If Ihave a roommate who is in a short term rehab center who is refusing to pay rent that is due in a couple of weeks, how long do I have to keep her stuff?
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If Ihave a roommate who is in a short term rehab center who is refusing to pay rent that is due in a couple of weeks, how long do I have to keep her stuff?
Asked on November 17, 2012 under Real Estate Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
If you are the landlord, you have to keep the roommate's belongings until you actually evict her through the courts--and even then, you'll have to keep it for at least another month, while giving her notice and an opportunity to pick them up.
If you are a cotenant, you cannot dispose of the belongings at all--that is the landlord's role, at the expiration of the tenancy or when either this roommate or the two of you are evicted.
In either case, you may be able to put them into storage, though if you are roommmate, it will be at your expense. (A landlord can store an evicted tenant's goods while waiting for the tenant to pick them up, then pass the cost on to the tenant.)
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