Apartment clearance without termination notice
Dear Sir or Madam,
Some time ago, I was in substitute imprisonment for seven weeks. When I was released, I found out that the housing association had opened my apartment, changed the lock, and disposed of my belongings. There was a note on the door saying "Apartment secured."
I am currently living on ALG2, and during my imprisonment, the Jobcenter did not continue paying the rent, so there were 2 months' rent outstanding. However, this was immediately settled upon my release! My mail from that time had disappeared, and I did not get the keys back. In hindsight, I learned the following: new windows were supposed to be installed in my apartment during that time. The decision to open the apartment was based on rumors in my neighborhood (that I was on the run, that I had already moved to another apartment, etc.) which definitely do not correspond to the truth, as a simple registration office query would have confirmed.
At the time of the opening, neither a police officer, bailiff, nor any other public official was present, nor was a protocol created indicating which items were in the apartment.
The key to my apartment was held by an acquaintance from the same neighborhood, and the property manager definitely knew that I was close to this person, so I thought she would be the first point of contact. However, this did not happen either. I never received a termination notice, not even afterwards.
The response I get from the property management when I address the entire situation is very simple: "Just sue if you want to." Of course, this is not quite easy for me, as I only receive ALG2, and I suspect that the landlords are aware of this.
My question is, how should I proceed now? My belongings were disposed of (with a threat to make me pay for it!), and I am not getting the apartment keys back. Is the property management actually right, as they claim?
I thank you in advance for your response.
Yours sincerely,
