Roomate Roommate owes / leaving things

[Ddare]

Three of us signed a month to month lease with the verbal agreement of equal splits in utilities and rent.

On April 18 I noticed one of the roommate's possessions slowly disappearing. Upon asking if he was was moving, he stated "I thought I told you". We contacted the landlord and resigned the lease for my other roommate and I starting on May 1.

It's now the 30th and he still has many possessions in our residence. I believe his intention is to pick some up a car load at a time. Since he will cease living here tomorrow, May 1, he has stated he is not paying rent.

He currently owes for back utilities and rent.

He agreed to leave his house key here as well as a "chunk" of what he owes when he picked up things tonight. No key was left, no money was left, and there are lots of possessions here.

My question is how long do I have to wait before I throw his possessions away? If (when) I file small claims, do I also charge a prorated rent fee for storage of his possessions?

 

[army judge]

You can't THROW away his things. You have to protect them. Throw away his junk, he can sue you.


You can't boot him either. You or the landlord need to evict him. Small claims is not the venue in which to bring your case, unless it handles evictions. You're allowed to bring an eviction action and sue for the value of unpaid rent and the rent for the months he owes by leaving early.

In all likelihood, you're likely to take nothing on the case. I suggest you work with the landlord. If you're all equal tenants unto the landlord, only the landlord can bring such an action.