What can I do if my roommate let his brother stay at our place while he’s away but I want him out?
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What can I do if my roommate let his brother stay at our place while he’s away but I want him out?
I share a 2-bedroom with a roommate; we have separate leases from the same landlord. He left the country for 3 months and gave the key to his brother and his brother’s girlfriend, who live here now. I don’t believe they have signed any official sublease. The new tenants are very inconsiderate and loud. I have tried talking to them, but they just go back to being loud. Since they do not have a lease to live here, can I simply change the locks and make them go away? Then change it back once my roommate comes back (by which time my lease is up anyway and I will have moved out).
Asked on July 16, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Minnesota
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
First, you need to read the lease you have with your landlord to see if the circumstances you are unhappy about are mentioned in the lease and if there is language as to how the problem is to be resolved.
Second, contact the landlord about the issue and see if the landlord even knows that a non-tenant may be living in the unit. Potentially the landlord may not know about the circumstances and a non-tenant living in the unit may be a violation of the other lease. If that is, perhaps the landlord can be used to get the brother out of the unit.
You should also let the landlord know about the problems you are experiencing with the non-tenant brother.
Have you tried resolving the problem with the non-tenant brother? Changing the locks probably won't resolve the situation and may make it worse. The non-tenant brother if the locks are changed could hire a locksmith to gain access to the property and if that happens, the situation between you two would most likely be worse than better with no clear resolution in sight.
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