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Move - There are plenty of other places out there that are available for rent right now.

I don't understand this sentence: "Fed up at "babysitting" my potential housemate, he called out his mother, shredded the legal documents in front of her, and threatened to call the police on her if she didn't leave immediately."

Is your potential housemate his mother? What?

If you're renting month-to-month, he can legally evict you for no reason provided. If you have a yearly lease, he cannot evict you without clause. If you're rent stabilized or rent controlled, it would be very difficult for you to be evicted.

Hopefully your landlord will calm down a bit but you shouldn't have balked at the $75 fee. You are asking your landlord to accept another person as a co-obligor on your lease. That requires the landlord determining the person's creditworthiness and preparing new documents. $75 seems like a reasonable price to me.

If it's in the lease that adding people costs $$, than yes, what they are doing is legal. If not, contact your local housing authority. Landlords always get freaked out when the housing authority comes a-knockin'.

I know it depends on where you live...but the rental market is in general, totally in your favor right now...what with all those empty condos on the market and all.

Did you have a month to month or year lease? In my state, if you have a year lease, you at least have a 30 day notice of eviction. You need to first know what your rights are as a renter.

A few questions:

Are they trying to evict your friend or are they trying to evict *both* of you?

Do you have a lease? What do the terms say about ending your lease or having roommates or sublessees? I can't imagine that they can evict you without giving you 30 days notice at least.

Even if you don't have a lease, state and local laws probably have provisions about this. You should contact your attorney if you have one. If you don't, there is probably a non-profit agency that will provide you legal advice.

Yah I don't know Anthony, the fee sounds pretty standard to me....

I dont know about Davis, but in a rent controlled place, when you try to put a new person on the lease they have to re-write it, and you lose the price you'd been paying under rent control. 75 bucks seems like a good price.

you might also think twice about living with someone who can't settle things like an adult.

know your rights. some of this seems super sketch. check out http://housing.org/

The group that is behind the site, Project Sentinel, is based in SF, but they will do their best to help you find local resources.

good luck.

I know it's a tough time economically for everyone, but was the $100 worth all of this trouble? If they had to draft a new lease to add her, and make sure that her credit was in check, those things cost money. It costs money to run a credit check, and it costs them administrative time to create a new lease. Landlords are scumbags, for sure, but that doesn't mean tenants should throw a fit at their rules.

I don't know the legalities of them evicting you, but I wouldn't lie to them about having a housemate. They seem like the type of landlord that would take you to court for that.

Bepsf has a point. But even if you move out you'd be better off moving out on good terms, with a reasonable recommendation, than on bad terms. But I wouldn't continue the pattern of rashness by moving so quickly. Instead do a little research. Writing to a list without first Googling is not the best use of resources. City to city in CA, and state to state tenant/landlord laws vary wildly you need to learn your own situation.

For starters, look for a local tenants organization, UC maybe has one, or the City of Davis. Learn your rights as a tenant, and his rights as a landlord. This generally isn't rocket science. There's CA law and often town specific ordinances, but I don't know about Davis. Start here: http://daviswiki.org/Tenant_Rights. Read your lease. There's usually stuff about adding tenants. Recognize from your research where you erred even if it was minor -- for next time. Many reasonable landlords, as well as unreasonable ones, get unsettled by adding tenants without warning.

But if they're really evicting (do you have a notice? -- on what grounds?) then don't worry about adding tenants, just move on to understand their eviction claims and your rights there. If they're not evicting, can you move out without breaking your lease? Do you pay your rent? Are you a good tenant? Times are hard for landlords too, I can't imagine one small disagreement would lead to an eviction.

Figure out whether you really want to live with this person who you report is so combustible. An eviction is a time consuming process on the part of the landlords (and you) but if they say they started it you MUST do your research. Good Luck. -- Former mediator who worked with tenant/landlord cases.

I agree with the advice to rethink your choice of roommates.

First of all, the fee and credit check sound more than reasonable to me (and I used to lease apartments) because you're asking the landlord to take on additional risk. The fact that she got into a heated argument about it would make me question her judgment and financial stability.

Second, it sounds like you moved her in before getting her approved on the lease, which would mean you are likely in violation. Read your lease. If it has a guest/roommate clause that requires permission, then you should have had it adjusted before you signed it or you should follow the rules.

If you can afford the place on your own, I'd hope they cancel your "eviction" (whether it was legal or not), and I'd finish out the lease without the roommate and then move on with a positive reference.

