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My housemate, who I share a 2 bedroom apartment apartment with, has just informed me that he has a sentencing hearing in 2 weeks, and thinks he'll be going to prison for at least 5 months. (I knew that his drivers license had been suspended a few months back, but I had no idea that something so serious was going on.) He won't know the exact amount of jail time til the judge reads it, but I think he goes away into custody right at that moment.
So should we treat this like he's going on a 5-30 month vacation in 2 weeks or should his tenancy here be terminated? Technically, he is subleasing from me. He seems to want to try to keep the place, but he can't keep up the rent while he's away. But I don't want to 'kick him out' at the same time he's going through another trauma.
The fact that he has a ton of stuff complicates things even more. It would probably be a 2 week process just to pack and move all of his stuff out. So does he start tomorrow? (And who knows, the case may thrown out for some technicality or something, and then he doesn't go away after all.) And if he doesn't, then what happens to all of his belongings? He said he had a friend that would take his room as-is while he was away, which would alleviate the stuff issue, but I don't want to be compelled to accept some guy I don't know as my new housemate, on a kind of subletting from a subletter basis.
Even though we're not very close at all and wouldn't mind seeing him go. I don't have the heart to clear him out if he wants to try to return. And we don't know how long that'll be til right before he's getting led away (or not). I want to be fair and moral about this and do the right thing, but I don't want to have to have to suffer extraordinarily for his situation either. So I'm stuck.
It's an unfortunate situation but you're not close to him, he can't afford to pay his portion of the rent if and when he's incarcerated, so business sense prevails over goodwill. I'd suggest you have him prepay two month's rent now and pack up as much of his stuff as possible into boxes.
If he ends up with a term exceeding the prepaid rent then he'll be removed from the lease and arrangements will be made to move his belongings to safe keeping. You'll have all this put in writing and signed by both of you. Good luck!
1) Pay out of your pocket to keep his place and his belongings.
2) Find a new roommate.
As bad as you feel about the whole situation, its simply not your responsibility. Unless you are feeling charitable, you are going to need to set things straight and get a new paying roommate.
Heck, it'll let you sleep at night, write him a few letters while is away, as well as putting a bit of money on his commissary account. Maybe a call every now and then and a visit.
I know exactly what she'd say, and Judge Marilyn Milian, because I watch them every day, and have for years. You need to have him evicted legally. You can't just put him and his stuff out. Unfortunately, that is a complicated process involving housing court. Does your apt. allow you to sublet? (Most don't). If you're not sure, that will be spelled out in the lease. If they do, they might help you kick him out. But these kinds of situations are exactly the reason apts. don't allow subleasing.
If he agrees to go willingly, you don't have to worry about anything. Maybe just help him pack his stuff up and move it to his mother's or wherever. It would definitely be worth it to pay for a storage unit and find another roommate than cover his rent indefinitely. Even if he doesn't get incarcerated for a while, do you really want a roommate who has all this legal trouble?
If the apt. doesn't allow subleasing and the guy doesn't want to go, you'll have to go to housing court on your own. The judge will write up a notice to quit and give him 30 days to vacate the premises. Whether he's in prison or not is irrelevant; he still has to be served with notice. However, it is your legal duty to treat his belongings with reasonable care and respect and not just throw them out in the rain or something like that.
And it goes without saying that you can't hold any of his stuff hostage for rent or anything like that. If he owes back rent, you can sue him for it when he gets out of prison as a separate case. DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, so I may not be 100% accurate, however. I'm reasonably certain I'm pretty darned close.
I'm not sure why we're segueing into a dissertation about court when it seems clear from the OP's post that there's no animosity between he and his roommate and they're simply trying to come up with the best plan.
My suggestion was based on what recently happened to a very dear friend of mine who was awaiting sentencing after being convicted of a white collar crime. His sentencing date kept getting postponed but, in the meantime and although he was hoping against hope that the conviction would be overturned, he boxed up everything except for the bare day to day essentials, made arrangements for his dog to be taken care of and put all his affairs in order. He's lived in the same rental for over 9 years and has been most fortunate that his landlords hold him in the highest regard and have been willing to keep the apartment vacant for many months to come.
That's obviously not going to be the case here but the OP roommate should be able to reach a compromise.
I'm not sure why we're segueing into a dissertation about court when it seems clear from the OP's post that there's no animosity between he and his roommate and they're simply trying to come up with the best plan.
OP stated:
A: the guy can't pay the rent while he's in prison
B. that the OP wouldn't mind if he doesn't live there anymore anyway
C. that he has a ton of stuff, which would interfere with subleasing to another person
Besides, it makes sense that the OP wouldn't be subleasing in the first place if he/she could afford to pay the rent on his/her own. Thus, I explained how he/she could evict the guy legally. Although some individuals would want a roommate with legal problems, a lot of people wouldn't since it doesn't bode well on his ability to pay rent in the future even if he stays out of prison this time.
Thus, I explained how he/she could evict the guy legally.
Which would be absolutely the last resort and hopefully one not necessary if they reach an agreement.
If I have a little gastric upset I grab some Angostura Bitters or some bicarb and water to get relief before running off to the doctor to see if I need to have my gallbladder removed ...
If he failed to tell you upfront that he was in the middle of a case that could cost him to do time, even though he may not have lied but just conveniently didn't mentioned it...then you know there may be more that "conveniently has not been mentioned.
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