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Ok so, long story that begins with a friend giving me shelter 1,600 miles away from my home for twenty five years in FL, in Moon Twp, PA, after a Short Sale, site unseen by a Miami Auction house. I'm notified with a three day notice and am on Disability benefits, living form check to check each month and no savings. Tenant Protection Act of 2009, repealed in Dec, 2014 left me up the creek with no paddle, some of you may know the story. A Christian friend helps me by offering me reduced rent until I get enough saved to get my own place in a market with better rental value with lower living costs, so I give him a chance to be the good Samaritan and help me out for about two to three months at the most. He's a friend so after I arrive in PA from FL there's good times for a couple days but the space allotted to stay not really that large but I'm not complaining knowing no other alternative really and signing no lease, this is my Christian brother from FL I met twenty years prior and trust. Well some people change sp,e don’t. About eight years had elapsed since our last encounter in FL before her returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh. Turns out old habits die hard and he's the same old friend I met in my teens liked to get loaded with in my twenties. I stopped the lifestyle in my thirties after breaking my back in 2005. He didn't give up on his vices and other personal circumstances lead me to think of shortening my stay without outside suggestion from my 'friend' or his spouse. Turns out he gets a hair and throws my stuff on the side of the road in PA, 1,600 miles from home and homeless at that point. What to do in this situation? No lease and in an even worse than what I was facing in FL, winter is coming by this time. It’s the beginning of September and no savings. I’d used everything I’d saved for the move from FL to PA and would not be ok again with a penny until the next month, October. So three weeks really of homelessness because of an emotional friend who couldn't get over the passing of his dog he owned for fifteen years. Understandable… I'll brave the Pittsburgh streets because you’re crying over a German Shepard with a beer in one hand and a bong in the other, that's cool right? SMH. I have no tenant rights in that situation as dictated by the Allegheny County Police force. I was a guest and not a tenant. I put my stuff in storage and look for accommodations for winter.
Longer story shortened, I'm in a situation now 2/20/2016 where a gentle drunk,( suitable description at this point), is subletting me a room in a duplex twenty minutes away from where I landed in Moon Twp, PA. We agree to a month trial before making formal legislative arrangements with a lease why bother, a verbal agreement and a receipt signed by Joe Shmoe is just as good as a lease to prove residency, right? Well the guy starts going into my room while l’m away,(the door only locks from the inside); taking items that evidence my residence like the receipt I wrote for February’s rent, a space heater, and a Wi-Fi repeater. Strange! He’s trying to renege the agreement we made to “give it a month and take it from there”, LOL really I must have the word sucker on my forehead. So after a conversation that lead to one of the big no, no's of conversation etiquette with people who don’t really have an original point of view on topics political and religious, this guy changes his mind completely around and wants me out before we even reach a week of tenancy let alone a month! I don't know this guy from Adam but he empathized at first with my situation not having shelter, busted lease agreement with dead beat landlords in Washington County, PA. I thought, “alright, he sounds like there was a bit of kindredness”, but his attitude flipped quickly when I realize that I'm imaging this guy with a Straub's beer in one hand and a bowl of pot in the other every off chance I think of him. Whatever, I'm outta here but by my convenience not because this guy who needed money to fix his truck's bad transmission and is trying to take advantage of my lack of residential resources i.e., lease or receipt of rental payment for February. I might reiterate he tried to snatch from my receipt book, ( luckily he smokes so much weed that he missed the last copy of the triplicate receipt, LOL). The police say it's a civil matter though. They can't stop him from trying to lock me out while my property is still inside the house, or entering my room. That goes against my understanding of state tenant laws which pronounce that particular action as construable and not within the bounds of PA Landlord/Tenant Law per conversation with a police Sargent standing outside the residence 218 elm as I was talking to him about my missing space heater.
So, my question: I'm renting a sublet room in a duplex the owner, or property manager is unaware is occurring. How would I gain access to the property manager/owner's contact information to save me from being harassed by a beer drinking, pot smoking, subletting, thieving, and swindler posing as an upstanding citizen of a quiet bough in Beaver County, PA? I figure it's my only chance at not being trespassed by the local police in a room I legitimately rented from this loser drunk fisherman Police in this borough apparently have more important things to do than to save a person from homelessness 1,600 miles from home in the middle of a Pennsylvania winter.
The police aren't helping you because this isn't a police matter...it's a civil matter. You're an illegal tenant so you need to tread lightly. Once you blow the whistle to the owner/property manager, you'll probably be served a notice to vacate.
I'll be honest, I only read the last paragraph...the rest was one big run on sentence and not worth the effort to decipher.
Quoting OP"It’s the beginning of September and no savings. I’d used everything I’d saved for the move from FL to PA and would not be ok again with a penny until the next month, October.
I'm in a situation now 2/20/2016 where a gentle drunk,( suitable description at this point), is subletting me a room in a duplex twenty minutes away from where I landed in Moon Twp, PA. We agree to a month trial before making formal legislative arrangements with a lease why bother, a verbal agreement and a receipt signed by Joe Shmoe is just as good as a lease to prove residency, right?"
Where were you living between the first eviction in Sept 2015....and your current situation 2/20/16? There is quite a gap in time.
Regarding your recent situation...It was an agreed upon trial...he decided it wasn't working. Since it was only days, I don't think your idea of getting him into trouble with his LL would work...most people have the occasional house guest.
IMO
I would think you'd have been better off staying in Florida and utilizing the helping agencies which you must have been more familiar with after 25 years, and 10 years on disability.
Have you tried the Salvation Army for travel assistance to get back home? Or any other agencies? Are you having to prove 6 months residency to receive assistance there in PA?
If you are a senior or a vet there likely agencies that you might seek help from. With your disability status, you might get fast tracked on a housing list. I think you might be better off trying to get back there now.
A friend moved from Maine to Florida...she had disabilities and she moved to a senior housing situation in Sun City, she loved it and it was very reasonably priced. Best to explore all options..good luck to you.
Sure it Relevant! Few places including HUD apts Wont Rent with a Eviction Esp IF the Back Owed money Has Not been Paid! Friend of my was Evicted from his apt 15 years ago He Refuses to pay Back rent HUD says Pay or Sleep on the Streets! VA Programs are the same. No Gov Agency is going to help a person with an eviction. No more that Private LL will.
BTW IF/When one of my dogs die & some one told me I Couldn't Morn in my own way! I be putting their stuff on the sidewalk to! Esp since the OP Claims they been friends for 25 years! Not Very supportive in the "Friends" time of need!
Last edited by Katie1; 02-21-2016 at 11:14 AM..
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