Melissa Díaz, 16, has found herself in a position that most other teenagers would not envy.

Díaz has been translating tense exchanges between her parents and the family’s landlord, who the family says has been trying to push the family out. Díaz has lived with her parents and two siblings on Lake Avenue in Middletown for the last eight years.

She has battled to keep her composure in order to protect the family.

“I want to stay strong for my siblings and my parents,” Díaz said, “because I know I’m not the only one having a hard time with this.”

In recorded conversations and text messages reviewed by Spectrum News, landlord Kurt Hundeland repeatedly told the family they must vacate the home and pay their final month’s rent, or else face legal action.

“Please do not make me take you to court and put a judgement against you,” read one text message from Hundeland. “That’ll affect everything in your life, from your immigration (status), to your job ... Don’t make me do that. Let’s end this on a good note.”

Díaz said the aggressive communication by Hundeland unnerves her and her siblings as much as it does her parents.

“What really annoyed me was him saying he was going to send my parents to court, he’s going to put in some papers and harm their immigration (status), their work, and everything,” Díaz said, shaking her head.

Just before Christmas, Hundeland told the Díaz family to immediately leave their home and he was selling the home. He is insisting that the family vacate the home by January 31. Reached by phone Wednesday, Hundeland took offense to any suggestion that he was evicting the family through intimidation.

“I just told them I gave them a 30-day notice, that they had to leave,” he said. “I never evicted them.”

Hundeland told Spectrum News his mother-in-law is planning to move into his home, and he needs to sell the home to free up money to buy a larger home that would better accommodate her.

Though the Díaz family does not want to leave and have been informed by local civil rights activists that they do not have to leave, the family has agreed to vacate for fear of what action Hundeland might take against them next.

In a text, the family told Hundeland they planned to use their deposit as their final month’s rent. Hundeland responded sharply, believing the family was in the wrong.

“You’re absolutely not going to do that,” Hundeland replied. “It is illegal."

On the phone Wednesday, Hundeland firmly defended his response.

“I tried to explain to them the ways things work, honestly, and how we all have to follow the laws, the rules of how we do it,” Hundeland said. “That’s it. I don’t make the rules. I just have to follow them.”

Some housing experts and activists said Hundeland interpretation of state housing laws was off-base.

“It’s wrong on so many layers,” said housing activist Rebecca Garrard of Citizen Action New York.

Garrard directed Spectrum News to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s recently renewed executive order on housing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The order makes clear that tenants experiencing hardship may indeed use their deposit as rent for any month’s rent, including the final month of a rental agreement, and repay their security deposit over time.

Garrard also pointed to state Attorney General Letitia James’ guidance sent to police departments, instructing them how to enforce the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act. James listed several actions by a landlord that could constitute the offense of unlawful eviction, a class A misdemeanor.

Those actions include cutting utilities and changing locks, which Hundeland did not do. They also include yelling, and repeated calls and demands that a family vacate a home. Because of those latter points, Garrard said local police must step in to enforce tenant protection laws.

“Threatening someone’s occupational and immigration status is exactly the definition of harassment that we’re trying to prevent and should be punished,” she said.

Díaz testified before the Middletown Common Council Tuesday evening, asking the city to intervene. Díaz’s younger sister, Natalie — holding back tears and clutching her mother’s hand — said the texts, the packing, and the uncertainty is wearing on her.

“I’ve never really known how moving feels,” Natalie, 9, said. “Now, I know that it’s really sad. It’s mostly very sad because we’re in the middle of a pandemic, and he wants us to get out of the house immediately.”

Hundeland told Spectrum News a friend of his is offering the family a home to rent for about $300 more per month than what the family has been paying him.

“They were looking and couldn’t find a home somewhere, and I found something for them,” Hundeland said. “Now, they’re moving, and I don’t see what the issue is.”

Hundeland also said the family “screwed” him by choosing to devote their deposit to their final month’s rent, as the governor’s order permits.

Melissa Díaz was surprised, she said, when Middletown Police came to the home on Thursday afternoon asking to see rent receipts and the text messages before this story was published.

Mayor Joe DeStefano confirmed MPD did investigate and did not find that Hundeland committed any violations, other than failing to obtain a license from the city to rent out the home.

“I don’t see the criminality of someone saying, ‘We have to sell our home for financial purposes,’ and saying, ‘When can you get out?,’” DeStefano said. “The people are agreeing they can get out.”

DeStefano also did not see a reason to charge Hundeland with violating the governor’s housing order by not initially allowing the Díaz family’s deposit to be used as rent.

Hundeland agreed Thursday afternoon to allow the deposit to be used to pay the final month’s rent after a lieutenant advised him of the law and his options, according to the police report.

“Then all they argued over was the security deposit, and then they resolved that,” DeStefano said. “Once the guy (Hundeland) became aware — or to end the situation — he agreed to do it ... I don’t see the harassment.”

Melissa Díaz sees it differently.

“It’s uncomfortable to translate things harassing my parents,” she said.