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View Full Version : How do I get the guy living on my couch out of my house


inkfairy5
May 25, 2009, 10:27 PM
Here is my situation
A friend of my boyfriend has been living on my couch for several months now in between a 20 day jail stent. He has not had a job or paid rent since he has been here. His temper runs hot and cold all the time. There have been issues in my home since he has been here between he and I and between my regular room mate and I and my boyfriend and I. the issues with him have me at my breaking point I have made several minor request since he has lived here that he has not followed a few examples although minor: don't feed my animals don't open the front door every 10 min and just stand there with it open so my cats don't get out. He has ignored all of my request and the latest confrontation with him he had me cornered in my bedroom with no way out except to jump out of the window. Like I said I am at my breaking point and don't know what to do. This Saturday I gave him notice he had to be out by the end of June trying to be fair. Later Saturday evening he again not respecting my wishes had my front door open for what ever period and now one of my animals is missing and this low life has no remorse. I have read other posts, answers and links on this board but I feel my situation is different. He is not on my lease or any of my utilities but has gotten 2 pieces of mail here from probation, I live in a 2 bedroom apt where my roommate and I are on the lease only. We do not want to get our land lord involved because its not his problem but don't want him here any more. What can I do to get him out sooner than June 30?

zippit
May 25, 2009, 10:59 PM
You'r going to have to get the police involved,don't be cruel make sure he has some money and an idea of places he can go it would be good if everyone does it colectively.then make sure you have some protection for a few days,chalk it up as a lesson learned I don't even let my kids hangout too long its hard to get rid of someone.I know of a case where I boyfriend went to jail and left the girlfriend behind and the man can't get rid of her even with the cops he has to evict her its taken three months hopefully this isn't your situation

inkfairy5
May 25, 2009, 11:52 PM
Ty for your response
I called the police tonight and all they could tell me to do is file a restraining order against him. I'm not trying to go to that extreme I just want him gone as quickly as possible and my home back to some type of normalcy

excon
May 26, 2009, 06:00 AM
Hello ink:

Zippits advice is exactly WRONG!! If you've been reading, you KNOW that you must go to court to evict him. That's the law.

I don't believe you'll get a restraining order.

excon

inkfairy5
May 26, 2009, 07:00 AM
Your right I'm not going to get a restraining order its too extreme and unnecessary. I spoke to the police again today and had a chance to further explain my situation apparently him living on my couch is a good thing. They told me since he has no actual bed room and no physical ties to the home I can have him removed immediately by an officer and I won't have to go to court as long as I don't hold what few belongings he has in my hall closet. Thank you for the advice and the police are on their way! :D

excon
May 26, 2009, 07:09 AM
but i feel my situation is different. he is not on my lease or any of my utilities but has gotten 2 pieces of mail here from probation

the police are on their way!!:DHello again, ink:

The cops are WRONG. Where did you find them? At the doughnut shoppe?? No wonder!! Living on a couch as opposed to living in a bedroom, is NOT a legal determination. It's frankly jelly doughnut stupidity. Cops should NOT practice law. If they put him out illegally, YOU are the one subject to an illegal eviction lawsuit.

I doubt, of course, whether that's going to happen, but I stand by my original advice.

excon

zippit
May 26, 2009, 07:11 AM
Purhaps the "cornered in the bedroom" was exaggerated if you'r not willing to do anything substanstial to get rid of this loser,if someone cornered me in my bedroom that was freeloading off me he would be out right then if I had to lie to the police thanks ENCRON

LisaB4657
May 26, 2009, 07:15 AM
excon is 100% correct as usual. Since this guy received mail there he would be viewed by a court as a resident and has to be evicted according to law. If the police remove him and he wants to make trouble he can sue for illegal eviction. The advantage here is that he may not want to start up with the police because of his history and he may not have much knowledge of landlord/tenant law.

Good luck.

ScottGem
May 26, 2009, 07:15 AM
excon is correct to a point. My question is does he get mail addressed to him at your address and/or does he have any ID giving your address as his place of residence. {edit: Whoops, I missed the 2 pieces of mail from the OP}

If he does not have either of those, then I would feel comfortable with calling the police, but ONLY after asking him to leave and giving him a chance to do so.

A lot depends on how big a town you live in. In most places, getting someone out of your home is a civil matter which the police don't get involved in. But in a smaller community they may.

inkfairy5
May 26, 2009, 07:31 AM
purhaps the "cornered in the bedroom" was exaggerated if you'r not willing to do anything substanstial to get rid of this loser,if someone cornered me in my bedroom that was freeloading off me he would be out right then if i had to lie to the police thanks ENCRON

The sittuation was not exaggerated I can see how you would think that though because there are people out there that would lie just to get their way and you don't know me from the next guy, but like I said in my first post he my boyfriends friend. There are going to be times when we are out at a bbq or some other type of function where he may be and to have the restraining order will only cause more discomfort for him and myself. I'm not trying to kick the guy while he is down or go to extreme measures. I live in I guess a medium size town with what I think is a good police dept.

To asnwer a question he has gotten 2 pieces of mail from probation but does not have an id that says he lives here.

zippit
May 26, 2009, 07:36 AM
What does your boyfriend think about the situation,it should be him heading up the effort to find his friend a way out

ScottGem
May 26, 2009, 07:38 AM
to asnwer a question he has gotten 2 pieces of mail from probation but does not have an id that says he lives here.