If you need the roommate, then I'd go ahead and move out, but I'd be careful about how your last rent was prorated and whether you were entitled to get your deposit back.

Either way I would get her out of there asap, and I wouldn't feel guilty about it because she clearly brought it on herself.

Former legal aid lawyer here. Not sure I really understand what happened, but regardless of the back story, in California, you can't be evicted without proper notice and process. You don't want to risk an eviction on your record; not only does it affect future housing options, but your credit as well. Before you take any further action, call (916) 551-2102 in Sacramento for VLSP (voluntary legal services program of Northern California). They will either be able to help you directly or if you're not income eligible for their services, refer you to an appropriate tenants' rights advocate. Good luck.

One more thing: I agree with the comments regarding your choice of housemate. If you're involved with her, then it's trickier, but if she's just an acquaintance you asked to move in to share expenses, then you really would do well to reconsider whether the extra income is worthwhile. Both your landlord and your friend appear to have reacted strongly to what should have been a simple conversation about the terms of your lease. Does make me wonder what else is going on here. Best advice: go alone to the legal services provider and be completely honest about the situation so that s/he can provide you with the best possible advice and help you protect your interests.

To be honest, $25 to run a credit check is very reasonable. When I applied for my current apartment, I was charged $40, plus the application fee. This is a standard procedure for leasing offices.

I would ditch the house mate, and the landlord. You don't want to be relying on someone who would argue about $75, for half of the rent. You also don't want to deal with an unprofessional/irate landlord.

My advice: move to a place with a reasonable landlord, and find a more trustworthy house mate.

For a landlord to officially evict someone, it's a long, tedious, and costly process. If theya re going to evict you, the courts are involved. It could take three months. If they won't take your rent, put it in a trust to show your honesty to pay the rent and fight it.

I don't know about where this person lives, but renting in Davis is no fun. Very few places offer month-to-month leases (always 12-month leases), which forces most students to have to either pay through the summer or be lucky and find someone to sublease. Most places also make you renew your September leases in March.

Most companies these days are not asking for $ for credit checks, since you can do it free online now.

And to fight about $75 - you have to make a decision, are you going to stand up for what you think is ethical, or are you going to pay the fee. It is unethical and greedy for them to be asking for the $, but it is standard practice, and fighting about it will not end up with them saying, "no problem, you don't have to pay!"

But, in the long run, when there's a landlord that is adding on fees like that, it will eventually accumulate. I've definitely been in situations where landlords have added on hundreds of dollars of fees over a year for little things that were really uncalled for - like dropping my keys down the elevator shaft. Ugh. Landlords.

In most states a landlord cannot evict a tenant without seeking court action. This means that in order to evict you, the landlord must go to the landlord/tenant division of the local county or municipal court and file a complaint. After filing the complaint, the court issues a summons requiring your appearance at a court hearing and stating the reason(s) the landlord is seeking your eviction. This summons will be posted to the front door of your residence or it may be given to you in person.

You then are required to show up at the court hearing where you will present your side of the controversy.

If the court finds against you and permits the eviction to go through, you will be provided a specific number of days to move out of the residence. If this is an inadequate time period you can request more time from the court. Many court systems will require that you show up for an initial appearance, then return at a later date for an actual hearing.

Good Luck!

Maybe I'm not reading this right, but it is the potential roomie that is being evicted, not the actual on-the-lease tenant.

If she's not allowed to be there based on your lease, then of course they can ask her to leave!

@peekay -- I think the OP is saying that, as a result of the kerfuffle, both she and her potential roomie are being told to leave.

By the way, just want to put in a good word for the good landlords out there. Not all are bad, just as not all renters are good. I've been on both sides of the fence, lemme tell ya.

So you witnessed overheating by both parties there--that should be eye-opening for you.

I'm not going to comment on the behavior of your friend, but think about the leasing company. You already knew of their reputation, and maybe there just weren't any other options out there. But I wouldn't be comfortable living there. I wouldn't expect any consideration when the AC stops working or a plumbing problem occurs, and I WOULD expect them to find any niggling excuse to keep your rent deposit.

If they don't want to budge on allowing your friend to live there without an additional cost, you need to weigh how important/serious this relationship is to just pony up the money or tell the friend you'll help find her another place.

