Can a landlord evict a tenant for a breach of a lease if no lease was ever signed and no verbal agreements were ever made?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can a landlord evict a tenant for a breach of a lease if no lease was ever signed and no verbal agreements were ever made?
My boyfriend and I were staying with his aunt in her apartment with landlord knowledge but not on a lease and not paying rent until she moved to be married. From then on it was the 2 of us and at one point a roommate who we ended up kicking out. No lease was ever seen or signed and no conversations were ever had regarding our tenancy. Due to financial issues rent has not been paid for this or last month. We’ve given a 30 day notice to vacate and it wasn’t until almost mid-month we received a hand delivered 72 hour notice. Can we be given notice/be taken to court since there are no written/verbal agreements?
Asked on July 18, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Oregon
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Yes, if you don't pay the agreed-upon rent, you can be evicted; the absence of a written lease, or of a detailed oral or verbal lease, does not prevent this. Remember: there *is* a lease here--even if there are no other terms or details, if you are supposed to be paying a certain amount of rent per month, that itself forms a lease, or an agreement that in exchange for $X rent, you can live there. Not paying the rent is a violation of the lease and grounds to be evicted. (Also consider: you have no right to remain in someone else's home or property without either paying them rent, per an agreement, or without their permission to reside there rent free--and permission to reside there rent free can be revoked on short notice.) So yes, in the circumstances you describe, you can be evicted for nonpayment.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.