Tenant rental issue
I have a renter who signed a 6 month rental agreement with me for a room at my home. The rental agreement began Nov.11, 2007 and is effective until May 11, 2008. I wish to terminate the contract with her due to her not adhering to my rules pertaining to the house. How can this be done legally?
Re: Tenant rental issue
The first legal question to be resolved is whether the person is a true tenant or only a lodger. If a person is sharing the whole home, even if they have a separate bedroom, they are probably not a tenant, but only a lodger. A lodger can be told to leave at any time without benefit of eviction proceedings; however, the lodger who is there under an agreement for a particular term – here six months – may have a claim for damages for breach of the contract. This is somewhat unlikely because presumably they lose no more by loss of the lodging than you lose by loss of the “rent.”
If on the other hand the person has exclusive use of a bedroom, especially one with a separate entrance, but no shared use of the rest of the house, the person might be deemed a tenant.
In either case, whether the broken rules give you a right to terminate the agreement would depend upon whether the rules are part of the agreement or whether you revealed them or made them up after the deal was made. This is of minor importance if this is a lodging arrangement, but very important if it is a lease, because you can’t terminate a lease without a breach by the tenant.
Bryan Whipple
Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law
P O Box 318
Tomales, CA 94971-0318