Well, your sentence answers itself :). He’s an asshole, pure and simple.
Also he is, at this point, staying there completely free of charge. He has no expectation of getting any deposit money back, and until he’s physically forced out, he’s not spending any money either. I’d bet he doesn’t have any household goods he cares much about either. So he has nothing to lose.
BTW - the bit about turning off the utilities and playing dumb in front of a judge was, SOMEWHAT, tongue in cheek. I assume the landlady has sought legal counsel, and should clear any such scheme with the lawyer before trying it. I suspect it is, in general, a very bad idea. It’s a nice fantasy though.
For the OP’s family’s sake, I hope the legal process where he lives doesn’t let things drag on for months. Some locations have VERY tenant-slanted laws.
Most places have laws that favor tenants–as well they should. Look at it this way: when a tenant exploits the law, the landlord is inconvenienced and loses income; when a landlord exploits the law, the tenant loses their health or home.
So yes, it sucks when a shitty tenant exploits their advantage, but we should all be glad it exists.
Anyone else see the movie “Pacific Heights?” I think it gave my landlord (just the one duplex, but his parents own a shitload of rentals) buddy nightmares for several weeks after we saw it.
Follow the law to the letter when evicting them, no shortcutting, and it may be worth paying a lawyer to help you understand the law.
If they screw the place up beyond what is covered by security deposit, you can obtain a judgment against them. You won’t be able to collect it of course. Not now. My buddy has had a couple of former tenants that were quite surprised to learn that they would not be able to buy a house, or get a business loan, until they had paid the old judgment, with interest. One actually sued to have the entry removed from her credit report…her argument: “It was a long time ago, and it’s not faaaaaiiir!” Judge was able to find for my buddy without laughing.