Here is the story. My wife, her sister and me moved out to a new appartment last first of august. 2 weeks later (august 14), a friend of my wife moved in with us. She was supposed to pay her share of the rent and utilities every month. Which amounts to $420. This is how much she owes us:
Moved in:
augu 14 - augu 31 : $198 unpaid
augu 31 - sept 30 : $070 unpaid
sept 30 - octo 31 : $070 unpaid
octo 31 - nove 30 : $220 unpaid
so right now, she owes us $558
Now, we’ve been having tons of money problems for the last months. A big part of them was the unreliability of my wife’s friend and sister. and this one was the worst of all. My wife is already $3000 in debt and we just don’t have enough money to keep going right now. we NEED her full share of money by december 1st so that we can pay rent.
So, tonight, I went to talk to her, exposed our financial problems and told her that we would need her full share this month on time or that she would have to move in 8 days. (we have put ads online and hopefully we’ll have a new roommate by then)
However, she says that she cannot pay full rent in time and that she will not leave either. That she has the right to a 30 days notice.
My questions are as follow:
we didn’t sign any contract with her and my wife is the only one on the lease. if she persists on not paying the full amount nor leaves, can we legally get her kicked out?
how does it work and how long does it take? we really need to have someone moving in by the start of december so we can pay rent. Do we just call the police and they’ll have her out the same day?
We live in the state of Florida, coral springs to be precise.
NB: I know I might sound like an asshole but we’re really out of options here. We’ve been more than nice to her about all this but she just won’t cooperate. She had her share of problems, true, but we need to pay rent…hell, we don’t have ANY money left. My wife had to blow all the money we had saved for the INS (i’m trying to adjust my status and get a greencard), she didn’t have enough money to buy her pills 3 days ago so she has to spend the month without them (guess what that means for me). I’m running out of my asthma medicine and I don’t have money to go to the doctor to get more,…you get the picture.
You don’t sound like an asshole at all, Gozu. You have been more than patient. I am not an attorney. Coral Gables might have a Legal Aid Society that could answer your questions if no one can here. Sometimes if you call an attorney, they are kind enough to answer less complex questions such as yours. Finally, I feel certain that the Sheriff’s department could give you some information.
Thank you for the advice Zoe. I will look for a legal aid society. In the meanwhile, anyone else’s input would be appreciated.
Thanks
NB:
Now that I re-read my post, it seems funny to get in this kind of trouble for 560 bucks. The thing is that everytime we have to priviledge rent over other bills, we end up with tons of overdraft fees, late payment surcharges, penalities and whatnot which increase the total loss considerably. Add to that that my sister in law is a totally irresponsible girl (her priorities are partying, getting new clothes and haircuts which seldom leaves her enough money to pay her share of the bills) and u get the winning combination. Now if only my wife could get addicted to gambling, I’d have the perfect life
If the roommate is not on the lease then she is a guest. If she refuses to leave you can have the cops come and drag her out. There may be legal subtleties depending on the state and municipality where you live, though. It would be a good idea to check with the local housing authority.
What no alcohol? (sub) Why yes I am being funny (/sub)
Try legal aid. Good people IMHO.
Re-read the lease. If you are in default for having a border, even a family member, Legal Aid can tell you.
I had a roommate who would rather lounge by the pool and read Tom Clancy novels than go out and get a job. I heard he made friends with another sponge in the building and they’d go door to door asking for beer money. His take on the situation was that I had to pay rent anyway or else I’d lose my apartment, so it didn’t matter if he paid me or not. He also liked to make long-distance phone calls, turn on every light in the apartment, and play the stereo and television at maximum volume. His grandfather paid his back rent and utility bills (over $2,000) and I asked him to move out. He left quietly.
Had we not known each other since we were four years old I would not have let him stay a year. Well, I’ve learned that there’s such a thing as being too nice a guy.
I have no advice to offer in the OP’s case, other than this: If it comes down to your immediate family and an in-law, I’d choose the immediate family. Especially if the person (like my ex-roommate) lives to party instead of being responsible.
Well, we made a few phonecalls and here is what we have been told:
we would have to give that person a 3 days notice, after that, fill out an eviction notice (processing fee is $125!!We don’t have that) and wait for 5 days. Then, if she still hasn’t left, give her another 24h notice before we call the cops.
