# Rights when living with a crazy parent? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 28, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-when-living-with-a-crazy-parent/847136 "2020-01-28T23:52:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-when-living-with-a-crazy-parent/847136/22 "2020-01-30T15:25:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > IANAL but I don’t think you can simply tell the person who owns the house that you’re living in that you are establishing a landlord/tenant relationship. It has to be a mutual agreement between both parties. This is definitely not true and people have gotten into a lot of trouble with it. Exactly what the conditions are varies widely from state to state and sometimes by locality, but if someone is living in a dwelling for an extended period, especially if they’re paying rent and having mail delivered, they can legally become a tenant without any explicit agreement from the property owner. People have found that they are not actually able to call the police to kick out what they thought is a guest who overstayed their welcome but the courts think is now a tenant. If you’re going to have someone live at your house for more than a long week (that is, from start of one weekend to end of the next) you should definitely check your local laws to make sure that you’re not going to have a problem if they decide to stay longer. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-when-living-with-a-crazy-parent/847136/23 "2020-01-30T15:38:09Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > If she’s throwing away your property, that’s illegal whether you’re a tenant or not, but is also probably going to be hard to prove. If she actually stole your vehicle, that’s also illegal whether you’re a tenant or not. Since the OP hasn’t returned and we’re all just speculating, I’ll mention that it did cross my mind that perhaps “she will throw away what she feels I don’t need” meant drugs or drug paraphernalia, or that “She took my vehicle that was in my name” meant that she took the keys so OP wouldn’t get a DUI. Absolutely not claiming this _is the_ situation, just that it’s one of many possibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-when-living-with-a-crazy-parent/847136/24 "2020-01-30T16:24:50Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Since the OP hasn’t returned and we’re all just speculating, I’ll mention that it did cross my mind that perhaps “she will throw away what she feels I don’t need” meant drugs or drug paraphernalia, or that “She took my vehicle that was in my name” meant that she took the keys so OP wouldn’t get a DUI. That’s certainly possible, though not really the read I got from the situation. If the OP is using illegal drugs or drinking and risking DUI, then trying to get a court to intervene is… a much worse idea. In any case, I don’t think that getting the courts involved will have a positive outcome for the OP, it could cause her mother to blow up, and it could get her into a lot of trouble (depending on what they’re not telling us). ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-when-living-with-a-crazy-parent/847136/25 "2020-01-30T21:03:56Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > This is definitely not true and people have gotten into a lot of trouble with it. Exactly what the conditions are varies widely from state to state and sometimes by locality, but if someone is living in a dwelling for an extended period, especially if they’re paying rent and having mail delivered, they can legally become a tenant without any explicit agreement from the property owner. People have found that they are not actually able to call the police to kick out what they thought is a guest who overstayed their welcome but the courts think is now a tenant. If you’re going to have someone live at your house for more than a long week (that is, from start of one weekend to end of the next) you should definitely check your local laws to make sure that you’re not going to have a problem if they decide to stay longer. One reads stories from time to time that are much worse than that. Stories of people coming home from a vacation only to find that squatters have occupied their house (and sometimes even changed the locks and/or sold all the furniture), and only a prolonged court battle can get them out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-when-living-with-a-crazy-parent/847136.md?page=1)