debora Raymond, owner of a Hemlock Road property and represented by attorney Thomas Daly, sued Alicia Norris in late August. The landlord alleged that Norris failed to make rental payments from February through August, and that she owes more than $15,000 in back rent.
Raymond has moved out. But the financial dispute remains.
During a court hearing this past Thursday, Raymond added that her home has suffered $40,000 in damages thanks to her tenant.
The virtual housing court hearing.
“It looked like a scene from hoarders, to be honest with you,” Norris said of entering the home after Norris had left. She claimed there was trash all over the garage, cracked windows, and a broken furnace.
Representing herself in the case Norris told the court that, when she first moved into the home, she was a single mother to two children and was working two separate jobs — in an administrative role at Hamden Public Schools and, at night, at the Olive Garden restaurant.
With the two jobs, she was able to earn enough money to comfortably pay rent.
In January 2020, she was hospitalized with pneumonia. She couldn’t work, She began falling behind on rent. In a separate case, she was served with eviction proceedings around this time.
When the pandemic began and Olive Garden shut down, she was unable to qualify for unemployment benefits, since she was still working at the school, though her hours were severely reduced.
“My wages throughout Covid were hardly anything at all,” she said. “I was unable to pay the rent at that time. I fully acknowledge that.” Norris also said that her daughter and daughter’s children briefly lived with her at the start of the pandemic, even though her lease prohibited additional residents.
The trash strewn across the garage, she claimed, stemmed from her belief that the city would be able pick it up, though she was unable to afford the fee. She wasn’t able to get help from friends or others, Norris said, because she and her daughter tested positive for coronavirus while in the process of moving out.
“I did as much as I possibly could. I didn’t want to ask for delay or extension,” she said.
Norris called the thousands of dollars in alleged damages related to trash removal “a little excessive.” She also did not dispute the damages for rent or for the garage.
She did, however, argue against the landlord’s claims of a drained furnace, saying the oil was only half full when she arrived and it went out close to their move-out time.
It should have been full when she moved in, she claimed, so she should only be responsible for half of the fuel. The window, she added, likely shattered because of the cold because, while the furnace was out, the house was consistently 50 degrees and lower.
Judge Claudia Baio lauded both parties, calling their presentations “thorough and professional.”
She didn’t rule immediately, and instead said that she would “take it under advisement” and release a decision in the coming days.
Learn/Act
More info on related issues, organizations:
Local Learn: Connecticut Coalition To End Homelessness
National Act: National Alliance To End Homelessness
Local Act: Empower underserved communities in Connecticut
Local Learn: New Haven community wealth-building initiatives
National Act: Organizations that support community development
The half of the fuel isn't teh issue with the furnace. The problem is that the oil at the bottom of the tank is pretty thick, and bums up the burner. Been there, cleaned that, thanks to a tenant who ran the oil down. (We have gas now.)