Evicting tenants ,changing locks??

Question

i have a friend who was in need ,she had no deposit,no bond for a house.i was due to move ,so i rented her mine .i left it fully furnished ,very expensive audio equipment ,tv etc.

i have heard she is due to leave and start a new life in another city .i confronted her and she said this is true i am leaving in 9 days.i have suspicion she will take someof my belongings with her?? have i right to enter do the packing and kick her out early ?? shes ignoring my calls ,not allowing me access to the house ??i cant even get access to show new tenants around >?? there was no tenancy agreement to begin with ,i still have a key ,what are my rights ??can the police arrest me if i box her stuff up and put in garage and refuse here entry ??

17 hours ago - 3 days left to answer.

Answer 1

Without a tenancy agreement, this could go two ways:

1) You are lucky, and the police treat her as a trespasser and remove her

2) She is treated as a squatter/tenant, and thus has rights, which means you will have to go through the courts to have her legally removed from the property.

Get in touch with the police immediately.

You should also contact a lawyer for legal advice.

Answer 2

I'm not sure you need to evict her, because she's leaving anyway - so what her rights are in an eviction is beside the point.  Regardless of the presence of a rental agreement, if it's your house, you should have rights to access.  I don't know where your located, so try http://www.rentlaw.com/ for your state to find out about how much notice you have to give to enter.  If the items inside are yours, I know of no reason you can't take THEM out.  Take out the stuff you're worried she might take.  If it's already gone, call the police and file a report (insist they take one if they're reluctant - you'll need it for the insurance and courts).  Don't let this make you crazy, and don't let it stop you from helping friends...just get it in writing.

Answer 3

even with just a verbal agreement you have to follow the landlord tenant laws.

You CANNOT just box up her stuff and change the locks - that is illegal.

Give her 24 hrs notice that you are coming by  - Leaving a message or a note on the door is fine and she DOES NOT have to agree to it.  It is legal as long as you give her proper notice.

take pictures and inventory of all your stuff that you have there BEFORE she leaves- that way  you can prove if she takes something.

The 24 hr notice thing works for showing it too - She does not have to agree to it.

Answer 4

You have asked this in a previous thread............how many times do you want this answered.?

Answer 5

Yes, you are talking about an unlawful eviction and you can be arrested.

The judge is also going to let her stay at least another month.

You can't be doing s%&^% like that.

She does not need any "tenancy agreement" she is protected by basic, and this is very basic, landlord/tenant laws.

I know you feel like you own the place, and you do, but it is still her residence and Americans can not be thrown out of their homes without due course.

You need to evict her the normal way, through the court system.

Answer 6

She isnt much of a friend then is she, could you not go in while shes out and take all of teh expensive equipment out

Answer 7

If she is paying you rent she is still classed as a verbal tenant, then there are squatters rights which hold up in a court of law. You need to go to the Police with proof that the stuff is yours & explain, do it ASP coz it does sound like she's up to something shady. Thats well out of order too after you helped her out. Good Luck hope it goes ok..

Answer 8

The absolute first thing you should do is hire a lawyer - today. The few hundred bucks a lawyer charges will seem cheap compared with the headaches you will have from this tenant from h**l if you don't nip the problem in the bud. You also might want to keep an eye on the place (if it isn't in an inconvenient location). If you drive past a few times a day, or peek in the window, you will be able to see if she's boxing your stuff, and you'll be able to confront her as she moves out. Definitely check with your lawyer though as to what your rights are.

Answer 9

without a tenancy agreement there's not much you can do. Maybe you should have a word with the police and see if they can get a warrant to retrieve your stuff before she moves out. But with any proof that the stuff is yours, I doubt you'll very far, but the police may be able to give you advice and tell you , your rights as a landlord.

Answer 10

You know now that you should have made her sign an agreement. It can get very complicated, and expensive, if there is no agreement to refer to. The best news is that she has said she is moving out. You would incur heavy costs to evict her. Try to illicit her new address from her. Tell her you would like to forward any post once she has left. The nicer you are the more likely she is to part with the information.

If you are lucky enough to find out where she is going you then can pursue her via the police if she lifts any of your gear.

Other than that you haven't made it very easy for yourself.

Don't do anything that may encourage her to seek legal advice as it will cost you to defend yourself.