Tenant wants past rent from "illegal" subtenant

[mdsonline]

This sounds simple but I'm sure it's not - My girlfriend was recently near homelessness, when a couple she was friends with, asked if she would like to move into the extra bedroom they have in the house they are renting in Portland, Oregon. (The true landlord had no knowledge of her moving in.) She agreed to pay them $800 a month to cover her room and a share of the utilities. (The rent for the entire house is $975 a month total.) During the first month, she realized that it was a toxic environment, with the couple constantly fighting (including physical violence,) and not respecting her privacy boundaries. (ie: just walking into her room without knocking, or they would use the bathroom without closing the door.) After a few months she finally saved up enough money to move out - which she did. (She even gave them $150 when she left on the 1st of December hoping that would help appease them.) Now she is being sued for a one month past rent ($800 for Dec.) because she did not give the couple 30 days notice when she moved. (She did not give them notice because of the fear of reprisal.) My question is: Since she was not on the rental agreement, & there was no agreement between them as to how long she would stay, or that she would need to tell them in advance if she was moving, (not to mention the unsafe environment) - do the couple have a legitimate case? And I guess also – Would she be considered a legal tenant, even though she had no dealings with the landlord whatsoever? Thanks for any help!

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

In the absence of a written lease, a renter is considered to have a "tenancy at will", i.e., they have a month to month lease. If they pay monthly the lease begins the first day of the month and ends on the last. Month to month tenancies in Oregon (as in many states) can be terminated with a 30 day written notice to the landlord.

It appears your friend established a landlord/tenant relationship with this couple. Sounds like she left without giving the appropriate notice.

Nothing you write really provides evidence that she was living in an environment that was dangerous to her.

Gail

 

[mightymoose]

She should have given notice, but in this case you shouldn't worry much about owing anything.
if they pursue her with the claim then she should respond and appear in court if necessary to make her case. If she can show that she was paying $800 of $975 rent then I am willing to bet that a judge will sympathize. She didn't leave properly but severely overpaid for the time that she was there. The tenants aren't really out anything.
If you know who the actual landlord is it wouldn't hurt to inform him of the situation... it will help to keep the same problem from happening to others since the landlord will know to watch for subtenants, and the landlord might even jack up the rent due to the unauthorized occupants.
This whole matter can probably be kept out of court without costing you anything if you send out a few firm letters to the tenants and the landlord. You might get them to drop it to avoid other problems.

 

[mdsonline]

Thank you both for your responses - I have one other question:

We both feel that if she would have given them a 30 day notice that her possessions left in the house, when she went to work, would have had something done to them - possibly even thrown away. And I don't understand how being confined to your room because you were afraid of being injured during someone else's fight, or having to worry about if a man is naked in the bathroom doing who knows what with the door open does not somehow constitute a "dangerous" environment. These people turned out to be real psychos behind their front door - isn't there some stipulation in the law for situations such as this?

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Your girlfriend will be able to present her reasons for leaving without notice to the judge during the hearing. She needs to make certain she can attend this.

Gail