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MrsRamazzini · Oct 13, 2011, 09:19 AM

A family member's ex girlfriend & her 26 yr old son refuse to leave his house. They have never helped pay ANY bills & when he tells them to leave, they laugh at him & tell him he's too old to do anything about it. How can we legally get these freeloaders out?

oldhat · Oct 13, 2011, 09:56 AM

Has he tried calling the police? If he is the home owner, I suspect he can call and get them evicted for trespassing on his property.

smoothy · Oct 13, 2011, 09:57 AM

He, the homeowner, has to have them served with a 30 day written notice to vacate... then he can proceed with an eviction proceeding with the courts to have the sherriffs put them and their stuff on the street if they won't go on their own. After that then he can and should change the locks. But legally at this point they are tenants in the eyes of a court.

I suggest doing this ASAP.

If they become menacing or threatening go to the police and report them, if that happens the police may remove them sooner. But still have them served.

I am assuming you are in the USA.

AK lawyer · Oct 13, 2011, 10:16 AM

Originally Posted by smoothy

... 30 day written notice to vacate.
... tenants in the eyes of a court. ...

Depending on which state you are in. He may be able to do the notice to vacate with a shorter notice period, for example, depending on location.

MrsRamazzini · Oct 13, 2011, 10:26 AM

Thank you to all of you. We are in Florida. He has given verbal notice several times. They have been living there about 5 years. Are they still tenants if they have never paid any bills or rent, or does that make them squatters?

joypulv · Oct 13, 2011, 10:27 AM

Some states have 'lodger' definitions that do indeed allow for a shorter amount of time to evict. They pretty well cover family members who won't leave.

smoothy · Oct 13, 2011, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by MrsRamazzini

thank you to all of you. We are in Florida. He has given verbal notice several times. They have been living there about 5 years. Are they still tenants if they have never paid any bills or rent, or does that make them squatters?

Verbal notice means nothing... and money changing hands means nothing... and they became tenants roughly after the first month they were there. I don't know the exact timeframe, but its way past in this case.

Squatters are never invited in... they typically enter and set up residence illegally without the knowledge or permission of the property owner. These people were invited in.

There is a saying about verbal contracts and verbal notices. They aren't worth the paper they are printed on. No paper, no proof, no signature, no value.

oldhat · Oct 16, 2011, 10:13 AM

http://www.thelpa.com/lpa/landlord-tenant-law/florida-landlord-tenant-law.html

Since they never signed a lease, nor paid any rent as you say, not sure if they qualify as "tenants" but here are the guidelines for your state listed under "Grounds for Eviction".

ScottGem · Oct 16, 2011, 10:32 AM

Since there is no lease, they are considered month to month tenants. Florida law allows a 14 day termination notice in that case. But the other responses are correct that it needs to be in writing. Of course they will laugh at him if he just tells them to get out. But if he give them a written notice with a specific deadline and tells them he will go to court if they are not out, they may take him more seriously.

Aside to oldhat: You are new here so you may not be aware that the technical forums like the law forums have a higher standard for response. Responses in such forums have to be fact based. Especially the law forums, responses need to conform to statutory law. In this case, they have established residency. As residents they cannot be thrown out and they definitely are not trespassing. As residents they are considered tenants when it comes to removal.

It's nice that you want to help, but please make sure of the accuracy of your answers first.