Playing It Safe.....
August 9, 2020 8:40 PM   Subscribe

I moved onto a property last year owned by a woman/interior designer who I now realize could be a narcissistic sociopath. She had a mobile home on the property and I, due to a desperate situation, allowed myself be coerced into renting it. No contract was signed, no deposit left.

The relationship is abusive. The signs of her cray-cray and manipulation have been on-going. I am exhausted, feel beaten and said I would move out by the 15th of this month. I now shake whenever we have a conversation. I have been on unemployment until last week and my first check from being employed will be coming to me on Wednesday. She is expecting that I pay the first two weeks of rent for this month along with linens, etc. I have little money saved and this will take a huge chunk out of the money I need to lay down a deposit for a studio.

I was taken for a ride by this woman. I will still be as long as I stay here til the end of the week.
I want to make sure the unit is clean and leave before my last day, not paying her this months rent and for linens, etc. I will pay her when I am ready to pay her. My safety and peace of mind have to come first.

There was no contract signed. No deposit left. She does not have any of my personal information. I want to make sure she has no legal means in any way to come after me.
posted by goalyeehah to Law & Government (4 answers total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: A few problems with this; OP please check your mefi mail -- taz

 
Step #1 might be to anonymize this question.
posted by Calvin and the Duplicators at 8:44 PM on August 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


I feel like there is some missing info here but....no contract, no deposit, no personal info? Pack up your stuff, rent a truck (if necessary), GTFO and don’t look back. Preferably while she is at work or away from the property.
posted by gnutron at 8:56 PM on August 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


If you have no lease, no deposit, she doesn't have your personal information, you aren't giving her a forwarding address, and you can get your mail sent elsewhere ASAP, I'm not sure how she would go about coming after you or suing you. I'm assuming that you didn't put utilities in your name or anything like that. if she's providing linens, then is the furniture in the place hers as well?

If she wanted to take you to housing court over half a month of rent, a judge would probably want to see a lease as part of the initial filing, showing that you were actually a tenant and stating how much rent you agreed to pay. Without any lease or deposit, and with you vacating the property voluntarily, I don't know what legal grounds she would have. In my state even if a tenant doesn't pay and I try to evict them, they can comply with the notice to "pay or quit" by voluntarily leaving before the posted deadline. If they voluntarily leave without damaging my property or leaving behind abandoned possessions that cost me $$ to dispose of, I can't continue with a court case - I would have no grounds to do so (and no need to).

If I were you I'd just pack up all my shit, leave ASAP, and block her on every conceivable means of communication going forward. If you're concerned that she will file a false small claims lawsuit claiming you damaged something, make a video of the place before you leave, preferably with a witness showing that everything is clean and in good shape and showing that you left the place locked.
posted by zdravo at 9:07 PM on August 9, 2020


If you file a Change of Address form with the USPS, consider changing it to a PO Box rather than your actual new address. It is fairly straightforward to find someone's new address after they move from their address change info. I won't provide the specifics here, although a quick Google search will show how it's possible. If you want to make it harder for your landlord to find you, either don't file a Change of Address form at all, or file one with a newly opened PO Box.
posted by saeculorum at 9:11 PM on August 9, 2020 [3 favorites]


« Older Fatphobics begone   |   What play did I see in the late 1990s about the... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.