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Hello, and thank you ahead of time for any assistance. I have been renting a room from a buddy of mine since November with an oral agreement that I pay $125 a week all included.I paid my rent on Sunday, came home from work on Monday to find the electricity turned off for nonpayment ($700). I notified my buddy and he said he would take care of it. He didn't. He was furious when I told him I wasn't paying rent because there was no power, no water & someone used the toilet and it couldn't.be flushed, (#2). He pulled a disappearing act, so I notified the home owner. Well long story short , they decided to call the police and, change the locks and have the police observe the packing and removal of my entire room. So here I am Sunday on memorial day weekend no place to go, police say its a civil matter and I have to go to court.
When I first rented the room my buddy asked for several weeks notice before I moved out. Does this help me in establishing a verbal agreement? Since I have been living there for at least 5 months shouldn't I need at least a weeks notice? I'm in NH and they have an anti-retaliation law would I be covered without a written letter, oR an agreement with the homeowners. ?
Thanks again for taking the time to read my story. I appreciate any help I can get.
David
Snip to the soap opera and on the the pertinent part:
Quote:
Originally Posted by driftingalonginnh
He pulled a disappearing act, so I notified the home owner. Well long story short, they decided to call the police and change the locks and have the police observe the packing and removal of my entire room.
Unless that "long story short" includes the several months of written notification and court dates
and so forth before the actual eviction... this just doesn't add up.
Either way... as a room mate who isn't on the lease you won't have many rights to very much in most states.
Its the story itself that's long. Sorry.felt good to get it out. This all happened in the past week. I'm just trying to see if it's worth filing with the clerk at court. I was asked to give a months notice before I left, would that help bolster my verbal agreement? The other thing I thought of was that in December I registered my vehicle and paid my residence taxes to the town at this address. I've been there 5 months and was told to leave immediately. It just seems wrong to me. Thanks again. David
Snip to the soap opera and on the the pertinent part:
Unless that "long story short" includes the several months of written notification and court dates
and so forth before the actual eviction... this just doesn't add up.
Either way... as a room mate who isn't on the lease you won't have many rights to very much in most states.
But as the OP was not a technical tenant, this may have been going on a while. Tenants often stop paying utilities when they are going through an eviction. Also a clue is that he skipped out.
It is possible that there was some sort of notice by the original tenant on the lease? Or that the LL had reason, such as a court order, to change the locks. The sheriff was there, so there is SOMETHING going on to give the possibility of legal action Op doesn't know about.
Also, with regard to the rent...do you have a receipt or cancelled checks? You may be able to recover from the person who you paid the rent to? But only with some sort of proof that you paid.
Hello, and thank you ahead of time for any assistance. I have been renting a room from a buddy of mine since November with an oral agreement that I pay $125 a week all included.I paid my rent on Sunday, came home from work on Monday to find the electricity turned off for nonpayment ($700).
How much rent did you pay? Just the week?
I notified my buddy and he said he would take care of it. He didn't. He was furious when I told him I wasn't paying rent because there was no power, no water & someone used the toilet and it couldn't.be flushed, (#2). He pulled a disappearing act, so I notified the home owner. Well long story short , they decided to call the police and, change the locks and have the police observe the packing and removal of my entire room.
This makes me wonder, as I mentioned before in another post, if there wasn't an eviction going on and that the main tenant "and all in possession" were not party to this eviction. The police aren't just going to show up and escort someone off the property without either proof of trespassing (which is pretty obviously not the case as all your stuff was there) or without a legal reason. An eviction does not have to name you specifically in order to be valid against everyone in the home. Children are evicted with the parents, etc.
So here I am Sunday on memorial day weekend no place to go, police say its a civil matter and I have to go to court.
This makes me think there may be an eviction you don't know about. UD (Unlawful Detainer) actions are civil, at least in CA.
When I first rented the room my buddy asked for several weeks notice before I moved out. Does this help me in establishing a verbal agreement?
Sort of. If you were paying weekly, there probably won't be a 30 day requirement for notice to leave.
Since I have been living there for at least 5 months shouldn't I need at least a weeks notice?
Technically, if you were dealing with a "legit" situation...but I am under the impression that there is more going on here than what you are telling...not saying you are doing so on purpose, I just get the impression from what you have said that there is more than a friend who bailed on a $700 utility payment. Did the friend mention moving, or being stressed about bills? Anything that would have led you to believe financial issues? As I said, it is REALLY common for tenants to trash the building, to let utility payments go, etc when they are being evicted
I'm in NH and they have an anti-retaliation law would I be covered without a written letter, oR an agreement with the homeowners. ?
Thanks again for taking the time to read my story. I appreciate any help I can get.
David
No way would the owners have gotten an eviction and lockout that quick w/out something having been going on up to that day you describe. they probably legally evicted the tenant and didn't even know you were there? (did they know you were there?)
Let me try again. Thanks for reply. When I said my roommate disappeared, it was only for three days. He's still at the house. With no power, water. He's staying with some girl at night. He wouldn't answer phone or texts. I left a note at the homeowners house ( never met him. ) asking him to call myself or the third roommate. This is where MrRational was spot on with soap opera. The third roommate was furious and left threatening messages on the kids phone. Smart. Then the police were called I was told. All they say is its s civil matter. I was the only one evicted. I don't understand . Ive been reading NH statutes and Im still baffled.
If you were the only one evicted then it was probably because they did not give permission for the other tenant(s) to sublet or add a roommate. that's all I can think of however it seems to have happened awfully fast.
If you were the only one evicted then it was probably because they did not give permission for the other tenant(s) to sublet or add a roommate. that's all I can think of however it seems to have happened awfully fast.
I agree. Either the OP doesn't have all the information or isn't giving us all of it.....
Sounds like the OP was not on the lease...and renting or subleasing...from the tenant...his "friend". His friend, on the lease...was probably served notice for non payment of rent and utilities...and did not tell the OP. Just took his money and bailed. Thinking OP is SOL. Sorry.
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