Eviciting renters without a lease and behind on rent can i move back in to my own home

Question

About 6 months ago my wife and I had a female friend going thru a divorce and at the time haveing there house forclosed on, her and her new boyfriend needed a place, she explained it was because of her soon to be x husband, so i allowed them to move in, sending a lease agreement to be signed, prorating the first months rent, and advising that they would pay $900.00 a month, plus a little xtra each month to make up for the deposit of $500.00. Well here we are 6 months into it, and basically they paid about $300.00 a month, for 4 months, one month it was $600.00 and only one time did they pay the actual rental amount of $900.00. Now my wife and I are temorarly seperated and I am now back in town, can I move into my home without there permission and live there, while I start the evicition process.

Answer 1

You can not just move in with them if that is what you are considering! Even though they are behind in rent and there is no lease you still need to follow the rules of eviction in your state. Basically you need to serve them a 3 or 5 day day notice telling them that they need to pay all back rents or leave. This is called a notice to quit. If they do not leave after 5 days you can then go down to the court house and file for an eviction. This can take from a few days to a few weeks but you will then go before a judge and he will give them a very short time to move out, probably 10 days. If they do not move the sheriff will come and physically remove them. Be prepaired to never see the rent money they are behind and be prepaired to fix any and all damages they have made out of your own pocket. Learn a lesson from this. Always get a lease, a deposit and do a credit check on all tenants BEFORE they move in one piece of furniture.

Answer 2

Not unless you want to risk getting into serious legal trouble.

You need to abide by the landlord tenant laws in effect for the US, then for your State, then your County, plus any local ordinances - regardless of any contract or not.  I suggest you find out what your legal responsiblities and rights are asap.

If you gave them a key or let them in, and accepted any sort of money, you have a rental contract, written or not, subject to the landlord tenant laws and standard practices for your area, including any notice requirements.

What you could do, if this is a friend, is ASK if you can move in during this time (best to do that BEFORE you file for eviction).  This is an iffy move at best from a legal standpoint, but might be the best way to protect your property from damage.

Here's the deal on getting into trouble - they'd have to know where to go to complain...which many people don't.  But - there are all sorts of tenant advocate and tenant help groups that are happy to help them for free - but if you want help you'll have to pay an attorney.

There's an excellent book from Nolo Press called "Landlording", I suggest you get a copy published for your area and check it out.

In the future consider the following:

Never rent without a signed contract prior to move in.

Always check credit and references before signing a contract.

ALWAYS HAVE A CONTRACT.

ONLY take cash and cashiers checks as your intial rent and deposit payment - not checks.  Once you give them the key, if the first check bounces, you STILL have tenants but you don't have their money...

Never rent to friends - I have nothing but trouble with this because they think I'll cut them slack about every little thing, and I won't.  My rentals are a business, not a charity.

Observe landlord tenant laws to the letter.

Always keep a paper trail of everything.

Best of luck.

Answer 3

The first thing I will say is...well this is not the place to ask this. LOL.

I am a landlord and own properties in two different provinces in Canada and the rental laws in these two places are SO different.

So I really think you need to investigate this in your own province/state just in case - you don't want to do something that could hurt you legally.

Dealing with tenants is a tricky thing so I just want you to be careful.  I do believe that since you are wanting to live in the property this diffinately puts things in your favor.

One of the provinces I have a unit in - it is basically impossible to evict anyone - EVEN if they NEVER pay rent - totally ridiculous.

SO just check laws out in your specific area just to be on the safe side - there must be something online or call your local city hall for direction.

Answer 4

You must evict them before you can move in.

Answer 5

You can move into the house if you are the legal owner.

You can evict a tenant with or without a written lease.

You may wish to change the house door locks while they're not home.

Answer 6

Red riter is both wrong and right. You could end up in trouble just being a cowboy about it, but that is the best way to do it. Tell your tenants that they broke the lease thru nonpayment and they have to leave. Tell them that technically you and your lawyer could sue them for the entire amount owed ($900*6), but you are going to fill the place anyway, so that won't be necessary - they just have to go.

And no, under no circumstances can you live there and evict them at the same time. Evict them first, then move in.

Answer 7

You never enforced any sort of agreement, allowed them to pay whatever they felt like and did nothing until now.

They are month to month tenants by default. They have rights and their tenancy is governed by your state's landlord tenant laws. Get familiar with those laws pronto or hire an attorney.

You cannot move into the house. The tenants have legal possession of the property.

If you enter without proper written notice for any reason beside what is allowed per the laws, you can be arrested and sued.

You cannot change the locks, you cannot throw them out.

The only way for you to get possession and move in is to evict them through the courts.

Answer 8

well, I dont think it would be ethical.  Because if you lose things, technically, without a lease, they can say whatever they want.