Consumer Law, Warranties can one sell breaching roommates' belongings to pay their rent?

[marla]

my sister's ex moved out of our townhome to which we three are contractually obligated towards until the end of june. we have heard/seen nothing from him, except the assumption he was on our property recently to slash my sis' tires.

the landlord knows of the situation, and said we could change our locks, but i wonder if that would remove him of any liability, or if we're allowed to if it's somewhat like he abandoned the property first.

we owe 1,000/mo for rent, plus utilities, and whatever move-out costs/damages that accrue. my sis wants to sell his misc in effort to pay such bills(he primarily paid her portion of everything, so now she's scrambling to make major money w/ no transportation and preparation), but i wonder if we could legally get in trouble for doing so. also, asides from that question, does he legally have access to the property if his belongings are here?

i know small claims court is an option, but i don't know if that'll work for a host of reasons, plus my sis needs the money upfront, so may we sell his misc left behind(or at least hold it as "collateral" as apt complexes do--and, if so, what if he comes to get it)? or are we giving him every out possible by doing so and wanting to safety-secure our home through locks and such in the process?

please follow through with the proper guidelines for us to follow so we won't be clueless and illegal fools..lol...thanks!

 

[Michael Wechsler]

OK.... here is your chance to get your revenge on your sister's ex! I'll assume that the three of you were cosigners on the lease? If so, the ex would be liable for his share. You can sue him for it. If he wasn't a cosigner, you still can nail him for the current month's rent, and the following month's rent since he would be considered a month to month tenant. So you'll get at least 2 months from him.

With regard to his property... don't sell it just yet. If you have a last address, send him a certified letter stating that it seems that he has abandoned certain property and that unless he calls you within a period of time to pick it up, e.g. 10 days, you will consider it abandoned and will dispose of it. Your idea of "collateral" is a good one. While legally he has a right to his property, he'll have a difficult time going into court with "unclean hands."

Small claims is a GREAT remedy. If he doesn't show and you obtain a judgment, you send a written demand notice for payment. If he doesn't pay you within 30 days you can file a lien in the county and this will hound the ex until he pays for it. If the ex decides to apply for a loan, credit, etc. -- it will surface and he will not be happy. But that is the price you pay for being a scofflaw.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

[marla]

good advice, so my question now, although elementary, is how technical i can get in a certified letter....i understand the premise behind creating one, but i don't know my limits, if there are any.
in the letter, may i suggest("demand")whatever remedy of my choosing? what if legally such remedy isn't feasible?
in this situation, the ex needs a letter because we don't want to legally do anything wrong, like keeping his stuff, and he has since come around trying to get inside the home(we changed the locks, according to the landlord's ok). he recently called my sis at work and threatened to break down the door to get said stuff(btw, if he did break down the door, would he get in trouble for such destructive behavior, or would he not since he's technically on the lease?).
however, because we now fear violent behavior, or even simply a scene in front of the children, can we say in the letter a third party must be present while he's here to get the belongings? (and how about whatever other wishes as well? like, we don't want him coming around the home or her work, we expect him to pay for rent since HE chose to leave, etc.) and can my sis put in a request in regard to him paying for her tires(even though he "allegedly' did the act, yet admitted it on the phone in anger)?
just want to go about it in the proper fashion....

 

[marla]

PS

oh, and if we have no personal address, can he be mailed at work?

i promise no more questions...lol..thanks....

 

[jon_]

With regard to a demand letter, there are no real "boundaries" that are imposed except those in the ordinary course of lawful behavior. If you are inaccurate in the letter than that will come up in court! However, there is nothing wrong with saying that you'll sue him for what he owes and all the damages that he has caused as a result of his deliberate breach of the lease, including your efforts and costs, etc. Additionally you can state the things you suspect and warn him about the consequences if he tries to retaliate -- in a courteous but strong manner.

If you are sending a letter to his work, you may want to send it with the statement "private and confidential" marked on it. Your name as a return address might tip him off if it is a certified method of delivery, which it should be. Leaving your address and some initials or the like might not be a bad idea.

The goal of this step is to show that you tried to settle the matter in a civil and amicable fashion, the defendant had an opportunity to settle the matter but chose not to do so. And now you can prove it.