Oregon state crappy roommate help? (low income, apartment, rental) - (OR) - City-Data Forum

Paramortifae · 07-09-2016, 01:16 AM

Okay, so, my husband and I have this apartment that we allowed someone to move into with us, they only paid for two weeks and promptly borrowed that money back, he hasn't paid a thing, he is on the lease and refuses to leave. He has threatened not only my husband but me as well, I have stress induced seizures, I can't deal with all the hostility. My landlord refuses to have him removed due to the fact he is on the rental agreement (which I found out today my landlord did not sign). I am curious what my husband and I can do, I don't feel safe, and I don't want to leave the first home my husband and I have together...this guy has burnt every bridge he ever had in this town, anyone who knows him talks about how he lies to police to get people in trouble, how he steals from people, and how he will hurt people... I feel like I should go to the police, however he told me and my husband that the things he had us return over the last few weeks were things he stole and how he will pin that on us if we call the cops on him. Any help? PLEASE?

I'm scared and need help quickly.

Metlakatla · 07-09-2016, 02:14 AM

What a mess.

We aren't lawyers here, and that's what you need, but I'm guessing money is tight.

He's on the lease, so that's going to make it tough. Your landlord's hands may be tied here.

He's had you "return things," as in items to stores? That he stole? You had no clue? WTH?

OK, I'm going to keep the finger-wagging short and sweet, but you brought this on yourself by allowing a known loser/criminal to move into your home. Now, you need to find a way out.

He's threatened you, which is probably enough to provide you with cause for breaking the lease, but it may end up being a your word/vs his word thing.

My advice is to make a police report concerning the threats and cut your losses and move out. Even if nothing happens because there's no real proof of the allegations of threats, it may provide you with some leverage in the event that your landlord tries to go after you in civil court for breaking your lease (bear in mind that civil court only requires a preponderance of evidence rather than reasonable doubt -- if you truly felt in danger, filing a police report will strengthen your case).

After you get free of this nightmare, stop associating with bad elements.

oregonwoodsmoke · 07-09-2016, 07:49 AM

Would you like to explain why you let this guy move in when he has a reputation as being a violent liar and thief? He's a jerk, so why are you doing him favors like returning things to stores? Stop that immediately, no more favors, no more loans.

If you put him on the lease, there is absolutely nothing your landlord can do except for evict everyone in the apartment and you really don't want to have an eviction on your record. It will make your life very difficult.

I suggest that you go and see a lawyer. There is no roommate law in Oregon, as far as I know, but at a minimum, you could take him to small claims court for the money he owes you, or maybe get a restraining order against him that would give you leverage to get him out.

You've brought this down on your own head by taking in a person without carefully screening them. I have no suggestions to help you, but maybe a lawyer will come up with some ideas. There should be free legal aid for low income in your area. If nothing else, some lawyers will give you a free consultation visit.

oregonwoodsmoke · 07-09-2016, 07:54 AM

PS: if you move out, you are still liable for all of the terms of the lease, including rent, until the apartment is returned empty, to the landlord. So if you leave him there, you are still responsible for paying the rent until he and all of his friends vacate and return the keys to the landlord.

There is a legal way to break a lease in Oregon law. You forfeit your deposit and pay 2 months rent as a lease break fee and you are free. But that only works if everybody moves out. Keys and possession of the property must be returned to the landlord. Half the tenants can't move out, leaving the rest of the tenants. To break your lease, everybody has to move out.

Paramortifae · 07-09-2016, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

PS: if you move out, you are still liable for all of the terms of the lease, including rent, until the apartment is returned empty, to the landlord. So if you leave him there, you are still responsible for paying the rent until he and all of his friends vacate and return the keys to the landlord.

There is a legal way to break a lease in Oregon law. You forfeit your deposit and pay 2 months rent as a lease break fee and you are free. But that only works if everybody moves out. Keys and possession of the property must be returned to the landlord. Half the tenants can't move out, leaving the rest of the tenants. To break your lease, everybody has to move out.

Okay, so first off I didn't know these people who knew him until AFTER he started doing all of this, secondly he was a completely different person at first.

Minervah · 07-09-2016, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paramortifae

Okay, so, my husband and I have this apartment that we allowed someone to move into with us, they only paid for two weeks and promptly borrowed that money back, he hasn't paid a thing, he is on the lease and refuses to leave. He has threatened not only my husband but me as well, I have stress induced seizures, I can't deal with all the hostility. My landlord refuses to have him removed due to the fact he is on the rental agreement (which I found out today my landlord did not sign). I am curious what my husband and I can do, I don't feel safe, and I don't want to leave the first home my husband and I have together...this guy has burnt every bridge he ever had in this town, anyone who knows him talks about how he lies to police to get people in trouble, how he steals from people, and how he will hurt people... I feel like I should go to the police, however he told me and my husband that the things he had us return over the last few weeks were things he stole and how he will pin that on us if we call the cops on him. Any help? PLEASE?

I'm scared and need help quickly.

If your landlord did not sign the lease it seems to me it isn't valid. A contract has to be entered into by two or more parties. Not just one.

If you didn't know the goods were stolen, it's just a matter of "he said, they said." I don't think he would be able to prove anything and neither could you. It would be a wash. I doubt if he would carry out his threat anyway. But irregardless this isn't a case for the cops, it's a case for an attorney. Get one ASAP.

Metlakatla · 07-09-2016, 12:38 PM

Not at all. ^^^ You can be arrested, tried, and convicted of receiving stolen property on the premise that you "should have known" that it was stolen. There's a "reasonable person" standard in law that applies here. It could be argued that a reasonable person, for instance, would have suspected that the stuff being returned was stolen. Returning one or two things probably isn't suspect, but he had you return things over the course of several weeks and you didn't wonder if they were stolen?

In Oregon, being a victim of domestic violence is legal grounds for breaking a lease, but I don't know if your situation applies. The threats may be enough to get you a restraining order if you have fairly solid proof, and in that case, the guy would have to leave.

gray horse · 07-09-2016, 09:04 PM

File a police report, file a temporary restraining order, change the locks...all within several hours. Then check into a motel for a few nights so you don't have to deal with crazy. Also have crazy's stuff moved to a storage unit you rent for 1 month and mail crazy the key by certified mail.

If you feel your safety is at risk, you need to take care of yourselves first and deal with the legal repercussions later...most likely crazy doesn't have the money for legal fees to come after you.

Good luck, and let this be a lesson to all...be very careful who you rent to.

BLAZER PROPHET · 07-09-2016, 09:22 PM

I agree about calling the police about the threats and asking they remove him. Then get a restraining order to keep him out.

oregonwoodsmoke · 07-10-2016, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Not at all. ^^^ You can be arrested, tried, and convicted of receiving stolen property on the premise that you "should have known" that it was stolen. .......

I'm going to agree with this, but I would like to point out that the chances that the roommate will go to the police and state that he stole goods and you returned them are just about zero. He can't explain how he knew the goods were stolen without implicating himself, so there is no way he is going to go to the police.

I also suspect that Metlakatla is correct and that it really does appear that you knew the goods were stolen and that didn't bother you until it was used as a threat against you. If that is true, you are really causing yourself a lot of potential trouble and might consider converting to a life of honesty where you will encounter much less drama or danger.

You need a lawyer and if you ever take in a roommate again, you need to screen them very carefully before you let them walk through the door. If you had done the same research before you let him in as you have done after he started to cause trouble, you would have never let him in in the first place and you would have saved yourself a lot of trouble.