unauthorized rental

[inteltek]

My wife decided to solve financial problems by renting a room to a lodger. No written agreement, no screening, no background check--and I never got to meet the renter until he had already moved in. Was it even legal for a single party on the mortgage to rent out a room without the agreement of the co-owner? What recourse is there? Frankly, I would like to kick the renter and the soon-to-be ex-wife out, but would settle for at least knowing my options, at this point.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

In the absence of a written lease, a tenant is said to have a "tenancy at will"; in other words, a month to month tenancy. These type of leases can be terminated rather quickly (with 30 to 60 days written notice) and no reason for doing so need be given.

California has some VERY tenant friendly laws so I've attached a good article on this matter:

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/terminations.shtml

Was it legal for a single party on the mortgage to rent out a room without the agreement of the co-owner? That's something a judge would have to decide. The tenant would likely argue that they rented this room in "good faith" with the understanding that your wife was legally able to do this.

If the wife is on the mortgage, "kicking" her out is not going to be an option for you.

Gail