I need these people out of my house! What should I do?

Question

This is a long one but I hope you can persevere and help me solve this problem.

A little bit of history first:

I live in a rental house that I moved into two and a half years ago, with my fiancée. We lived here for a year before we broke up and she moved out. After she moved out, I had my good friend Tony move in, and soon after, I had another guy named Steve move in. Six months later, Steve's girlfriend moved in, and the two have been living in my house for almost a year now. I didn't put anyone else on the lease as I pretty much wanted to have final say over everything that went on in this house. This system has worked fine for a year and a half. It should also be known that I have a cat in a house that doesn't allow pets, however my property manager doesn't know about her. My cat is well looked after, healthy, and has not yet done anything to damage this property.

The Insult:

Steve and his gf used to keep a bonsai tree inside a large rusty old bird cage on our balcony (so that the neighborhood crows don't eat the tree). A few weeks ago I noticed that the cage had been moved from the balcony to their bedroom, and now had a towel thrown over it. I thought this was a little weird, but I just forgot about it minutes later. A few days later I found cat food hiding in the fridge that I didn't buy. Again I thought this was weird, but again, I soon forgot about it. A few days after this, I found a small zip-loc bag on the carpet outside their room with a white printed label stating that the bag had contained cat antibiotics. The package also stated Steve's name, a vet's name, and most importantly, the name of a cat. Steve and his gf are hiding a sick cat inside my house! I should have caught onto it earlier, but I never thought for a second that they would be stupid enough to attempt something like this. Not only have they insulted me by thinking they could trick me, but they’ve shown no regard for the health and safety of *MY* cat. Needless to say, that MY poor cat has not left my room since this discovery, as I can not risk her coming into contact with anything that could be contagious. Steve and his gf are in no way responsible enough to take care of a cat, so I am concerned for its health and safety as well. They are locking it inside a rusty old bird cage and feeding it kangaroo meat!! You don’t feed kangaroo meat to kittens, and you certainly don’t leave it to rot unsealed in the fridge for days. Their room is also very messy and totally unsuitable for a kitten, with things like hair bands, small pieces of plastic, electrical cables, and old food wrappers and plates strewn about.

In short, they brought a cat into my house without my permission and they chose not to inform me when the cat became sick with what is most likely a contagious condition. Now I don’t trust them. I want them out of my house. I have not yet confronted them about this cats presence yet as I am not sure of the best plan of attack.

What do I do?:

Option 1: Confront them about it?

I want them to pay the money they owe me and my housemate Tony for bills BEFORE I confront them and ask them to move out, otherwise I can kiss that money goodbye. No bills are in their name so they are not exactly liable to pay anything (which also means they again have no say over anything; the way I wanted it to be). I have given them a over a week to pay these bills which I said were due today, and they have refused to pay them, so I think I’m going to have to give up hope of getting this money back, and just move on. I want them and their contagious cat out of my house ASAP. I am currently in possession of two of Steve’s guitars so I COULD keep them as ransom until these bills have been paid, but since there is no legal obligation for Steve & gf to pay these bills, holding onto his guitars is pretty much stealing.

There are a lot of potential hazards in straight up confronting them about this and asking them to move out, so I feel this is my worst option. Steve and I both play in local bands that will most likely be playing the same shows; we associate with the same people etc, only these people are much more likely to pick his side since he is out getting shitfaced with them twice a week. There is a definite possibility that he could attempt to cause **** for me, my band, and possibly even arrange aggression aimed in my direction, and there is pretty much nothing I can do about that. If I p**s them off, there is also the possibility that they will damage the house, steal or damage my property, and tell my property manager that I have been keeping a cat in my house for 2.5 years.

Option 2: Remove the cat?

I could take the cat away from my house while they aren’t home. I would be delivering the cat to the RSPCA to be re-homed. I’m certain that their cat has not been micro-chipped, de-sexed, or registered. The potential upside of this is that my housemate and I can’t be blamed for doing so as we *apparently* have no idea there was a cat inside their room at all. However if they fail to believe this, they could possibly attempt to do the same to my cat, but I don’t want to take that risk. Also stealing their cat is just way too evil, and doesn’t get them out of my house.

