my roommate moved out and refuses to pay

[Jo0lz]

i live in NY state, and my situation is that my roommate and i got into a fight over personal issues. i asked him to leave for the night because i was so disgusted with what he had done. he hasnt returned since (three days) and i saw on his "away message" online that he was "apartment hunting."

i then started a conversation with him reminding him of our agreements when he moved in. to backtrack, we had only a verbal contract. i had agreed there would be no security deposit bc he was so broke, as long as he painted and cleaned if he left. i also agreed not to take a last month rent, as long as he knew he was to provide thirty days notice if he chose to leave. i also made an arrangement for him to pay 90 dollars each week, to encompass both rent and bills, bc he is very bad with money and i knew if he paid monthly instead, i would never get my rent.

he now claims that since i asked him to leave for the night, that its my own fault he left and that he owes nothing. now, the day we had our fight was the day after he owed his weekly rent, and he has yet to pay for that week either. so as far as i am concerned, he owes 5 weeks at 90 dollars each, 450 dollars.

now, there is also the issue of a laptop i am in the process of buying from him. we agreed on 50 dollars, provided he cleaned it out and put in a whole new operating system. i have the computer in my possession, but it has not been cleaned out. i do not contest that i owe him the 50 for it, provided it does get cleaned out, so that brings him down to 400 dollars, if the laptop gets cleaned.

not only this, but he still has keys and he still has all of his things in the room, and therefore, i guess, technicallyhas not even moved out yet.

what do i do? am i in the right?

thank you!

 

[Jo0lz]

so, now its been over a week... he is still definitely moving out, but he still has quite a bit of furniture in his room, and refuses to come and get it. he repeatedly tells me he will come to get his things "tomorrow" every time i try to talk to him... but these "tomorrow"s come and go, and his furniture is still in there, and the keys are still in his possession.

I have posted an ad to rent the room, however, i cant rent the place until he gets his things out of there, so he is holding me back now. I have had over 15 replies to my ad, most of them are interested in moving in by next week, but his stuff is still here!

what can i do with his things? how long do i have to wait before i get rid of them?

 

[JanBenny104]

even though i'm in FL, i'd be interested to hear how this is handled.

could the locks be changed on the door while he's away? call the Sheriff, say that he's not on the lease (casually forget you had a VERBAL contract) & have him trespassed? As long as he's not a psycho, that should send him a CLEAR message.

Good luck,
Jb

ps-pick up about 4-10 boxes at Walmart so he can quickly pack his $*** and move out quickly when that time comes.

 

[Hot Topic]

"A verbal contract is only as good as the paper it's written on," to quote some regulars on the board.

Why in the world would you try and rent the room with the situation between you and your roommate unresolved?

No, you cannot lock him out.

 

[Jo0lz]

well, i need to rent the room quickly so i dont get behind on my bills. he hasnt paid the last couple of weeks of his rent, and i need the room rented so i can get on with it and not end up completely screwed bc of the money.

im figuring ill just move his things into the basement so i can clean up and pretend hes gone while showing the apartment.

 

[treese]

If rent is paid weekly, then he is a week to week tenant.

Serve him with the proper notice of non-payment and then file for eviction.

 

[Jo0lz]

although he paid me weekly, that was only a special arrangement i made for him bc he was bad with money handling and i knew that if i waited til the end of the month to collect the money for the landlord, i would never get my money. the landlord was actually paid monthly.