strained

[strained]

Jurisdiction

Pennsylvania

I have a live in boyfriend - now ex - who will not leave my home. He is a tenant at will as it is my home and he moved into my home in 2014 due to being my boyfriend and wanting to live together. The relationship has ended and I asked him to leave on 12/24/17 and also again 4/5/18. We have divided "assets" and he is making threats now to consider us a landlord/tenant when it was never that situation. He does not have a private living area or bathroom, he moved in with me and lives with me in my home with my daughter and mother along with his daughter. His daughter has caused damage to my home that I want fixed - broken ceiling/stained carpets. He took 2000 out of our joint account (he only contributed his monthly payment to that account; he was placed on my account when my I went to Europe in case something happened) on 4/14/18. Due to that, can I say he hasn't helped with bills for 2 months? I gave him notice on 4/5 he had 30 days to vacate - via text - then I copied the text to an email. My questions are:
1 - Can I give 15 day notice as of today?
2 - He is a Tenant at Will correct?
3 - What is my next step legally?

 

[army judge]

Pennsylvania law regarding evictions and most aspects of a residential landlord-tenant relationship are controlled by the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951.

If a landlord wants a tenant to move out, the landlord must follow the notice requirements of any written lease. If there are no notice requirements stated in the lease or the lease is oral, then the landlord must give the tenant:

• Fifteen days written notice if the lease is for one year or less, for breach or expiration of the lease (such as a month-to-month lease);

• Thirty days written notice if the lease is for more than one year for breach or expiration of the lease;

• Ten days written notice if the tenant is behind in rent.

A tenant may be evicted if:

• The term of the lease for which the property was rented is over;

• The tenant is behind in the rent; or

• The tenant has broken some clause of the lease.

The landlord needs no reasons to evict the tenant if the landlord gives the tenant proper notice that he or she wants the property back at the end of the lease. Special eviction procedures exist for criminal activity.

A good overview of the process:

PALawHELP.org - Your Online Guide to Legal Information and Legal Services in Pennsylvania



The Magisterial Court in Montgomery County explains the process:

https://www.montcopa.org/DocumentCenter/View/515


The Landlord/Tenant Act requires your landlord to give you a written eviction notice. This notice must be a 10-day notice if he/she is evicting you for nonpayment of rent, or 15 days if the eviction is for breach of the lease or end of lease term.

Your landlord must give you a written eviction notice before he or she can start a legal action to evict you, unless you have a written lease and the lease says what kind of an eviction notice, if any, the landlord must give you. If there is no written lease or a written lease does not discuss notice, the Landlord/Tenant Act provides the following notice requirements.

1. If the eviction is NOT for failure to pay rent, the landlord must give you 15 days notice if the lease is for 1 year or less, and 30 days notice if the lease is for more than 1 year. If the eviction is for nonpayment of rent, the landlord must give you 10 days notice. Remember, a written lease can waive or change these notice requirements.

2. The notice must be in writing and given to you in person or by posting on the door of your residence.

3. The notice must give the reason for eviction. If there is no written lease, the reason for eviction can be simply that the landlord has decided not to renew the lease.

4. If the notice does not follow the law, your tenant can ask the Magisterial District Judge, at the eviction hearing, to dismiss the Landlord/Tenant Complaint filed by the landlord. If the Magisterial District Judge dismisses the complaint, the landlord must then give you a proper eviction notice before filing a new Landlord/Tenant Complaint.

I doubt that you'll ever receive a dollar of what you alleged the deadbeats owe.
You can try, and you'll probably receive a judgment upon which you can try to collect.

WARNING: If you get the deadbeats evicted, be smart and don't allow ANYONE to spend so much as one night in your home.

My rule is that I rarely allow anyone (except a few trusted people to even enter our homes).

If you keep the camel out of your home, you'll never have to worry about trying to evict the camel!!!

 

[strained]

Thank you so much for helping. I have called every place I can find a number to and no one can help me. I will give a 15 day notice tomorrow. I need to bring him to small claims court for the 2000 and the damage his daughter caused to my house correct? The retaliation, threats, and demands are making me comfortable. I refuse to be in his company. He now is sleep In my bedroom-which was ours-and walking on eggshells. He is a "tenant at will" correct as there was no written agreement just a boyfriend moving in with girlfriend and helping with bills? The sooner this is over the better. Again, thank you for your respo we it was appreciated.

 

[zddoodah]

he is making threats now to consider us a landlord/tenant when it was never that situation.

Legally speaking, that's exactly what it is and always has been. You're his landlord and he's your tenant. You acknowledged as much when you wrote, in the second sentence of your post, that "[h]e is a tenant at will."

can I say he hasn't helped with bills for 2 months?

You can say anything you like.

1 - Can I give 15 day notice as of today?
2 - He is a Tenant at Will correct?
3 - What is my next step legally?

1. Yes.
2. Sounds like it.
3. Hiring a lawyer would be the smartest thing to do. That way you make sure everything is done correctly.

 

[strained]

Thank you. I have a call into a lawyer and just waiting.

 

[army judge]

Thank you. I have a call into a lawyer and just waiting.

It couldn't hurt to video your home when he isn't looking just in case more damage occurs.

If he becomes violent or threatens you, you can seek an emergency order of protection which gets him removed immediately.

Be sure to keep a record of everything, maybe get three or four relatives to move in until he moves out.

Don't argue if things erupt, immediately call 911 or have one of your trusted visitors call 911.

 

[strained]

Thank you for your advice.