Can a homeowner have the water shut off at his house even though there is someone else living in the house with their permission?
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Can a homeowner have the water shut off at his house even though there is someone else living in the house with their permission?
My daughter has been living with my ex-husband (her step-dad) over the past 4-5 years, helping him maintain around thehouse. His health has been deteriorating, especially over the past 1 1/2 years. He has been in a nursing home for the past few months while my daughter has been living in his house. He wants to go home, even though the doctors at the facility have told him that he is not medically able to. He has a G-tube and his house is full of bugs. Over the past few weeks, he has been having the utilities turned off one by one, and today he had the water shut off. What can be done?
Asked on July 15, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Ohio
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
In whose name is title to the home in? Your ex-husband's? If so, does your daughter have an agreement to rent the house where the water is being shut off? If she does, is the agreement and oral or written agreement?
How competent is your ex-husband currently? If he is in a nursing home due to declining health, is he even aware that you daughter was living in the house with him before he went to the nursing home?
Is there someone who is taking care of your ex-husband's affairs while he is in the nursing home? If so, that person should be contacted about the situation to see if your daughter can still live in the home (assuming she has no lease) where the water turned back on with other utilities.
If your daughter has a lease for the property (oral or written) and it has not been terminated, she can turn the water back on and have its bill and other utilities placed in her name for payment.
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