Roomate and Non-Rental

[tbill3]

Hi. I'm new to this and have a question about getting rid of a roomate. I own my house and had a roomate move in with me when I bought the place. We didn't sign anything, it was all oral and never stipulated beyond how much he would pay me per month. He's stopped paying me and I want to know if he has any rights (or can I change the locks) assuming he hasn't paid me or moved out by Jan. 31, which is when I told him to be out.

<small>[ December 28, 2002, 01:01 AM: Message edited by: tbill ]</small>

[consigliere]

In New York City, a landlord has to give 30-days' written notice to terminate a month-to-month tenancy.
 
The written notice has to be served in the same manner as a notice of petition and petition in housing court.
 
You should get a process server or an independent third party to serve the notice of termination. As a practical matter, December 31st is the last day to do this.
 
And NO, you can't just change the locks. You would be subject to civil and criminal penalties if you did.
 

[tbill3]

Thanks for the reply! After reading up some here, I figured it wouldn't be lawful to just change the locks. However, Is it necessary to have a 3rd party deliver the (written) termination of lease, or can I give him one, and send a certified version to his work place instead?
Also, am I able to begin (legal-at the courts) eviction procedings before the 30 days are up?

[consigliere]

Unless you can get the tenant to acknowledge, in writing, receipt of the notice of termination, you will need a process server or a third party to serve it.
 
And, no, you can't go to court until after the effective date of the notice of termination. In your case, if you are able to have the papers served properly to terminate the tenancy as of January 31st, the earliest you could go to court is February 3rd (February 1st and 2nd are Saturday and Sunday, respectively).