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Advice on evicting a violent roommate who is not on the lease

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cosmicfeline

Junior Member
My roommate and I live in the state of California. We are living in a 4 bedroom house and our two names are the only ones on the lease. We have 2 other roommates who our landlord has authorized to live here, but do not have any contract or written agreement with our landlord or with us. Both these roommates pay rent to us, which we then pay to our landlord.

The roommate in question (H.) essentially moved her girlfriend (domestic partner) in and gave her a key without asking. She is here about 5 nights a week, and they abusive toward each other-- fight extremely loudly and are physically violent towards each other. "H" has threatened us as well when we've tried to break up fights, and we do not feel safe living with her anymore. Our third roommate (M) wakes up multiple times a week to them fighting, and we are all under large amounts of stress and fear.

We gave her a 2 week written notice to move out, and told her we have legal grounds to give her 3 days since she has committed domestic violence. She says that what we're doing is illegal and is refusing to leave until she finds another place, but she doesn't seem to be looking.

Calling the police is not an option because in our town they do not show up for things like this. And if they did, we do not feel they would help the situation (evicting "H") and would probably just deeply enrage "H" and put us all in even more danger.

We know that in our county, after filing a 3 day eviction notice that the next step is to file an unlawful detainer lawsuit. We really want to find a better way to have H move out of the house, since a lawsuit could take a month and we don't have the money or resources to file a lawsuit.

We have thought about changing the locks but we don't know if that is legal. We want as much advice as possible about what is legal and what could get us in trouble. We just want to get her out as soon as possible because we are under so much stress and anxiety having her here.

Thanks
 


sandyclaus

Senior Member
My roommate and I live in the state of California. We are living in a 4 bedroom house and our two names are the only ones on the lease. We have 2 other roommates who our landlord has authorized to live here, but do not have any contract or written agreement with our landlord or with us. Both these roommates pay rent to us, which we then pay to our landlord.

The roommate in question (H.) essentially moved her girlfriend (domestic partner) in and gave her a key without asking. She is here about 5 nights a week, and they abusive toward each other-- fight extremely loudly and are physically violent towards each other. "H" has threatened us as well when we've tried to break up fights, and we do not feel safe living with her anymore. Our third roommate (M) wakes up multiple times a week to them fighting, and we are all under large amounts of stress and fear.

We gave her a 2 week written notice to move out, and told her we have legal grounds to give her 3 days since she has committed domestic violence. She says that what we're doing is illegal and is refusing to leave until she finds another place, but she doesn't seem to be looking.

Calling the police is not an option because in our town they do not show up for things like this. And if they did, we do not feel they would help the situation (evicting "H") and would probably just deeply enrage "H" and put us all in even more danger.

We know that in our county, after filing a 3 day eviction notice that the next step is to file an unlawful detainer lawsuit. We really want to find a better way to have H move out of the house, since a lawsuit could take a month and we don't have the money or resources to file a lawsuit.

We have thought about changing the locks but we don't know if that is legal. We want as much advice as possible about what is legal and what could get us in trouble. We just want to get her out as soon as possible because we are under so much stress and anxiety having her here.

Thanks
No, changing the locks, or any other self-help eviction methods, would not be legal.

If she presents this much of a threat, you will have to follow the legal eviction procedures to get her out. If you can't afford the filing fees, you might qualify for a fee waiver.

You MIGHT be able to do a cash-for-keys agreement, where you pay them a flat amount of money to move out. I know you're strapped, but it might be cheaper than the month (or more, depending on whether the woman fights you all the way) it will take to get her out through legal methods.
 

cosmicfeline

Junior Member
No, changing the locks, or any other self-help eviction methods, would not be legal.

If she presents this much of a threat, you will have to follow the legal eviction procedures to get her out. If you can't afford the filing fees, you might qualify for a fee waiver.

You MIGHT be able to do a cash-for-keys agreement, where you pay them a flat amount of money to move out. I know you're strapped, but it might be cheaper than the month (or more, depending on whether the woman fights you all the way) it will take to get her out through legal methods.
How much typically is a cash-for-keys agreement?

Does anyone have any advice on what happens after unlawful detainer is filed? If she is still refusing to move... how do we get her *physically out*? I guess we are hesitant to file a three day eviction notice because we are nervous about what will happen after because we just don't understand. It is very confusing to us what happens after the three days are up, and we're pretty sure that she is going to be very stubborn and refuse to leave.

How is this situation affected by the fact that we are not the landlord but rather just the people on the lease?
 

sandyclaus

Senior Member
How much typically is a cash-for-keys agreement?

Does anyone have any advice on what happens after unlawful detainer is filed? If she is still refusing to move... how do we get her *physically out*? I guess we are hesitant to file a three day eviction notice because we are nervous about what will happen after because we just don't understand. It is very confusing to us what happens after the three days are up, and we're pretty sure that she is going to be very stubborn and refuse to leave.

How is this situation affected by the fact that we are not the landlord but rather just the people on the lease?
Since these people are subletting from you, YOU are their LL. Your own LL has no dog in this fight, so to speak.

The eviction process starts with the notice (in your case, the 3-day notice to quit). The tenant either complies with the notice, or they don't. If they don't, then you file for the Unlawful Detainer.

When you file for the UD, you have the tenant served with the Summons and Complaint. They have 5 days from the date of service to respond. No response means you go to the courthouse and request a Default Judgment against them.

If they do file an answer or other response to the Summons and Complaint, then it gets complicated from there. Eventually, you will go to trial, present your case to the judge and tell them why you feel you are justified in evicting the tenant. From answer to actual trial can be anywhere from 3 weeks to several months, depending on what kind of defense tactics the tenants employ.

Only when the court issues a judgment in your favor will you get a Writ of Possession, the document that says the tenants MUST leave. They are served by the sheriff or marshal, and depending on the actual timeframe for execution in your jurisdiction, usually comes and removes the tenants within about 10 days after the final hearing.

My explanation of the process is greatly summarized here, and there are many steps in between that you may or may not need to deal with. If it gets that complicated, you will probably want to hire an attorney to represent your interests as they are better equipped to handle those complications. Bottom line is that if a tenant wants to be a serious PITA, they can - they can use delaying tactics that drag the process out for several months - but if your case is strong, eventually you will win and get them out of your house.
 

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