This would seem to be the normal procedure for a landlord. I’m not sure that it is applicable in our situation. She is listed as an occupant but as i mentionned before, she is not in the lease so technically, she would be a guest as friedo said.
I guess we’ll have to investigate this a little more…
When I was in a bad domestic situation, (in Illinois) the cops made HIM move out of his own house for 3 days while I got my ducks in a row. The law here is that if a person lives somewhere for a certain length of time, they cannot just be kicked out. They have established residency by living there and cannot simply be thrown out on the street.
It’s odd how some people without written leases seem to think they have all the rights and privleges that they would under a signed lease and how many unsophisticated landlords swallow this BS.
Freido is correct, if she is not on the lease, there is no lease with her. Oral contracts are not enforcable. She is a squatter the moment you decide she is one and can be forcibly removed by the police with 10 minutes notice. Tell her she has no lease and if she is not gone by x date you will call the police. You are being played.
It sounds to me like you need to have a serious talk with your wife about her family and friends. From your OP, sounds like the sister has been a deadbeat to some degree as well. As far as the legal stuff is concerned, make sure you follow protocol and get the bum friend out legally. She sounds like a total loser! You might want to bite the bullet and give her what SHE thinks she is entitled to… 30 days notice. I know that’s a lot more than the 3 days + 5 days + 24 hours for the eviction notice. But it’s a lot cheaper. And don’t count on her paying anything she still owes you.
Of course, you can always just have her things put outside and take your chances that she’ll take you in front of Judge Judy.
astro, oral contracts are not enforcable? Are you sure you meant to say that?
Sounds like you know how to get her out legally now Gozo. Perhaps if you explain to her what you can do she will be more agreeable to paying the rent or moving out in a more reasonable amount of time then a month.
Maybe if he were to excersize the ORAL part of the contract she could earn her keep. — Sorry, Gutter Brain.
Here`s what I would do,
Explain to her the legal rights you have, (the eviction process).
Print out this thread and show her our disgust at her having taken advantage of you. That and the fact we all think you`re right.
If you have room for two roomates maybe consider getting a smaller place for just you and the wife. Rent would be cheaper.
How much are you paying for your ISP, try looking for a free one, or use the library`s internet computers. Also, if you have a cell and a land phone, consider getting rid of the land phone and only use the cell phone for now.
Well, we’ve done the obvious thing that nobody actually mentionned. We went and asked at the rental office. So here is the straight dope:
1-She is not on the lease. we can call the cops at any time to have her thrown out. The lady at the rent office says this happens ALL the time. I’m astonished to learn it…crazy u.s.a
2-Oral contracts are not valid in the state of Florida
3-Even if they were, she would have broken it the moment she didn’t pay her rent in full (that would be the first day she moved in)
4-Of course I’ll do this legally. That means, no throwing her stuff nor changing the locks while she’s gone.
I’ll inform her of all this and I hope she will reconsider and move peacefully. I gave her 8 days to move, I gave her the possibility of staying without paying what she already owe us. I just asked for full rent from now on. Even though getting someone else to move in would bring us $200 extra a month (that’s what the room is really worth). To top all this off. If she leaves, she won’t pay what she already owe us and she will portray us as the bad guys of the story.
Morality: always get your roommates to pay a first/last month and the second they start delaying payments, give them the 30 days their last month pays for and make sure they’re out when their time is up.
Oral contracts may well be enforceable in other situations, but I have never seen a situation in which oral real estate contracts or leases were legally enforceable with respect to deadbeat tenants. If a pattern of payments in exchange for residence could be could be established, I imagine a judge might consider this a defacto at will tenancy of some sort, but a non-paying sub-tenant occupant without a written lease seems to me to fall solidly within the “squatter” camp and to be subject to eviction at a moments notice.
astro, it sounds like you’re talking about the Statute of Frauds; isn’t that limited to contracts for the sale of land, as opposed to rental? In any event, the statute does not require a written contract, it merely requires that a contract be memorialized by a writing; in the case of a mere rental (NOT a lease), I should think a check would do.
BTW out of curiosity Gozu how long have you been in the US? Your english writing skills and syntax are more “American” than those of most Americans I know.
