My son and girlfriend rented an apartment together but only my son's name is on the lease. She left last night and came back today will he was at work and told him to move out. Can she do this? What rights does my son have to the apartment? Should he contact landlord and ask? Should he right up a letter and ask her to leave in 30 days?
Please advise
Thanks

I'm not a lawyer, but I have been a landlord, so I'm familiar with leases.

No, she can't throw him out. It's his lease, his apartment, his rights are primary. She has no legal rights. She can sue him if there's some grounds not mentioned--for instance, if she can prove she's been paying his rent for him and wants the money back--but she has no right to the apartment as things stand. A certified letter to her telling her to move out would be a good thing as he'd be on record as not wanting her there should she decide to pursue a case against him for something.

... She left last night and came back today will he was at work and told him to move out. Can she do this? ...

Sure. She can ask him to leave. And he can reply by saying "no".


...What rights does my son have to the apartment? Should he contact landlord and ask? Should he right up a letter and ask her to leave in 30 days?
...

He is the tenant. As such, he has the right to possession of the premises.

No, I don't know why he should ask the landlord. It is, frankly, none of the landlord's business. She is at most your son's subtenant. As such, she can claim the right to not be summarily evicted (i.e. without due process of law, including the requirement that he give her due notice to quit and then get a court order, should she fail to move out as demanded in that notice).

So yes, he should give her written notice to quit as required by the law in your jurisdiction (state or country). If she fails to leave, he will probably have to take her to court.

There isn't even a requirement for due notice unless she actually signed a sublet agreement with him. If she's just been living with him without benefit of any paperwork, the best she could hope for is a "palimony" suit if she can prove that by living with him she lost something and he benefited. I'm guessing that's not the case. He can just toss her out and leave it at that.