Thanks for all of your excellent advice guys. Especially LiliZ, I have contacted the local office and they suggested to just find another housemate since she probably won't get another chance to sign on since she's probably blacklisted from ever renting from company in the future.

To update, I spoke with them in person today after dropping off my extra-long apology letter and it seemed to do the trick! They said since my rent's been paid on time for all the months I've lived there without any big problems, I won't be evicted as long as I keep paying rent and making sure the other roommate doesn't ever show her face around their offices anymore.

Also, thank you Janel for posting this story. I really needed a second opinion from other renters and I am fortunate to have such a great community at AT who truly reaches out to help one another! Cheers to you all!

In NYC, I've never had a credit check for less than $60--so this seems like a very reasonable amount of money to put another person on the lease.

Just a note -- it's not just in "most" states that you need notice and a hearing before eviction; it's in ALL states. It's standard due process rights before being deprived of a property interest. States vary widely about the length of time of notice and the fairness of the hearing. If you're a squatter, you don't have many rights.

In New York City, it should take far longer than 3 months to get evicted. If you respond to a summons and ask for a continuance, you will automatically get a continuance on a first request. New York judges bend over backwards to be fair to tenants. Get a handbook and read up on the proceedings, so you know enough to raise particular defenses.

Undue harassment of renters is illegal in most places. If you're paying the rent, you have a "right to quiet enjoyment" of your place. If the landlord interferes with that, you might have a case agaist him or her.

I know first hand that the the $75 fee is normal procedure. A few years ago, I knew one of the apartment office workers and she did tell me about the fee when I added my S.O. She didnt charge me for that and alot of other fees, but told me about it outside of the office away from her coworkers.

pay up. the fees are minimum.

The $75 dollar clause is in my lease as well, so I think its some sort of standard.

I would imagine the person who tore up the lease and got hysterical will have to go. Assuming that's not you (I couldn't really follow who was who in the story), you are going to have to cut loose the roommate who lacked diplomacy if you have any hope of staying there. Money aside, I am sure the landlord doesn't want to deal with that again, especially as it relates to a standard clause in a lease.

If you have to move, then I suppose you and the roommate(s) could always look for a new place together.

On the bigger picture, the current financial crisis has really upended a lot of assumptions and trust regarding monetary obligations. In the short term, at least, landlords are going to be tougher about making sure the tenants are good for the money. An apartment that is empty a couple of months while searching for a qualified tenant is ultimately less financially draining to the landlord than a long drawn out effort to collect rent and evict.

Pfft. I just got a new apartment: the credit check alone was $65. (To say nothing of the realtor's fees and security.)

Why exactly was there all this kafluffle?

Few choices:

-Move and get a place together somewhere else.
-Chance it and stand a good chance you are both evicted.
-Have your roomie get her own place.


Even if you are on a lease, you are not allowed to have someone move in without the landlord's knowledge - so this will happen anywhere. That is good cause for the landlord to terminate your lease.

BTW, I live in Indiana -- you can be evicted and forced to move in 72 hours. Been through that with my mother.

Wait. Wait. Wait. Or else what? Maybe it's because I am from Jersey, but when someone says to me, "...or else!" I take it as a threat. Not sure if everyone agrees, but I don't like being threatened or see other people threatened. First the guys acts violent (and like an asshole) and then he threatens someone...

There are limits to what a landloard or property management company can charge per person for a credit check. I'm not even sure a $75 processing fee is legal, as they would have to chalk it up to the going rate for administrative hourly - does it really take 7.5-ish hours of admin to process your friend's contract? I think not.

About 3-4 years ago, a landlord in California could not charge more than $35, I don't imagine that limit has been jacked up THAT much since. That's not to say that people have not been illegally overcharged - I think it happens quite often.

The best book I can refer you to is the one I used to refer rental owners to, to know their rights (why now know what they should know): Nolo's The California Landlords Lawbook: Right & Responsibility.

Also, to evict you - as previously said above - they would have to give you some form of notice, no matter what terms of the agreement you broke. They MUST give you a 3, 30 or 60-day notice (if they're just ending a month-to-month and you've been there for over a year they have to give you 60 instead of 30 days).

Of course, I say all of this assuming that there is no other backstory of events that has occurred to give the landlords any reason to evict you otherwise - if that's the case, eat crow before they proceed to filing.

Only problem I find here is I'm not sure if the application fee to allow the tenant to move in was included in this $75. Again I'm not from California, but an average application fee here is $50 and that is not including the security deposit.