Eviction Grounds I rented a room out of my apartment to someone

[louisianalady]

I rented a room out mod my apapartment to someone. We had a verbal agreement he pays half the rent. He's leaving without paying his half. It's halfway through the month and he hadn't paid anything. Is it legal for me to keep his stuff and change the locks?

 

[army judge]

I rented a room out mod my apapartment to someone. We had a verbal agreement he pays half the rent. He's leaving without paying his half. It's halfway through the month and he hadn't paid anything. Is it legal for me to keep his stuff and change the locks?

No, changing the locks and keeping his stuff could end up with him suing you.
If that happens you could end up paying him for his property and violating his tenancy.

What you call a verbal agreement is a creature of state statute.
Every state in this union steps in with a state statute to eliminate problems cause by the "statute of fraud" issue from centuries ago.

Okay, enough with my poor legal history and boring you.

As he has appeared to have abandoned his tenancy, you have to evict him to put an end to this.
You also have to protect and store his property, and can't change the locks.
You change the locks, you illegally have created a lockout situation.

You will eventually get the court to legally evict this deadbeat.
You more than likely will get a judgment saying he owes you XXXX dollars.
Don't expect to collect any of that money, as this is why these deadbeats rent rooms.
They often have poor credit, criminal convictions, and are deadbeats.
Bottom line, they are notorious for nOT paying their debts.
Once you resolve this, you would be smart never to rent a room again.


I suggest you Google, Yahoo, or Bing: "Eviction YOUR PARISH, LA"



Okay, read the information on these links, and then start the process:

Abandoned property of tenants in LA:

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/handling-tenants-abandoned-property-louisiana.html

http://real-estate.lawyers.com/landlord-tenant-law/abandoned-personal-property.html

http://lawdigest.uslegal.com/landlord-tenant/summary-of-residential-landlord-tenant-law/2192



First, LA State AG:

https://www.ag.state.la.us/Shared/ViewDoc.aspx?Type=3&Doc=220

More LA eviction information:

http://louisianalawhelp.org/issues/housing/evictions

Illegal eviction, just don't do it this way:

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/illegal-eviction-procedures-louisiana.html

LA eviction laws, summarized:

https://legalcatch.wordpress.com/20...e-eviction-forms-and-procedures-in-louisiana/

Eviction tips for Baton Rouge (most larger cities and most parishes offer similar tips):

https://brgov.com/dept/citycourt/pdf/Eviction.pdf

Help and tips from the New Orleans Bar Association:

http://www.neworleansbar.org/landlord-tenant-laws.html