Since this is the Real Estate LAW forum, we have to deal with statutes. You haven't told us where you are so we can't quote specific statute. But most areas would hold that he is a resident and, as such, needs to be formerly evicted. If the formal eviction process for your area is not followed, then you would be giving him grounds to sue you for an illegal eviction.

By the way, you don't mention if you and/or your boyfriend have asked him to leave. A polite request to find his own place may be all that's needed.

Another thought is to talk to his PO and see what they can do about finding him a place.

inkfairy5
May 26, 2009, 07:40 AM
Lisa,
That's where my confusion comes in with the land lord/ tenant laws. Because I'm technically not a landlore and he isn't technically a tenant. What other resources can I read in case he decides to take it further. I do know he had some rights like I would not have been able to lock him out throw his stuff on the front lawn or prevent him from getting what little stuff he had in my home. Also since I'm not the landlord I'm also confused as to my rights

Thank you everyone that has replied to this

inkfairy5
May 26, 2009, 07:44 AM
what does your boyfriend think about the situation,it should be him heading up the effort to find his friend a way out

On Wednesday he said he has washed his hands of him. He is done trying to help him because every piece of sound advice we have given him he has refused to take and made the situation worse for him which is what landed him on my couch. Last night when I texted him to come get him or I'm calling the police he said he didn't want him in his home either and for me to do what I needed to do.

excon
May 26, 2009, 07:45 AM
thats where my confusion comes in with the land lord/ tenant laws. because im technically not a landlore and he isnt technically a tenant. sHello again, inky:

I'm not Lisa, but I'm not busy at the moment.. You ARE his landlord, and he IS your tenant even though no agreements have been signed or even contemplated between the two of you. But, by virtue of the fact that he's THERE, and that he received MAIL, means that, according to the law, he's a TENANT, and needs to be evicted according to your states landlord/tenant laws.

We have copies of them right here at the top of the real estate page on a sticky note.

If the cops are already coming, I don't know what you can do now. I guess I'd let them do their thing, because I don't think you can stop them now. If you try, they'll be pissed at YOU, and that ain't good.

excon

zippit
May 26, 2009, 07:48 AM
I think its your boyfriends responsibility to rectafi the situation

LisaB4657
May 26, 2009, 07:50 AM
lisa,
thats where my confusion comes in with the land lord/ tenant laws. because im technically not a landlore and he isnt technically a tenant. what other resources can i read incase he decides to take it further. i do know he had some rights like i would not have been able to lock him out throw his stuff on the front lawn or prevent him from getting what little stuff he had in my home. also since im not the landlord im also confused as to my rights

thank you everyone that has replied to this
Since he has received mail at your address, and especially since it's the STATE that has that address for him, for legal purposes he is a resident. Technically that makes you his landlord. Yes, I know that you currently rent from a landlord. That means that you are a sublandlord and he is your subtenant. You have to follow the landlord/tenant laws for evicting him. That means giving him a written notice that his tenancy is terminated and he must move out within xx days. The time depends on state law but in most states it is 30 days. If he hasn't moved out within that time then you have to file a lawsuit for eviction.

LisaB4657
May 26, 2009, 07:51 AM
I just re-read your original post. If the notice you gave him on Saturday was a written notice, then if he hasn't left by June 30 you can file a lawsuit for eviction.

inkfairy5
May 26, 2009, 07:52 AM
Scott,
I live in New Jersey on the cusp of camden county and gloucester county. To answer your other qoustion I did ask him to leave sat before one of my cats went missing I gave him till June 30 but he showed no remorse for letting my cat get out and freaked out on me last night so I told him to leave again and he refused to. That is when I called the police last night and they told me to get the restraining order. I called them again today and the officer I spoke to today also said I didn't have to go to that extreme and they would have an officer come out and remove him

inkfairy5
May 26, 2009, 08:01 AM
Thank you all again this is all very useful information and I can't thank you enough

zippit
May 26, 2009, 08:03 AM
<<<officer come out and remove him sounds good some times good ol' common sense police work is in order hope you guys learned a lesson

ScottGem
May 26, 2009, 08:04 AM
Ok, Lisa is a lawyer in NJ, so what she is saying about the law, while generally applicable, you can bet its 100&#37; accurate for NJ. As both excon and Lisa said, by letting him into your home and allowing him to establish residency, he has become your tenant in the eyes of the law. Since isn't May 30th yet. Prepare a written letter signed by all persons on the lease, stating that he needs to vacate the premises on or before June 30th or face eviction. Hand it to him (keep a copy) in front of a witness.

ScottGem
May 26, 2009, 08:06 AM
<<<officer come out and remove him sounds good some times good ol' common sense police work is in order hope you guys learned a lesson

Have you been paying attention? This is the Real Estate LAW forum. Advice given here needs to conform to actual statute. And statute, in this case, is that he is a resident and needs to be formally evicted.

excon
May 26, 2009, 08:08 AM
Hello again:

Unless the cops stopped off at the doughnut shoppe again, they're on the way. The eviction, legal or not, is underway.

excon

excon
May 27, 2009, 06:38 AM
Hello again, inky:

How did it work out?

excon

Fr_Chuck
May 27, 2009, 06:48 AM
That will make a really good law suit, not only can he sue the person evicting him, he can now sue the police officers personally, and the police department. Depending on how physcial the eviction was he may end up owning the house.