Tenants No Longer Terrorized

The tenants have often become the worst victim of the dishonest landlords in the world of apartment leasing. Short of sufficient knowledge regarding landlord/tenant law, they are often taken for a ride by dishonest landlords who withhold security deposits without good reason, raise rents without notice, ignore vital repairs, and attempt to evict tenants with no real justifiable reasons. Since most tenants believe they cannot afford to get professional legal counsel at $200-300 per hour, the actions of landlords go unchallenged and the tenant suffers. However, the trend has changed and the tide has turned a bit in the recent times. Tenants are finding that they can gain a professional assistant at a cost much lower than they thought.

Independent Associate Glyn Norman, who works with Prepaid Legal Services, Inc., explains: "Probably half my calls are from tenants being abused by landlords. They are being unfairly victimized and don't know where to turn. There is usually a great sigh of relief when I tell them they can get a consultation with a lawyer, and a letter written to the landlord upholding their rights, and that it will cost them nothing more than a $26 per month legal plan."

In 90% of the cases, this seems to be all that is required. When the landlord finds out that the tenant is not going to accept their actions, and that they have legal assistance backing them up, they usually put right whatever is wrong, and stop taking advantage. In the USA, the richest 10% of Americans have a lawyer on retainer, and the poorest 10% qualify for Legal Aid. That leaves a gaping hole for the middle 80%, and this is a hole that Prepaid Legal Services aims to fill, with over 1.5 million families already taking advantage of their legal plans. Finally tenants have someone on their side.