Roomate abandoned apt - want him off lease

[adweller]

Hi - A friend and I leased an apartment 7 months ago, and after 1 month he got drunk, fell down a canal, hit his head and suffered brain damage. After 2 month in intensive care (1 month in coma) he left AMA (against medical advice) and came home. Crazy - staying drunk all day, severely abusing his pain meds, and I finally kicked him out and changed the locks. Now he's wanting to come back "home", still drinking alcoholically, and hasn't paid rent in 6 months. Also (luckily, I think) he had the power shut off after I kicked him out - it was in his name - without telling me. Anyway, this guy's a menace now. He's got a thickening file with the local police since his accident which can't hurt my case, but I do not want him to come back. I rented his room almost immediately after booting him, and my new roommate and myself are both in recovery from alcoholism. Don't want a crazy drunk guy in the house.
My leasing agent says there's nothing she can do - she advised me to get a good lawyer. I don't know the law, and I know I shouldn't have changed the locks, but it seems to me that since he abandoned the apartment and hasn't paid rent in 6 months I should be able to have him removed from the lease.
If anyone has any experience or info, please help. I'm not sure what to do.
Thanks

 

[mike]

Hi - A friend and I leased an apartment 7 months ago, and after 1 month he got drunk, fell down a canal, hit his head and suffered brain damage. After 2 month in intensive care (1 month in coma) he left AMA (against medical advice) and came home. Crazy - staying drunk all day, severely abusing his pain meds, and I finally kicked him out and changed the locks. Now he's wanting to come back "home", still drinking alcoholically, and hasn't paid rent in 6 months. Also (luckily, I think) he had the power shut off after I kicked him out - it was in his name - without telling me. Anyway, this guy's a menace now. He's got a thickening file with the local police since his accident which can't hurt my case, but I do not want him to come back. I rented his room almost immediately after booting him, and my new roommate and myself are both in recovery from alcoholism. Don't want a crazy drunk guy in the house.
My leasing agent says there's nothing she can do - she advised me to get a good lawyer. I don't know the law, and I know I shouldn't have changed the locks, but it seems to me that since he abandoned the apartment and hasn't paid rent in 6 months I should be able to have him removed from the lease.
If anyone has any experience or info, please help. I'm not sure what to do.
Thanks

I don't know what state you are in. If he abandoned the apartment and hasn't paid rent in 6 months, I ask you this -- did you have any contact with him and discuss this at all? I'm not sure why you need a lawyer if what you say is true. To begin, he'd have to pay for the 6 months of rent and if that is what he wants, then let him know he has to show up with the dough. See what he says or whether he'd rather not bother and forget about the past rent... that would seem to be a convincing presentation and you will be out of this mess without the need to get the law involved. Get him off the lease as soon as possible. Note the terms to be able to terminate the lease immediately as well if they are in there...

 

[adweller]

Hmmm...

Hi - thanks for your reply. I'm in Florida. I have had contact with him, though it's been a month or so now. The conversations are usually monthly, with him telling me he's moving back in week, and me telling him he's no longer welcome, and that if he expects to actually get into the apartment, he'd better bring the police with him. Our original deal to get him out in the first place was that if he were to move into a halfway house and stay sober for 6 months we'd let him move back. He's been unable to stay sober and keeps getting kicked out of the halfway houses - which prompts him to try us again. Now, he hasn't paid rent in 6 months, but I rented his room. Does this matter? I know that legally I shouldn't have done this, but I needed the rent money. Is it true what my leasing agaent is telling me, that there's nothing she can do? That I have to go to court to get him off the lease? Seems absurd to me. Thanks again for your help.