Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Bad tenant alert

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On 13 Mar 2011, at 12:12 PM, Holly McNutt wrote:

> house-share situation. They are only 2 weeks into this and already major 
> problems have ensued.  As  Board member, I got an email from her explaining 
> the situation just to keep us in the loop, and that is when I made the 
> connection that this is the same family I read about here.  Oh, dear.  

Be very aware of your rental laws. Tenants in many states have incredible 
rights. It is to protect them against unscrupulous landlords, usually in 
situations where they are renting whole units — leasing. But the laws can also 
apply to people renting rooms or sharing an apartment. 

You may not be able to require them to move out and they can take legal action 
against you if you do anything that can be interpreted as violating their 
rights. So you need to know what their rights are.

I agree with a previous post that people shouldn't be intimidated by legalities 
but you need to understand them and that they apply to you. In our community we 
were unaware that any of these laws applied when renting a room and sharing the 
kitchen. In DC, they do. All states are different.

And there are people who make causing trouble the focus of their lives. They 
get energy from it. I recently read that this is one technique that people with 
ADD use to structure their lack of ability to maintain focus. They often 
believe that they are doing something constructive, like protecting their own 
rights or the rights of others.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
"Reality is something you rise above." Liza Minnelli