When it comes to unconventional evictions, there are plenty of situations that read like a bad movie but are very true. If you are a landlord, then you should be familiar with the different types of unconventional living situations that often require eviction. Most of these situations often manage to avoid a tenant-landlord relationship, which makes them even harder for landlords to handle.
A licensee is someone who is given permission to reside on a property by the owner of the property but does not formally establish a tenant-landlord relationship. A good example of this situation turning bad would be a couple preparing to marry. The woman owns a property and invites her fiancee to live with her as they prepare their wedding. Over time, the relationship starts to go sour and she asks him to leave. By the letter of the law, he can defy her request to leave until she puts it in writing and takes him to court.
In February 2018, there was a story of a Bellevue nurse who resided in the dorms at Hunter College. The nurse resided in the dorms under an old agreement with Bellevue and stayed in the 100 square foot dorm room after Hunter College bought the building. The nurse paid rent every month and felt that he had every right to be there. When Hunter College started legal proceedings against the nurse, the nurse retired and moved out of the building.
When an employer offers free housing to employees, the employer is setting themselves up for headaches when employment is terminated. It may sound like an easy process to evict someone who is living in a property on an employment contract, but since there is no official tenant-landlord relationship the company would have to take the employee court to get them to leave their house, as was exemplified by the Hunter College case.
If an apartment building owner visits their building one day and finds a squatter living in one of their apartments, the owner cannot simply throw the squatter out. Under New York State law, the landlord has to file a petition to the courts to have the squatter removed. Despite the fact that the squatter is living illegally on the owner's property, the owner still must present a notice of an intention to take the case to court 10 days before actually petitioning the court for help.
Evictions are not always cut-and-dry cases that landlords and property owners can easily handle. Many property owners put themselves in difficult situations by not establishing a tenant-landlord relationship with a person living on their property. In the end, the courts can help to remove someone that the property owner wants removed. But the process can be extremely difficult when there is no agreement or lease in place.
