*sigh* dealing with yet another insane roommate (need help kicking her butt out!) (Chicago: apartment, leases)

[eevee]

I was so sure I'd left all the crazy roommates behind in Boston, yet here I am, less than 18 months in Chicago and I'm now dealing w/ my first crazy Chicago roommate!

ok, to make a long story as brief as possible: I moved into this apartment first, paid the security deposit in full on my own, and the month-to-month lease is in my name. my roommate, upon moving in, paid me her half of the security deposit in cash (as opposed to paying it to the LL) and is not on the lease.

I now find myself needing to kick her out (remember my previous thread about the crazy gas bill? well, she's refusing to pay it until Jan- 3 weeks after it's due). instead of making this a simple process (ie, pay your part of the bills on time like an adult), she's decided to flip out and I in turn, kicked her out. at first she said she'd be moving out by Jan 1st and wanted her half of the deposit before leaving; now she's saying she will NOT pay January rent, yet still live in the apartment until she can find another place and she STILL wants her half of the deposit before moving out!

okay, ranting aside, if she does decide to stay here throughout January w/o paying, do I have any way of getting her out? I know, there's a better chance of hell freezing over, but I'd figured I asked. my main question, however is, is she entitled to her half of the deposit upon moving out? since the sec. dep and the lease is in my name, can she go around me and get it from the LL? she seems intent on staying on the house w/o paying for anything, yet demands her deposit back. I'm not sure how the tenants' rights laws work in Chicago, esp. when concerning month-to-month leases and people not on them. and I also have a deep rooted fear that she's going to move out while I'm away for Xmas and trash the place and steal my stuff (my bedroom door doesn't have a look on it sadly, and I don't have time to track down a storage place to put the stuff in). at this point, I really wouldn't put it past her

I know this is mainly a rant, but any advice on how to deal w/ this craziness would be nice.

[Avengerfire]

Get a bolt lock for your door.

[Huckleberry3911948]

get a tiny place of your own. you will never have to deal with more than 1 crazy person in the house ever.

[coldwine]

I honestly don't know Chicago property law, but this has more to do with contracts. And again, this is totally non-professional advice, meant in no way to be taken for legal advice delivered by a professional.

I'd kick her ass out.

She's not on the lease. Refund her half of the deposit and inform her that she will be moving out right now... Or she will be paying the gas bill as agreed. Then take her key and worry no more.

[scarletneon]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry3911948

get a tiny place of your own. you will never have to deal with more than 1 crazy person in the house ever.

this is great advice! and why I live in a tiny little place.

it's so strange, my friend went through somewhat the same thing exactly one year ago. except with her, her roommate decided to up and move out, leaving my friend with the rent payment on a two bedroom until may (and being a very poor student, that was not easy for her). and since her roommate wasn't on the lease, she was stuck with the payments, and the roomie wasn't at fault for breaking the lease in any way. plus! her roommate left LOTS of damages that my friend wound up being responsible for.

good luck to you!

[chicagocubs]

I would talk to the LL first. Explain the situation to him/her. Then, work on kicking the deadbeat out. If the apartment has a basement or some other storage type place that you could borrow space in, remove all of her things, leave them in the basement. THEN, change the locks on the apartment, making sure to give the LL a key. Do all of this just before you leave on vacation. Roommate has no choice but to move or disappear. And, keep that deposit money because she owes it to you for the gas bill.

[aragx6]

eevee whatever happened with this??

[eevee]

Originally Posted by aragx6

eevee whatever happened with this??

she's moving back home w/ mommy and I have a friend from work moving in sometime soon. oh, and the LL is not handing over any portion of the deposit until I move out, and when he does, it will be given to me. I told the ex roommate to leave me a forwarding address so I could mail her whatever is left of her portion of the deposit (which will be basically nothing since she left w/o giving me a month's notice and hasn't paid for the utility bill. I don't want to bother w/ suing her for whatever she owes me either). so it's basically settled, and my co-worker is willing to pay a small "utility" deposit my LL suggested (and extra $100 to be refunded if she doesn't move out w/o paying any leftover utilities). not 100% sure if that's legal, but it's a relief for me to have that deposit just in case

[Drover]

Glad to see things moving in a positive direction.

[Huckleberry3911948]

if you cant get her out you can move out.
that has been done too.
i love to live alone small is ok but alone.
i never have to deal with more than 1 crazy
person, ever, guaranteed.