Roomates backing out on verbal agreements? with witnesses

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O.k, two months ago a girl that I used to work with needed a place to stay for 3 months. I needed a roomate so I interviewed her and said it would be o.k. 2 months in however I get a note on my fridge saying that she's moving back in with mommy and daddy in a week because she quit her job and couldn't find another one. Though we had a verbal agreement it was witnessed by my landlady because I brought her in to see if it was ok to have someone stay with me for three- four months (she even made a note of it). I wanted to know if I could still take legal action in this case. I really didn't want to, I tried even talking to her parents to try and resolve it peacefully but they basically blew me off. She expects to stay here for another week for nothing but i'm going to charge her for everyday that shes here in august because she didn't pay for it or i'm changing the locks and putting her things out. I was trying to be nice by not charging her a deposit and I even lowered the rent, I can't believe how irresponsible some people can be. Iwish I had parents to go to everytime I didn't feel like doing something "gez" (sorry i'm just venting.) But please let me know if there's anything I can do since I do have a witness.

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"A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's printed on." Samuel Goldwyn (of MGM film fame)

You can't get blood from a stone. Don't sue, as it won't be worth your while...and it'll waste your time. Chalk it up to experience.

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I sometimes seen cases where it's held up if there were witnesess, which there were. Did you have witnesses for yours or do you think it still won't help?

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What can you get out of it of value? She's broke. Do you have the time and money to sue? Even if you do, it won't be worth it. Cut your ties. Change the locks.

"Did you have witnesses for your's?"

For My what?

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What are we talking about here? A couple weeks rent?

I agree 100% with Ragman! It's not worth the aggravation.

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Are you writing from America?

Honestly you should consider Judge Judy or one of those shows.

If you win - they'll give you the money owed and you get a nice little vacation in California.

If you lose - you still get some money and a little vacation in California.

I don't work for that show or any of the judgeish type shows but I had a friend who filed in small claims court and was approached by one of those shows.

It's win-win if you don't mind a bit of embarrassment.

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I always wanted to take my ex in front of Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown and Judge Mathis Twisted Evil

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Sorry Ragman I thought that you had a similar experience because you said "chalk it up to experience" I just wanted to know if you had witnesses and it didn't work, so I would know whether to bother. I didn't mean to pry But in answer to you question, "yes" I brought her in with me to talk to the landlady to make sure it was o.k. There I stated in her presence that she would be staying with me for three weeks if that was o.k.

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Well actually Montana it's the whole month she backed out of. That leaves me in a very bad state, especially since the late fee on rent is 35 dollars US a day. Which might make it worth it. Yeah but I think judge Hatchett is better, she actually listens without just yelling at you Razz

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Re: Roomates backing out on verbal agreements? with witnesse

old fashioned gali wrote:

She expects to stay here for another week for nothing but i'm going to charge her for everyday that shes here in august because she didn't pay for it or i'm changing the locks and putting her things out.

You can charge her for the days she is there during the month but you can't change the locks or just evict her.

Since, as you admit, you have a verbal lease agreement you'd have to go through the eviction process in your city/state to put her out and I don't know of any that allow you to toss the person's stuff on the curb and change the locks.

In theory you could probably go after her for the last month's rent. I can't think of any reason you couldn't but I doubt it is worth going after.

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weren't you living alone before? I thought you let her stay to do her a favor. It didn't sound as though you were dependant on her for rent. Did you support yourself in your apartment prior to her coming?

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Re: Roomates backing out on verbal agreements? with witnesse

fishin wrote:

You can charge her for the days she is there during the month but you can't change the locks or just evict her.

Why not? She's not on the lease. At this point, she's not a tenant, she's a trespasser. Change all of the locks, keep her stuff in lieu of the rent that she owes, and if she complains, we can tell her that it's not worth the trouble and that she should chalk it up to experience.

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plantress wrote:

weren't you living alone before? I thought you let her stay to do her a favor. It didn't sound as though you were dependant on her for rent. Did you support yourself in your apartment prior to her coming?

She was actually looking for a roomate, which is why she was depending on the rent.

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old fashioned gali wrote:

Well actually Montana it's the whole month she backed out of. That leaves me in a very bad state, especially since the late fee on rent is 35 dollars US a day. Which might make it worth it. Yeah but I think judge Hatchett is better, she actually listens without just yelling at you

That really sucks and I feel for ya. I've learned the hard way throughout my life that I need to get everything in writing. Unfortnately, trust didn't work for me either.
I've learned a lot through experiences such as this one.

You could try to take it through small claims court and you might stand a chance if you bring your witness, but a verbal agreement is tough to prove.

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Re: Roomates backing out on verbal agreements? with witnesse

joefromchicago wrote:

fishin wrote:
You can charge her for the days she is there during the month but you can't change the locks or just evict her.

Why not? She's not on the lease. At this point, she's not a tenant, she's a trespasser. Change all of the locks, keep her stuff in lieu of the rent that she owes, and if she complains, we can tell her that it's not worth the trouble and that she should chalk it up to experience.

Why wouldn't a verbal lease agreement work both ways?

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Your verbal contract will be worthless in court. No money will ever be recouped from pursuing this in small claims court.

Change the locks, making sure that she knows that her stuff will be vacated from your place.

Her mommy and daddy will be so happy to have her home.

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Ragman wrote:

Her mommy and daddy will be so happy to have her home.

Oh yeah, I bet they're thrilled Laughing

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Hugs, montana (just because) :wink:

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Hugs, right back at ya, Ragman (just because) :-D

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Did I mention that my son moved out recently? Cool

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Roomates backing out on verbal agreements? with witnesses

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