How can I get rid of my roommate who doesn't pay rent?

Question

Deanna McCormick · Answer

And don't remove or put her stuff out, or lock her out.. she has rights and this will cause you issues if you don't go thru the correct process.. she either agrees to leave on her own.. or court action.

If she leaves and leaves stuff your still required to store it according to your state laws for that period of time..

Deanna McCormick · Answer

Finish what you started, and file the eviction action. Give her the choice that your going to court house on Monday and she has till Sunday Nite till 9 pm to move out, if she doesn't you go file. and your stuck with her for another couple of weeks till the hearing is set and the judge could permit her another few days to stay.. You could also say I'll give you $500.00 bucks sign this that you agree to move that I can change the locks as of Sunday nite at 9PM.. on the way out the door your give her the cash she signs she received it and you issue a No trespass order. whatever you think will cost you the lesser headache.

Hard to collect a small claims judgement without a lease after the fact but you could try.. but at this point you just want her gone and likelihood of getting any money out of a deadbeat is zero in my opinion.

Your in a pickle,, you can't guard your belonging while your not in the house,, she can become malicious and has shown that with your missing stuff that she is willing to take things that don't belong to her.

Call the police if she gets unruly, so it's documented. You could also file a restraining order if she threatens you., or a domestic abuse report claim if that applies.

Rich N. · Answer

@Joel Galindo

Be careful here. You need to find out what your state laws are where your property is. Every state and their courts have different laws/regulations. One main thing is most states is that you can not do what is called "self help eviction". Not sure if this applies to room mates scenarios.

Self help eviction - basically anything you do against the tenant/room mate is illegal. i.e. lock them out, move their stuff out, prevent them from getting their stuff, shutting off any utilities.

Joe Abughazaleh · Answer

@Joel Galindo you definitely need to follow through with the eviction. Do not put her stuff out and change the locks. I don't know all the details of your situation but that's not a good idea unless the local cops there can help you out. Look up NRS 40.253 and NRS 40.254 that goes over the eviction procedures.

Thomas S. · Answer

In that case you may have options depending on your state codes but no guarantees. If she is not under the codes it may be a simple as changing the locks when she is out but you must make sure before you do anything.

If a "room mate" does not fall under the jurisdiction of your state codes you may also have difficulty ever collecting money from her.

Thomas S. · Answer

You need to read your state landlord tenant regulations and go through the legal eviction process. She is a tenant, regardless of whether it is a written or verbal lease and she has all the rights as a tenant. She is never going to pay so you should have no problem evicting. Once you give legal notice you may get lucky and she will leave to avoid the eviction.

You will still need to go through the legal process of eviction and once you get the ruling you take that to small claims court. If she ever works again that ruling will hopefully allow you to garnish wages. It may take a while but many times the money will be awarded to you.

As a side note: you refer to her as a "room mate". Does she actually share kitchen and or bathroom with you or does she have a entirely separate living unit in the basement. This, in many jurisdictions, is treated differently in your state codes regarding your rights. In my jurisdiction, as a example, room mates sharing kitchen/bath with the home owner have no rights and can be put on the street without notice.

How can I get rid of my roommate who doesn't pay rent?

How can I get rid of my roommate who doesn't pay rent?

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