How to get rid of my roommate?

[rickisbroke]

I need to find out what my rights are and what my roommates rights are as far as eviction. I have searched the web and there are different rules for different states and circumstances. I haven't found an answer that fits my situation. Most are people who have leased an apartment together, etc.
I am in Michigan and I own my home. My roommate is not on the mortgage. He moved in in October and I wrote up a rental agreement...a free form I found online. It states that rent is due the first of the month, how much the rent is, and the areas of the house he may use. It doesn't have an end of lease date.
I did find some information on a Michigan law site that states if the person has been there 13+ months, I have to give them 60 days notice. It was a lot of legal-eze I didn't quite understand, though. I also saw on a forum that if he isn't paying rent and not on the lease, he is tresspassing.
He doesn't have any serious offenses yet, like not paying rent or destruction of property, but this deal just isn't working out for me. Typical roommate stuff...loud music in the morning while I'm still asleep, his room is a pig sty, he makes a mess in the kitchen, he stinks and doesn't shower often, in fact his room stinks. He didn't have the full rent amount one month and paid the rest two weeks later when he got his next check. Another month, I had to wait until the 2nd when his mom got her SSI check to pay rent.
If I talk to him and say it's not working for me and he needs to move by the end of April, he might be cool and just go, but what do I do if he wants to fight it?
Any web links, help, or advice would be appreciated. I'm trying to avoid paying a lawyer and do not want to piss this guy off so he becomes destructive or steals from me.
Thanks!

[JRScott]

As you say such laws vary from state to state.

Perhaps the first thing to do is approach the roommate and talk to them about the situation. It could lead to him doing better or moving out on his own. I'm sure whatever the laws of your state that this is probably a step in the process.

You would want to look for the landlord tenant laws of your state.

[Flamingo]

IHe doesn't have any serious offenses yet, like not paying rent or destruction of property, but this deal just isn't working out for me. Typical roommate stuff...loud music in the morning while I'm still asleep, his room is a pig sty, he makes a mess in the kitchen, he stinks and doesn't shower often, in fact his room stinks. He didn't have the full rent amount one month and paid the rest two weeks later when he got his next check. Another month, I had to wait until the 2nd when his mom got her SSI check to pay rent.

To protect yourself in this situation you may have to see an attorney...do you have a clausein the rental agreement as to what hours music can be played (i.e., not before 8:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m.?). Do you have a clause in there about cleaniliness of areas utilized, taking a shower every day so not to stink? You can't terminate a lease because someone does not shower or leave a mess in the room or make loud noises if there isn't anything in the rental agreement that he agreed to otherwise. Usually nonpayment of rent or some other serious offense (property destruction, theft, drug sales, etc.) are the reasons for terminating a lease. What you may need to do is to sit down with this person and go over the entire matter or if you truly cannot stand this person, you need to go by your state laws in any process you take so I highly suggest consulting an attorney to find out what you can and cannot do so you don't end up getting sued.

[dingdong]

If you want to have him move out, you have to do it officially.
You might want to talk to him first, but I would have a 60 day notice for termination of tenancy ready.

If you want to be nice, give him 90 days, and tell him that you have given him an extra 30 days to find a place.

IF you have read the Michigan laws correctly for terminating a tenancy and 60 days is required notice for notice without cause with a tenancy over a certain amount of time ( you said 13 months), then you have to give him at least 60 days notice.

You probably need to hand him the notice personally or mail it certified mail to your address to protect yourself ( addressed to him)

If you don't officially give him the proper notice, he does not have to move out. Even though he may say he is going to , when the day comes and he doesn't, you will then have to give him proper notice.

I would talk to him. Is there a chance that if you express your concerns about his lifestyle in your home that you have issues with , that he may change his behavior?

In any event, you do need to give him proper notice since you stated you have a rental agreement. You might also want to check your local landlord/tenant laws and see if there are other provisions you need to follow. Some counties have there own, more strict laws regarding terminating a tenancy. I would read up on the LL/tenant laws in your state/county and be sure you are following the rules in case it comes down to you having to go to court.

There are usually strict provisions of what a LL cannot do regarding lockouts, reducing access, and utilities, etc.

You need to follow the law precisely to protect yourself and to fairly evict your tenant.

[dingdong]

Just a side note,

If you had a lease, it would clearly spell out the duration of the lease, which has a definite end date.

For example Jan1, 2008-December 31, 2009.

In most states, a lease ends on that date ( 12/31 in my example) and no notice is required to terminate tenancy. If you accept rent past that date, then the lease turns to a standard month to month rental agreement.

If the tenant stays past the date of the end of lease date, and you do not accept rent and state that you are not renewing the lease, then the tenant is considered a "holdover tenant" and can be subject to an eviction action.

From what you have stated it seems you have a periodic tenancy, which requires 30 -60 days notice ( again depending on your states laws).

I highly suggest googling your states " landlord tenant law" and find out exactly how to end a tenancy based on the type of agreement you have. Most state's have a website and clear insructions on what is required to terminate a tenancy.

You need to be careful and only claim in your eviction notice that you are ending the tenancy and not site a cause ( loud noises, messy, etc, as you may open yourself up to your tenant claiming an affirmative defense to the notice.

You do not want to end up in court with him saying he never did those things and the notice w/cause is not correct and have to serve him with another 60 day notice.
Again each state varies on LL/tenant law, so you will have to familiarize yourself with those specific laws.

