[imadthegreat]

Hi

I live in Chicago. I HAD a roommate who was with me for over 6 months but never included in the lease. He was paying his rent and his share of utilities on time each month. Then we had an argument over a stupid issue and I asked him to leave. He took over a month to leave and left with an apology. I asked him for last month rent and he said he'll pay in a week. It's been over a month and he has not paid the rent and has now flatly refused to pay his share.

While his rent is not financially a big deal for me but its frustrating me. I want to get back to him by suing him for only $1000. It's more about sending a court letter and of course I do hope that I'll get my money back too, including court cost. Do I have any legal recourse?

Would court accept the fact that he had been paying me for months as a reason enough that we had a relationship where he was paying his share of rent every month. All legal documents including his mailing address also should prove that he was living at my address.
Thanks

[Fr_Chuck]

You can not just ask him to leave, that was a illegal evictin attempt.

You were required to give him a 30 day notice to move out. So he did not need to be sorry it took him a month, in fact you should tell him you are sorry for not giving him legal proper notice.

With that said, he has to pay you for the month he was there, yes you can sue in small claims court for the payment

[imadthegreat]

Thanks for your answer. When I asked him to leave, I didn't said to leave right away. I asked him that he find a different place and can stay until he finds it. He actually stayed well over one month. I didn't mind that. But I never thought that he'll refuse to pay or cheat for last month's rent.

But I really appreciate your answer.
Thanks

[ScottGem]

I have to disagree with Chuck here. You can of course, just ask him to leave. Nothing illegal about it. However, if he refused to leave, then just asking him would not allow you to obtain an eviction order. The first step in the eviction process is a properly served written notice to vacate. But the issue is moot because he voluntarily left.

If you can prove he was paying rent and when he moved out, you can successfully sue him for rental owed. Use small claims court to do so. You can include court fees in the amount you sue for.

[imadthegreat]

Thank you so much Scott. All the checks that I have deposited have a memo section in which he has said "Rent: January", "Rent:February" and so on. Thanks a lot for your answers.