What to do if the 16 year old son of a c- tenant threatened to kill me the other day?
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What to do if the 16 year old son of a c- tenant threatened to kill me the other day?
There are 2 other co-tenants in our group of 3 (the mother and father of the son that threatened me). I didn’t call police but reported to his parents (my co-tenants), but they were unable to control him. They left for the night and returned the next day and although there were no more open threats, I can still hear the son speaking (gang type slang) loudly and it makes me nervous that him or one of his little hoodlum buddies will make good on his threats or damage my property in retaliation for his perceived transgression that I supposedly committed. I would like to distance myself from these because they are slobs and now violent. .
Asked on December 27, 2012 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
First, you should report this to the police: a death threat and gang-related activity is much more a police or criminal law issue than it is a landlord-tenant issue.
Second, you can report this to the landlord. The landlord is supposed to ensure that tenants have the right to peaceful enjoyment; this can provide a basis for evicting tenants who prevent other tenants from using their premises (e.g. living there) free from unreasonable disturbance. If he believes you and takes this seriously, the landlord could send this family a notice to cease, indicating that if their son continues to threaten you, they will be evicted. If threats continue to be made, the landlord could then file an eviction action against them; to successfully evict them, it would have to be proven in court, by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not) that he has been threatening you. As you can see, this requires the landlord to agree to act, and takes time; it is not a certain or sure remedy.
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