Eviction because of a Friend

Awesome Ed · #1 03-25-2007, 02:37 PM

Does my landlord have a right to evict me because of who I'm friends with? My landlord's(or representives of the landlord) came a few days earlier and told me either I threw my friend out(which I have no intention of doing) or they were going to evict me. According to what I understand about eviction laws, you can only be evicted for non-payment of rent or breach of the lease. I have signed no lease, in fact I have never even been told when my rent is due, or how much it is. My landlords have been to my home on more than one occasion and are fully aware I have been residing in said dwelling for over two weeks. A few days before the incident I had asked my landlord to change a dryer outlet for me, the day they came to inform me of my friend, he offered to change the outlet(which I bought). They claim my friend was reported for criminal tresspassing, which is upsurd, since criminal trespassing requires you to forciably enter someones home without consent, weither it be written or oral, the only thing my friend as done is asked to borrow our neighbors phones, since he don't possess one. What are my legal rights, and help would be appreciated. I do plan to fight this all the way

PhiMuAmberkins · #2 03-25-2007, 04:58 PM

Well, maybe you should check your lease and see if either you aren't allowed to have more than 1 person living there (I know our apartments have a max number of occupants) or if there's something in there about anyone living with you has to be on the lease. It's probably not so much who you are friends with, it's who you let live with you. Also, you don't know what your friend is doing all the time...maybe one of your neighbors called and complained about him. Your situation sounds kind of shady to me, but check out your lease (which you probably should have read BEFORE this anyway).

preciousjeni · #3 03-25-2007, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Awesome Ed

I have signed no lease, in fact I have never even been told when my rent is due, or how much it is.

PhiMuAmberkins · #4 03-25-2007, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

Uh, me too. I didn't even catch that...I don't think you OR your friend should be there, since I think you're technically squatting. If, however, your landlord is just being a nice guy and letting you live there, then yes, your friend should get out; it's kind of like when you lived with your parents and they wouldn't let you do something...since they were paying for a roof over your head, they kind of had jurisdiction in their own home.

SigmaPezY60 · #5 03-25-2007, 05:26 PM

If you didn't sign a lease, then you're SOL. Leases are to protect the you and your the landlord. Because you have no lease, your landlord can claim you don't live there. So you may want to ask your landlord for a lease for your own legal well-being. Most states have a generic lease. If you are renting a room in a house, or a one bedroom apartment you may want to check if it's a SOD (Single Occupancy Dwelling). This is something that is included in your lease if it is an SOD. Because if the residence is registered as such with the city your landlord can face serious fines if more than one person lives there.

basically...get a lease or move somewhere else that has one for your own legal benefit.

Awesome Ed · #6 03-25-2007, 05:43 PM

I understand what you are saying, but technically I am not squatting, it is not up to me the renter to let the landlord know when I am going to pay my rent, if that was the case, then I could offer to pay it once every three months and there is nothing legally they can do, when they became aware of the fact I had moved into the place they could have brought over a lease contract for me to sign, and if it doesn't state in the lease I can't have my friend live with me, then by all rights he can stay. The only thing they can do is evict me for non-payment of rent.

PhiMuAmberkins · #7 03-25-2007, 05:59 PM

Okay, then if you're not squatting, then you're living there rent-free without any restrictions by the good graces of your landlord. It IS up to you to sign a lease if you want any rights...so I guess you don't. Like I said, if this person is letting you live there like that, then I would expect them to have some say over who could and could not stay there.

UGAalum94 · #8 03-25-2007, 06:05 PM

This post kind of violates my own ideas about politeness and avoiding unnecessary contentiousness. I apologize in advance.

Awesome Ed, you seem a little delusional about what your rights might be. You don't have a right to start living someplace and expect to stay there despite the wishes of the owner because the terms were undefined.

Rather than having more protection because you don't have a lease, the landlord can probably just kick you out for anything. Any rights you might normally have about rules for eviction likely don't even apply, and non-payment of rent isn't the only thing you could be evicted for.

And it sounds like, despite what the landlord may have verbally agreed to with you, you are exceeding what was agreed to by having someone live with you.

Why don't you call the police and run your interpretation by them and see what they think? Ask them if you have a right to stay on someone else's property despite not having a lease and having incurred the displeasure of the owner.

What exactly is your situation? Who is the landlord? How long has your friend been living in the landlord's house or bothering him about the phone? Why don't you all have cell phones? Why are you posting about this on GreekChat?

ETA: I live in Georgia, and although we make it pretty easy to evict people, even here, it looks like you'd get a month's notice without a lease. And this is assuming that you were breaking the lease with your friend living there. Some states are downright scary with how many rights tenants have, IMO, just based on googling. GreekChat is so educational.

PM_Mama00 · #9 03-25-2007, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Awesome Ed

I understand what you are saying, but technically I am not squatting, it is not up to me the renter to let the landlord know when I am going to pay my rent, if that was the case, then I could offer to pay it once every three months and there is nothing legally they can do, when they became aware of the fact I had moved into the place they could have brought over a lease contract for me to sign, and if it doesn't state in the lease I can't have my friend live with me, then by all rights he can stay. The only thing they can do is evict me for non-payment of rent.

Um....

1. It is up to you, the renter, to figure out why you don't have a lease.

2. So lost. They became "aware" that you moved in there? Did you move in without telling them? How can you move in somewhere and the landlord doesn't know and just becomes "aware" of it?

You can't rent any residence without having a landlord or Super. Doesn't make sense.

Kevin · #10 03-25-2007, 11:04 PM

Check your local laws. Sounds like you have a month to month lease. That means you get 30 days notice (in most places). For your place, I have no idea.

I have no idea what the law is in your area. If you want to contest this issue, maybe you can find out whether your local Bar association is having a pro-bono clinic (many Bars sponsor these things on a frequent basis so that regular folks can get access to easy answers like this one should be).

KSigkid · #11 03-26-2007, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin

Check your local laws. Sounds like you have a month to month lease. That means you get 30 days notice (in most places). For your place, I have no idea.

I have no idea what the law is in your area. If you want to contest this issue, maybe you can find out whether your local Bar association is having a pro-bono clinic (many Bars sponsor these things on a frequent basis so that regular folks can get access to easy answers like this one should be).

Exactly - go to someone in your area because landlord-tenant laws can vary from state to state. No attorney is going to give you legal advice over a message board, and no one on the board knows the specifics of your situation.

adpiucf · #12 03-26-2007, 12:19 PM

Actually, it just sounds like the OP is an idiot. No lease=no grounds to complain.

Kevin · #13 03-26-2007, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adpiucf

Actually, it just sounds like the OP is an idiot. No lease=no grounds to complain.

Not necessarily. Most states automatically afford tenants a lot of rights.

KSigkid · #14 03-26-2007, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin

Not necessarily. Most states automatically afford tenants a lot of rights.

Exactly, in CT at least there can be some question as to what constitutes a lease, and it can be interpreted liberally. It really depends state to state.

MysticCat · #15 03-26-2007, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Awesome Ed

What are my legal rights . . .

As others have said, nobody except a lawyer in your state who knows the landlord-tenant law of your state can give you any advice worth getting about your legal rights.

I can tell you, though, that your original question misses the point -- while it may be none of the business of your "landlord" who you are friends with, it may very well be his business who is living in a residence that he owns.

I can also give you one piece of advice -- never, ever ever rent again without a written lease.