Can a landlord evict a tenant for a breach of a lease if no lease was ever signed and no verbal agreements were ever made?
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Can a landlord evict a tenant for a breach of a lease if no lease was ever signed and no verbal agreements were ever made?
My boyfriend and I were staying with his aunt in her apartment with landlord knowledge but not on a lease and not paying rent until she moved to be married. From then on it was the 2 of us and at one point a roommate who we ended up kicking out. No lease was ever seen or signed and no conversations were ever had regarding our tenancy. Due to financial issues rent has not been paid for this or last month. We’ve given a 30 day notice to vacate and it wasn’t until almost mid-month we received a hand delivered 72 hour notice. Can we be given notice/be taken to court since there are no written/verbal agreements?
Asked on July 18, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Oregon
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Yes, if you don't pay the agreed-upon rent, you can be evicted; the absence of a written lease, or of a detailed oral or verbal lease, does not prevent this. Remember: there *is* a lease here--even if there are no other terms or details, if you are supposed to be paying a certain amount of rent per month, that itself forms a lease, or an agreement that in exchange for $X rent, you can live there. Not paying the rent is a violation of the lease and grounds to be evicted. (Also consider: you have no right to remain in someone else's home or property without either paying them rent, per an agreement, or without their permission to reside there rent free--and permission to reside there rent free can be revoked on short notice.) So yes, in the circumstances you describe, you can be evicted for nonpayment.
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