[rickisbroke]

Thanks and great points so far...hoping to hear more.
To me, there is no resolution as far as getting him to change his ways. I was hoping he would follow my example of cleanliness, consideration, and personal grooming, but the white trash slob-ness is so ingrained in him, there is no hope for change. (I'm white, so chill!) I hate him, plain and simple. I wasn't going to get into this but I will share these things...
He has left smears on the toilet seat...do I need to elaborate? I made brownies early on, before I hated him. He got a brownie and milk and left brownie smear on the cupboard door, fridge handle, milk carton, dishwasher, and sink faucet handle.
I have a set of aluminum wheels for my car that I store in the garage in the winter. They were new and only on my car for 4 months before I took them off for winter. I checked them carefully for any scrapes or damage when I took them off. I put them back on my car last week and one of them was scraped, like it had been knocked over on the concrete. He claims to know nothing. I didn't do it, one of my friends didn't do it, and Jesus didn't do it. He has to know something. He owes me $130 for a wheel.
I think any fines or penalties for kicking him out without just cause will be far less severe than the jail time for murder...but I could just plead insanity. Muahahhahahahahaha.

[dingdong]

It wouldn't be fines and penalties you would have to worry about, if you screw up the eviction, he would get to stay.

Evictions through the court can be dragged out for months, and there are usually quite a few fees for filing paper in an eviction.

You want to do this properly.


Look up your states laws, serve him with the proper eviction notice and you will be golden if he doesn't move out and you have to go to court.

I would limit your discourse with him about the eviction to just , I need you out, here is your legal notice and don't get into anything else with him.

You don't want to give him reason to charge you with a retaliatory eviction or an eviction for cause, it could get messy for you.

If you screw up somehow, you may set yourself up for damages in another lawsuit from your tenant for violating the eviction laws.

[Flamingo]

Thanks and great points so far...hoping to hear more.
To me, there is no resolution as far as getting him to change his ways. I was hoping he would follow my example of cleanliness, consideration, and personal grooming, but the white trash slob-ness is so ingrained in him, there is no hope for change. (I'm white, so chill!) I hate him, plain and simple. I wasn't going to get into this but I will share these things...
He has left smears on the toilet seat...do I need to elaborate? I made brownies early on, before I hated him. He got a brownie and milk and left brownie smear on the cupboard door, fridge handle, milk carton, dishwasher, and sink faucet handle.
I have a set of aluminum wheels for my car that I store in the garage in the winter. They were new and only on my car for 4 months before I took them off for winter. I checked them carefully for any scrapes or damage when I took them off. I put them back on my car last week and one of them was scraped, like it had been knocked over on the concrete. He claims to know nothing. I didn't do it, one of my friends didn't do it, and Jesus didn't do it. He has to know something. He owes me $130 for a wheel.
I think any fines or penalties for kicking him out without just cause will be far less severe than the jail time for murder...but I could just plead insanity. Muahahhahahahahaha.

Ricki - I don't think there are many more points that can be made on this one...you have to follow the laws in your state and not your feelings/emotions.

[BKOnce]

Easy,

1. Call to shut-off water for a month. , or

2. Shut off electric for a month too.

Guarantee nobody can stay in house if there is no water or electric... for temporary, you just have to move in live with your parents... till he got nauseated, dejected & move out. .. then come back and clean da whole house.

[AngelinaCatHub]

Easy,

1. Call to shut-off water for a month. , or

2. Shut off electric for a month too.

Guarantee nobody can stay in house if there is no water or electric... for temporary, you just have to move in live with your parents... till he got nauseated, dejected & move out. .. then come back and clean da whole house.

[dingdong]

Easy,

1. Call to shut-off water for a month. , or

2. Shut off electric for a month too.

Guarantee nobody can stay in house if there is no water or electric... for temporary, you just have to move in live with your parents... till he got nauseated, dejected & move out. .. then come back and clean da whole house.

You absolutely cannot do that!


Try it and get sued. You have to follow the laws of your state.

[rickisbroke]

Thanks everybody. Please know I am TOTALLY kidding about the killing part.
Some may have not understood...he is in my house that I also occupy. I don't want to shut utilities off and wouldn't use that tactic, either.
I just want a peaceful seperation, no hard feelings, no destruction or theft or anything.
I will of course change the locks after he leaves.
I got lucky with my last two roommates. They weren't too bad and left on their own. One wanted to move in with his girlfriend and the other was here on a temporary work assignment.
A new question, though. If I get another roommate, can I have them there on a trial basis for the first 30-60 days? I know moving is a pain, but if in the first month I'm pulling my hair out, can I tell them to hit the bricks?
Anybody know of a resource where I can find my state laws on this mess in a language I understand? The state of MI site has all of these codes and other laws to refer to.
I am going to ask my BK lawyer his advice on this, too.

[AngelinaCatHub]

I think we all know you were kidding, but I know myself, and the day could come when you “go off” rhetorically.

As I said before, I would not wait, and break the news and see what transpires. Then come back to us experts ( Oh yeah on that) and tell us how long you must stay in your casts.

I really don’t see a problem here until you present one. You cannot present one until you face it.

Next rental person: I advise to rent week by week. Collect first week and last week and an agreement signed by both times two copies, and make sure they understand that this is a simple temporary situation and if there is any problems what-so-ever, the next week has been paid for and they are out.

If you are in bk, do not make a lease with anyone. Stay as quiet as you can and get a better boarder. You will do fine. ‘Hub