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Self-Help

The landlord who decides to evict a tenant without the proper court orders is committing an illegal self-help action. The landlord must go to court to evict a tenant. Changing the locks, turning off utilities, entering the unit and removing the tenant's property or threatening the tenant or other occupants violates the law. The tenant has the right to sue the landlord for damages as a result of any of these actions, even if he has not paid rent in months.