Ever have to evict a roommate? Advise needed.

[zymote]

Originally Posted by bigKenny

yeah, I won't.

None of us want to go to court. I'll hit up the TAA for more info about changing the locks, and at least look into my options for legal action.

It really sucks because we were friends, she is nice, and she was a good roomie except for the whole paying the rent thing

Read my post above and save yourself some time. You can change the locks, but you have to be able to give her access to the property 24 hours a day should she request it.

As far as the apartments going after half the rent, forget about it - it's not their problem. They've got you both on the lease, and you're more liable than she is. As far as the apartments are concerned, you both owe the rent, and they could give a flying fuck about how you divide it up amongst yourselves. I spent 10 years in property management, and dealt with this exact same situation on a weekly basis - from a management standpoint it's your problem for getting on the lease. If you try to get out of her half of the rent, y'all will both get evicted.

Have you talked to the apartments about transferring to a 1br? That might be your best bet at the moment.

[bigKenny]

Originally Posted by zymote

I spent 10 years in property management, and dealt with this exact same situation on a weekly basis

In that case, ok. There are no 1br units available tho.

[zymote]

Originally Posted by bigKenny

In that case, ok. There are no 1br units available tho.

That sucks. Any luck on talking to her?

[bigKenny]

just now. I gave her 1 month to come up with $660 which is her half the rent plus 1/5 of what she owes me. (there are 5 months left on the lease) $.01 short, and she's gone. "Sounds fair" she says. too fucking fair I think, but I had to give her some sort of formal ultimatum.

[PJSOLDIER]

Thats waaaaay more than fair.

[Roos]

More fair than I would have been. Kenny is a good man with a big heart.

[Tortures Dionysos]

Originally Posted by Roos

Dude. I told ya. You gotta just lay it out and tell her she has to be out by a certain date. It's all you can do. Tell her you found a new roommate and she has to be out by a certain date so the roommate can move in. Or just tell her to get out. She isn't on the lease, so you are screwed out of that money. But at least you have control of the situation since it's in your name.

I wouldn't toss her shit. I wouldn't sell anything of hers. I would just lay it down and tell her if she doesn't comply you will call the cops, show them the lease with YOUR name, and have her escorted out. Change your locks and give the landlord a copy. Keep it all as legal and civil as you can.

Good advice.

[Stymi]

Man just say ...."Mother fucker....im going to kill you if you dont leave"...and see wut dat does.

[Jindabyne]

you can't just change the locks on her. that's illegal. and i believe you have to give her a 30 days notice, not two weeks.

[zymote]

Originally Posted by Jindabyne

you can't just change the locks on her. that's illegal. and i believe you have to give her a 30 days notice, not two weeks.

You can change the locks, but you can't prevent access to the property. That means that if the locks are changed, and the offending party calls you at 2:30am while you're raving it up at some dirt rave, you've got to drag your ass over there and let them in otherwise you're in trouble.

Also, since this girl is listed as an occupant on the lease, you can't just give her notice and make her move out. She can do so voluntarily (and it's amazing what a well placed guilt trip can do in this regard), but you can't force her out until the end of the lease without getting evicted yourself.

Here's the lesson to be learned in all of this: If they can't qualify to be on the lease, and have to be listed as an occupant, you probably don't want them as a roomate. Also, demand a full credit report from all 3 bureaus before you get on a lease with anybody. Since this girl was good until she lost her job it wouldn't have helped Kenny here, but for the rest of you it's always a good idea.