SHUT OFF
A LANDLORD has allegedly cut off a family's utilities in an attempt to illegally evict them.
Florida resident Angelica Paul explained how her water and electricity was cut off for days, leaving her family miserable.
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Paul was living in her apartment with her six-month-old daughter in April when her power and water were suddenly shut off.
She says that the utilities remained unusable for two days and Paul struggled to keep her child comfortable in sweltering heat.
"I have a child here, and it's hot in the house. It's horrible," she told West Palm Beach NBC affiliate WPTV.
Paul and her family believe that she was in the process of a self-help eviction.
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This practice, which involves landlords cutting off tenants' utilities or changing locks in an attempt to force residents to move out, is completely illegal.
"It was like a slap in the face. How would you feel if it happened to you?" Johny Paul, Angelica Paul's brother, told the news outlet.
In order to legally evict someone, the eviction must first be court-approved.
No record of paperwork was available to suggest that was done, WPTV reported.
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If true, that would mean that Paul's landlord was illegally trying to force her out.
Paul and her daughter went back and forth from the house to inside air-conditioned cars to stay cool.
They also pumped in water from a neighbor's house to fill the toilet and bathtub so they could be slightly more comfortable.
"(We) try to take a quick bath or fill up the toilet up to use the bathroom, so, this is what we were doing right here," Jermaine Simpson, Paul's father, said.
The water and electricity was turned back on two days later, after WPTV contacted the landlord and utility company.
"You came out, you did your research, you helped us, and I'm really thankful for that," Simpson said.
However, over the two days without electricity, Paul's food and baby formula spoiled, costing her money in the process.
The landlord did not respond to the TV station’s request for comment.
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