I own a condo and have invited my girlfriend to move in with me. She is an alcoholic and before moving in she stated that she would stop drinking. Shame on me for believing that. After many arguments and one domestic incident (by her) I told her that the living situation was not working out for me. She became irate and an argument ensued. I had the local police come to my condo to remove her. They stated that b/c she had been here for over a month she is now considered a tenant and can only be removed thru the eviction process which may take months.
We had a verbal agreement that she would pay half the mortgage, half the condo fees, and half the utilities. She has paid a small portion (approx half) of the fees mentioned above and has given no indication as to when she will catch up on the rest.
My questions are as follows:
1. If she has been here more than a few weeks is she in fact considered a tenant?
2. If she is a tenant does she have to vacate the premises immediately after being serving the 14 day notice to quit? This assumes that she does not pay the fees that are past due.
3. Who has the burden of proof on payment? What I mean is she paid me approx half the fees in cash and I did not give her a receipt. So its my word against hers if she has paid per the terms of our agreement stated above.
4. Any other suggestions?
I should note that the domestic incident mentioned above took place prior to her moving in. She was intoxicated and became violent. the police were summoned and she was asked to leave. A domestic argument report was filed. I did not file a restraining order. Aside from some arguments I do not feel that I am in imminent danger.
Any assistance would be appreciated.
Evicting girlfriend
That is a messy one. I think it would require a housing court judge to review the facts and determine if your girlfriend, by paying some money to you, established a tenancy. However, since the police are not willing to help you, and because self help eviction is not a good idea in Massachusetts, I think you should treat her as a roommate and evict her accordingly. (Unless you can talk or buy her out of the unit, something you may want to consider.) You will have to give a thirty day notice to quit, unless you want to admit she is a tenant, then argue that she failed to pay her "rent" when she failed to make the payments she promised to make. In that case, you would use a 14 day notice. And, no, she does not have to move out as soon as the notice to quit runs. At that point, you are obligated to go to court to obtain a judgement for possession and an order allowing you to evict her. If she still will not leave, you will need to hire a constable. (Are you beginning to understand why you might want to offer her some cash to move out? Make sure you get a receipt and have her sign a document abandoning her rights.)
In court, the judge will decide whether you have met your burden of establishing non-payment. Because she does not have a receipt, you will likely prevail. Good luck.