Missed court date advice please?

I have been renting this house for around 3 years WITHOUT a lease from my landlord. He also has no permit to rent this house to me. Last month he told me I need to move by the end of August. After he gave me notice to move, the town marshall came to the house and recorded/reported that the landlord has to take care of many repairs in the house, such as mold (which my 3 yr old son has extreme allergies to), no fire alarms, and other repairs. Up to this time the only repair that he has done has been installing fire alarms.


He asked me for my rent, and i told him ';I will not pay you any more cash unless the repairs are done and receipts are given';. He refused to give me receipts.. Therefore, My last payment to him was last month ( July 2009).





I got in my mailbox, Today August 20 2009, a certified rpaper to go to the post office to pick up a letter. When I got the etter and open it, it was a letter from Paralegal Typing center (for Notice of Pettion, non payment proceeding) The Prolem is...Today is August 20, 2009, and I JUST recieved this mail telling me that my court date is August 18, 2009, which passed this past Tuesday.


I called the court and they told me i may need to file a ';just cause to show reason';





My main questions are:


Is this a LEGAL document from the court?


What can I do about thsi missed court date?


Doesd the fact that I didnt even recieve the notification to go to court tuntil two days later help my situation?





Overall, what should I do?


Any advice or information is greatly appriciated.





Please only serious responses, thank you.Missed court date advice please?
My disclaimer: I am not an attorney. I have worked for the court system for several years.





A Petition is a document filed and created by the Petitioner--whoever is filing a case against you. Therefore, it is not from the Court itself, but you are still required to respond to it. Basically, there is a court case against you, and this certified letter is the Petitioner's proof you know about it.





Do you have proof of when the letter arrived? You could file a document entitled ';Answer'; in which you state when you received the letter and whether you deny or affirm the allegations against you. (You are the Respondent in this case.)





Whether or not missing your court date will affect your case is up to the judge, but filing something as soon as possible is your best bet.





The ';Just cause to show reason'; thing the court was talking about is probably for you to show ';cause';--explain why you did not appear in court. Not having received the notice is probably a pretty good one.





Good luck...Missed court date advice please?
Tell your landlord ';PLEASE take me to court!';


Then get a list the sheriff made of the repairs that needs to be done and tell him when they find out he was renting the house in the condition it was in and you were not aware it was illegal, it is not going to look too good for him';.In the mean time move back home until you get on your feet.
I would go down to the courthouse and talk to them. I don't think there will be a problem. Just be civil to them and do not yell and lose your temper. All will be well.





Find someplace else to live.