No dairy-related shenanigans today folks. I’m here to gather ideas on how to deal with a psychologically trying situation.
On Christmas Day, I received an email from the management company of the sharehouse where I live. To summarize, the landlady has complained about my not following the rules and my disrespectful behavior towards her, leading to the company’s decision that my contract has to get the axe.
I called up the company right away and inquired as to which rules I was supposedly not following and exactly what behavior was considered as disrespectful. Once again, to summarize their answer, my landlady complained I had too much stuff in the shared spaces in the kitchen and they had confirmed it. About disrespectful conduct, the company wasn’t too sure but the landlady had looked uncomfortable, so it had to be true.
I replied saying there is no way I am accepting this one-sided decision and all three parties (company, landlady, and me) have to have a meeting.
The meeting is set in January.
Now, to flesh out the situation:
1. The common spaces in the kitchen where I put my stuff (soy sauce, salt, seasonings, etc.) are cupboards with no particular room number written in/on/around them. I had stuff in these cupboards since 2017.
2. There are drawers in the kitchen and shelves in the refrigerator with room numbers. I do not have anything stored in anyone else’s labeled area.
3. The landlady used to reside nearby but moved into the sharehouse in 2022 due to family issues. She was and still is in charge of cleaning, taking out the trash, and repairs. She has always been aware whose stuff is where as there were times us tenants asked her to eat/dispose of something perishable if we forgot to do so before going on a long trip.
4. I received no warnings (written or spoken) regarding breaking the rules from either the landlady or the company.
5. The “psychologically trying” part comes from this: Numerous times in the past 6.5 years, the landlady has demanded me to listen to her drunken monologues about how she wants to d!e at 12 am or later, has entered my room and even my bed without permission, has sent incessant Line messages on why she can’t touch me, touched my body despite my warnings to stop, and, seeing I no longer talk to her, has cornered me multiple times to yell at me to get out. I finally reached the end of my tether this October and took a video of her yelling. Together with screenshots, I reported her to the management company. The company apparently warned her to stop and she really did stop the harassment since. But this contract cancelation business sounds like her idea of revenge. Facing her at the meeting will be hard.
To check whether my contract can be really dissolved one-sidedly, I consulted two different lawyers. Based on the above circumstances, the answer was the same from both: No. The reasons given by the company are not acceptable and the contract is still valid until its expiration or until I agree with its dissolution. If they want to evict me forcefully (強制退去), the company needs to get a court order which may take years. My 定期借家 contract ends in September 2024 and there will be almost certainly no renewal. I will be residing somewhere else long before before any lawsuit concludes.
Legally speaking, I have confidence that the contract will stand. However, I need your ideas on what to say to the management company representative and the landlady at this (face-to-face) upcoming meeting. I want both sides to really understand that I’m not going anywhere until September. How should I participate in this conversation as to appear firm?