Unwanted Roommates need to go!

[annakatetaylor]

I have a problem with my "roommates". About 2 months back my friend and her husband and 2 children were having a hard time and living on the floor of another guys living room and told us they were paying more than half of his expenses. We (my fiance and I) have a 3 bedroom apartment and there is only two of us, so we agreed to allow them to stay with us until they could find a place of their own and they said they would pay half of bills. Also my friend scheduled to have surgery the first of last month and I had already agreed before they moved in that I would help her with her kids while she was in the hospital and she would pay me. Well her surgery came and I had her kids for 2 weeks. They gave me 100 when they came back. Well they are doing nothing to try to find a place and my fiance and I are tired of paying the bills to support both households. They do not pay any bills. We buy food that they eat, I've had to buy diapers and formula as well. Our bills have increased by 200 a month since they moved in and her husband makes more money than mine does. Now, our landlord has called and our neighbors are complaining because their two year old is up until 2 and 3 in the morning as well as the mother and they make so much noise. He called again today and said if it does not stop he will evict us. I do not want to lose my home because I was being nice and tried to help someone out. How can I legally go about evicting them?

 

[mightymoose]

Go to the court and file the paperwork. Your landlord may be willing to assist you with the process. Make sure you do it right out you will be going in circles.

Meanwhile stop buying food and supplies that they use or secure it where they can't get it.

Report the situation to child social services to see if they might help the family out and give them a reason to get out of your house.

Basically, stop supporting them. Let social services care for the kids if needed.

 

[annakatetaylor]

Go to the court and file the paperwork. Your landlord may be willing to assist you with the process. Make sure you do it right out you will be going in circles.

Meanwhile stop buying food and supplies that they use or secure it where they can't get it.

Report the situation to child social services to see if they might help the family out and give them a reason to get out of your house.

Basically, stop supporting them. Let social services care for the kids if needed.

The landlord has nothing to do with them being here. They are not on the lease and they do not pay rent. Do I still need to go to court? What paperwork do I need to fill out? and I cant very well stop buying food, I have to eat as well and you can't really keep them out of the kitchen. Social Services isn't going to do anything. The kids aren't abused or mistreated, they are just living in my house and going to get me kicked out!

 

[mightymoose]

To legally evict them you need to go to court. Your landlord can still help of he wants, but can also leave it your responsibility.
You will find out what papers you need for filing at the court. You may also find the necessary documents online on the court website.

If you are creative you can certainly prevent them from accessing your food. Put the fridge in your bedroom behind a locked door. Don't leave leftovers. Eat out more for awhile. Put your kitchen supplies and dishes in temporary storage. Take toilet paper and towels out of the bathroom. Remove light bulbs from fixtures. Sue it is inconvenient for you, but it may motivate them to leave.
Social services certainly won't help if you don't talk to them. The kids belong to deadbeats who are near getting the family evicted. Social services may be very interested.

 

[txls]

It hardly ever fails that when you try to help someone it backfires and they take advantage. There is the legal answer through court, then there is the practical answer. Tell them to get out and if they don't, change the lock while they are out and about, and put their things on the front porch. They are not likely to have the funds to pay a lawyer. That is not legal advice, just saying what I would do. To help protect the kids you could call social services and explain the situation.

 

[mightymoose]

They would not necessarily need a lawyer to sue you for a bad eviction in small claims. Booting them out without the court action is faster, but risky in that it opens you to civil liabilities. The last thing you want is to be ordered to pay them!

 

[annakatetaylor]

I dont understand why I have to go to court if they don't legally live here.

 

[mightymoose]

They do legally live there. You let them in. It does not matter if there is a lease and it does not matter if they are paying rent.

 

[annakatetaylor]

But she is receiving state benefits with her parents address on them. So no one, legal wise, knows that they live here... why can't I just tell them to leave?

 

[Betty3]

You can tell them to leave but if they will not, you really need to legally evict them through the court system.

 

[army judge]

But she is receiving state benefits with her parents address on them. So no one, legal wise, knows that they live here... why can't I just tell them to leave?

Hmm, I bet the benefits givers would like to know what the deadbeats are doing.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

"why can't I just tell them to leave?"

Of course you can just tell them to leave.

The issue of following up with an eviction is if these deadbeats laugh in your face and tell you to take a hike when you ask them to go.

And, if you consider calling the police to help you out, they will tell you that this is a civil, not criminal matter and will not aid you in your effort to get your friends out without a court order backing them up to do so.

The problem is that you allowed these folks to enter your rental property (without permission from your landlord to do so, it appears) with the goal of helping them out and, as so often happens, "no good deed goes unpunished" (now you understand why they were living on the floor of another guys living room and giving you the sob story of paying more than half the living expenses).

What you need if these deadbeats don't leave is the power of the court to get them out and that involves the process of eviction (in Georgia this is known as filing for a "dispossessory"; not a difficult process to undertake but it does involve a trip to the Clerk of Court, some paperwork and some money to file. Do a "google" search on "filing for an eviction" in your county in Georgia.

Gail