Option 3: Trick them into moving out on their own accord?

However devious this may be, I feel it is still my best option. My plan was to tell them that our lease is up and we are all planning to move out since out rent is being increased by say $200. The potential for this to actually happen is quite real here in Australia due to some political and financial jargon I can’t quite recall. Also, real estate agents are known to impose a massive rent hike in order to remove tenants from a house when they have no real cause. Such actions are usually put into place when the property OWNERS want to move back into the house, or wish to sell/renovate it. These reasons make this lie very believable. Tony and I would talk of moving out in their presence to perpetuate the lie, maybe pack a few boxes and leave them in the living room, and the desired result would be that Steve and his gf move out with the sick cat, all without causing any dramas or aggravating anyone. Believe me I would love nothing more than to bust into their room right now and rip them a new one over this insult, but I feel this is the best option. Steve and his gf have a very large circle of friends so I have no doubt that they could find a new place in a matter of days.

So, what do you think is the best option? Is there an option I’m not considering?

Any constructive input would be most appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 1

First of all you have a cat that you state is not allowed by your landlord, then you state that your roommates are harboring a cat against your wishes! I'm not sure you should complain about someone doing something that you yourself are doing. If you want them out, then you are going to have to go about it in a legal manner. If they are on a lease with a landlord rather it be you or someone else, the landlord must be the one to serve them with a 30 day notice for violating their lease, but where does that leave you? You have woven a web that will not be easy to unravel!  Check with your local Housing Authority for what you can do to legally fix the pickle you are in!

Answer 2

I think there is one you are not considering - just ask them to leave, since you are the only one of the lease they have no right to be there and you can just give them notice to leave and evict them if they don't. I'm going to assume here that you are allowed to sublet to them and there is nothing wrong with them being there. That being the case, since you only have a verbal agreement with them, you can just ask them to leave for essentially no reason at all.

If you want to tell them something, just tell them some nice lie (your best friend from college is going to move in, whatever). I would not mention the cat for the obvious reason that you also have a cat and no cats are allowed at the place. In fact they could call up the property manager and tell them you have a cat and you may well get told to leave by the landlord as you are also violating this rule - so don't mention the cat(s), just leave that well enough alone.

You will have to give them proper notice to leave, you can keep any security deposit (if there is any) to cover unpaid bills and rent (if they stiff you on the last months rent). You can also take them to court for these expenses and if they refuse to leave after you give them notice you will have to evict them. Still, you should be able to get rid of them and sick kitty pretty quickly (I hope).

Best luck.

Answer 3

Yeah, you're missing something. This is all over a sick cat they brought in without your knowledge. They aren't trashing the house or having orgies or doing drugs. They've just, in their sort of lamebrained way, tried to help a cat (hey, they took the cat to a vet!). Yes, they've put your (illegal) cat at risk. I'm not certain they realize this.

I think you really need to calm down and put this into perspective. I'm a dog owner and if anyone threatened my dog, I'd rip their head off and play ball with it. However, think this through.

There's no malice here. Moreover, each of your scenarios will cause bad feelings (#3 - what happens when you guys don't actually move?). Once you count to a billion and calm down, sit them down and tell them you know about the cat and that it's sick. Tell them that's dangerous to your cat. See what they say. Hear their explanation. Listen to the sick kitty's plight.

You will probably adopt the kitty before the conversation is over.

And truthfully, would you have done the same in their place?

Answer 4

Most courts will consider them as residents of your home even though they are not on the lease.  What you need to do is go to the court house and get an eviction notice for them.  When the police come to serve them mention the cat and the conditions to the officer.  The officer will see the cats condition and call animal control.

This way they are out of your home and the cat will be safe plus it is all legal and binding and you are more likly to keep a friendship.

Answer 5

I'm sorry, I don't have the stamina.  I stopped after: Steve and his gf are in no way responsible enough to take care of a cat, so I am concerned for its health and safety as well. They are locking it inside a rusty old bird cage and feeding it kangaroo meat!!

No, no, no, no!!!!!!!!!  Whatever you end up doing, please remit the cat, and turn her over to a humane society at the very least.