No Lease Tx Evicting Roomate

[kendell]

I let someone move in and never set up a lease agreement other than verbally stating the amount of rent and bills to be paid.  Also stated they could live there month to month as long as I had 30 days notice.  None of this has been written formally though.  The problem is he has lived there for over a year and not once have I been paid on time and now he is $200 behind on bills.  Am I allowed to give him a 30 day notice and must he abide by it or what actions can I take.  Is there an organization in Tx that I can talk to?

[Leopold]

Hi Steve

Well, Texas does seem to march by a different drummer so I would suggest you go to the Fair Housing Agency in your city and talk to them before you do anything.  They know all the city, county and state laws that govern landlord and tenant matters.

They will probably tell you to give your roommate a WRITTEN 30 day notice to vacate. Explain to him that IF he is not out in 30 days you will use an eviction service to have him removed.  IF you have to do this, his credit rating is toast(maybe his credit rating is already bad but an eviction is a disaster).  Meaning that he will not be able to find another place to live.

Almost all landlords and homeowners who rent out space in their house use clearing services to check out tenants before they are tenants.  An eviction on your record(and yes it shows up on your credit record) is the kiss of death. No landlord in his right mind would rent to someone with an eviction on their record. He will end up sleeping on a park bench.  

You are doing him a gigantic favor by NOT using an eviction service. Point that out to him. And then go from there.  And Steve, if you had written up a roommate agreement from the beginning which spelled out rules(late payments require a late payment charge for instance), you could have removed him much earlier.  You should always have everything in writing.

Good luck.

Sincerely

Sylvia Bergthold

www.aroommatesurvivalguide.com