Renter wants to charge me with breaking and entering

[doityourself]

A friend let me move into her place without signing a contract, only with the verbal agreement of rent/month. Recently, I have fallen onto financial hardship and expressed this, so it was briefly discussed on me being able to pay once I started a new job/had money flowing - she knew of my money woes. Recently, we had another brief discussion and she said not to worry about rent (via text, so it's documented). Then, not long after, I went by the house to gather a few things for the weekend and the locks were changed without notification to me. I, believing that my belongings were still inside, went to the backdoor which is generally left unlocked. Only the top key was in place but, from previous experience with forgetting a the front key, I know I can wiggle the door and the key falls out. Anyway, I managed to make it inside only to find that most of my belongings were missing, nowhere to be found in the house...again without notice. She was out of town during that weekend and did not specify when or how or where my stuff was, only that we would speak on Monday. So, I took a few of MY important things which were left behind and went back out through the rear entrance and left everything else as it were. Upon return, she decided to file a police report for breaking and entering and is now demanding back payment before she returns my stuff and/or turns me in. What should I do?

 

[mightymoose]

How long were you living in the residence?
How good of a friend is this? If you pursue the options available to you the friendship is doomed, if it isn't already.

You have the upper hand here, and your soon to be ex-friend will become aware of that in due time.
Your friend had illegally evicted you, and if you pursue it, you can likely be rewarded damages. Any costs that you take on as a result of this eviction, including hotels, eating out, having to purchase new clothes, etc, are all damages that you can claim.

Read up on tenant rights in Kansas and learn the proper procedure that should have been followed. This is something you can handle in small claims yourself, but you might have some luck getting an attorney to represent you at low cost or on contingency because you have a pretty solid argument to make.

As you explain it, you did not commit a crime. It is not illegal to enter your own residence and take your own property. If you have not yet been contacted by the police, simply explain to them the circumstances as you have here- or say nothing at all. What you have is a civil dispute between you and your friend, and when they see that it is a landlord/tenant issue they will quickly go away. It is quite possible they have already determined this when they were called to the house.

At any rate- do what you can to make it clear to your friend that she is in the wrong for an illegal eviction and has committed multiple no-no's. It is likely your friend will return your property fairly quickly, but then you are still out a residence. It is up to you how far you want to proceed, but I think you are in the driver's seat here.... so long as you were living there long enough that you had reasonably established your residence there. It does not matter that there is no written lease- the same landlord/tenant laws apply.

 

[doityourself]

Thanks for the response. I have been living there since November with established residency, as I said, via mail items. I was just ensuring no charges could be pressed, as I thought. She can charge me for any damages that accrued due to my "break in" but certainly not criminal charges of B&E.

Thanks again!