How do I evict a tenant under a verbal lease?
Question Details: I am paying the mortgage and have a small family that is currently leaving with me. There was a verbal contract that they pay $200 a month to help cover their living expenses. That money does not cover any of the household bills, nor does it pay for any of the damages or lost property that they have accrued since they moved in 3 months ago, especially when they are behind on rent. How can I get them out before they run up my bills any higher, steal anything else, try to burn my house down or break their verbal agreement any more than they already have? All of those have happened and seem to continue to happen even after I talk to them about it.
A verbal--or more properly known as an oral--lease creates a month-to-month tenancy. As the term implies, a month-to-month tenancy may be terminated by either party (landlord or tenant) at will, on a month's notice. Give them a month's notice terminating their tenancy; provide it in writing, in some way you can prove delivery. If they don't leave after that month, you may bring an eviction action to get them out.
