Still have ex-roommate's furniture and things.

[geirma]

My roommate Ka never paid rent on time and would go live at her friend's house for months at a time. She informed me that she paid Jan and Feb rent and led me to believe she had paid all of her late fees. March 4th I got a call from the landlord stating she paid part of Jan rent and no Feb or March rent and none of her late fees and unless they were paid he was going to evict both of us. I paid her fees and then signed her off of the lease at the landlord's suggestion. I have tried and tried to contact her and she would not pick up the phone or answer texts. Finally I sent her one on the day that I wrote her off of the lease informing her that I wrote her off, changed the locks, and she needed to come get all of her things. It has been almost a month and she has come by three times, stayed as long as she wanted, picked through her things and took what she wanted, and left when she wanted. She went to the house today without contacting me first while no one was home with the cops and texted me stating the cops told her I was illegally hold her things. She has made no attempt to pay me back anything. What should I do? Do I continue to hold her things? Can I charge her a storage fee? Can I collect anything besides back rent and late fees that I paid for her?
Please help! She has threatened me and my belongings and I want her out of my life but I also want my money back!!!

 

[army judge]

She doesn't pay her rent, why do you think she'll pay storage fees?

You need to get this person out of your life.

Send a letter to her last known address.
Tell her she has 30 days to make arrangements to claim her property.
See the box below!
Just get her to reclaim her junk.
She didn't pay you, she won't pay you.

One final thought on this mess.
I don't think that what the landlord told you to do, to sign her off the lease is legal.
You and he should hope she doesn't think too hard about the way it went down.
If she wises up, she could sue you both.
That is why I suggest you let her get her junk.
This could cause you more trouble and money than you imagine.
She should have been evicted, not signed off the lease.
That can only be done with her permission.

Q: What can I do with property left by a tenant in a dwelling?

If the property has no value, you may discard it. If the property has value, you must give notice to the tenant that they must pick up the property within 30 days or the property will be deemed abandoned. If the tenant does not claim the property within the time period in the notice, you may dispose of it in any manner which you deem reasonable and proper. You must store the property during the 30-day period in a safe location and use reasonable care to protect the property. If the tenant removes the personal property, you may charge the tenant a reasonable storage amount and other costs accrued under the rental agreement.

http://www.okbar.org/public/brochures/landbroc.htm

Here is the OK law on apartment rentals:

http://www.tenant.net/Other_Areas/Oklahoma/tenant.html

 

[geirma]

If the landlord refuses to file a proper eviction what can I do?

 

[jharris352]

If you sue her for the back and current rent she will likely be willing to voluntarily vacate the premises to get out of future rent payments. Does that make sense?

 

[army judge]

If the landlord refuses to file a proper eviction what can I do?

You can't LEGALLY sign her off the lease.
The landlord can't LEGALLY sign her off the lease.
HER leasehold is a specific right granted only to her, and no one else.
The landlord directed you to do something you have no legal authority to do.
The landlord should have brought an eviction action against her.

The only way to get her out legally is to have her sign herself off the lease.
You can incentivize her by saying her rent will be absorbed by the property, or the other tenants.
The landlord might want to do that, to get her out LEGALLY.
Or, the landlord can bring an eviction action for abandonment and non-payment of rent.

You might tell the landlord that you have no authority to sign her off the lease.
You can tell him that your attorney said she has to be evicted.
That if she is illegally denied her leasehold, she could have a case against the property.
She hasn't paid.
But, her rights to the property are still intact.
They remain the same as yours, legally.

The lesson here is to never get into lease arrangements with other people.
They tend to SCREW you!!!!

 

[geirma]

yes but she is determined to mess with me... just like randomly showing up with the cops when I have never turned her away or told her she couldn't have her things.

 

[geirma]

Army Judge you have been extremely helpful and I thank you a million times over!