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MagikPoo · Jul 6, 2004, 05:27 PM

Help!!
I have an off beat situation.
I rent a large apartment with two floors, I have shared rent with the guy upstares, the rent all together is $1400.00 per month, now I'v decided to ask the guy to leave and he took it on himself to stay for the next three months rent free.
Hes threatening me with a law suite of what I have no idear. He paid the other half of the rent for 14 months and out of the 14 months he's bounced 7 checks. He's paid till the end of July, and I've told him he has till the end of the month.
He has no lease with me or my landlord. He is just a room mate.

Does this guy have any liegal right to be here?
Can I just call the cops at the end of the month and have him evicted?
Help??

Gkhster · Jul 6, 2004, 07:39 PM

So much depends on your state and local laws.

He may have more rights than you'd think. For example, the courts might find that you have an oral lease. In addition, his failure to pay, and your tolerating it in the past, could be construed to be an acceptance by you of late payments. As if that weren't enough, you may not have legal standing to bring an eviction proceeding against him, seeing as you are not the owner of the property.

Those are some considerations that we face in my state (Tennessee).

According to your profile, you live in New Jersey. I found an interesting web site that deals with NJ's Tenant's Rights laws. It is:

http://www.lsnjlaw.org/english/place...antsrights.cfm

Finally, I am just thinking out loud, but I wonder that if the end of your lease came up, and you moved out, if your roommate would then become your landlord's problem. (And would the courts consider him a tenant or a trespasser.) Just a thought!

Be careful not to say anything that could be used against you. Also realize that at some point a good lawyer may have to be called in.

Good luck,

Guy

MagikPoo · Jul 6, 2004, 08:24 PM

Hay Gkhster thanks for the reply,

Wow great website, I went to www.nolo.com but only got vage responses.

It seems to me that you might be right, NJ law insists that the tenant go to court, and just like the jerk said by the time all of this is though it might be 6 months. But no he is no tenant he is a roommate and the anti-eviction laws do not aply to him.

And a an after tought I might move out by then ha ha..

But I digress, it seem to me at this point he has no legal point to be there, he has no lease, he is 1 1/2 months behind on his rent, ( that's the reson were letting him go),
And he's wreaked the apartment.

ericjenn03 · Mar 26, 2007, 12:08 AM

But the landlord can evict him because he is not on the lease right? That is the law here and of course laws are different state to state. Make sure you read your lease does not have a clause about sub-leasing. If you are not allowed, then that could be a factor. Usually you could give him a 30 day "eviction notice without cause" and you don't have to tell him why. He just has to leave. You don't need to get in an argument. And the police should honor it. Again, that is our laws. It could be a possibility.