Does someone have to be given 30 days notice to move out if they are not on lease and do not pay rent?
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Does someone have to be given 30 days notice to move out if they are not on lease and do not pay rent?
My boyfriend lives with me and when I asked him to leave he said he has 30 days. He does not pay rent. His name is not on my deed. He pays electric and water which are in my name. What do I have to do?
Asked on May 23, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Ohio
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
If he is not on a lease and is not paying rent, he is a guest, not a tenant. A guest may remain only so long as the homeowner allows him to say, and that permission may be revoked at any time. Once it is revoked, he will have to leave, and would become a trespasser if he does not. In theory, you should then be able to call the police to remove him.
However, that's in theory; in this case, the police probably will not help you, since as you write, he pays electric and water; those payments may make him a tenant, since they could be considered "rent." (Rent does not have to be called rent; any payment made regularly in exchange for living someplace could constitute rent). If he asserts that he is paying rent in some form or another or otherwise has a right to remain there, then given the fact that he has in fact been living there previously, the police will probably want a court determination of his residency rights and whether and when he would have to leave.
Therefore, while you should tell him to leave, and if he won't leave, contact the police and see if they will help you, you need to be prepared for the fact that probably will not help; you will most likely have to bring an eviction action to get him out.
If you have to evict, you should first give him 30 days notice, terminating his tenancy; even if he is paying something which could be considered rent, in the absence of a written lease, he is a month to month tenant, and either the landlord or tenant may terminate a month to month tenancy on 30 days notice. You probably would also want to retain a landlord-tenant attorney to bring this action on your behalf, to make it less "personal" than if you are suing him for eviction directly.
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