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  1. #1

    Default Landlord Won't Move His Personal Belongings Out of a House I Rented

    My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: South Carolina.

    In April, 2015, I moved into a rental house in Bishopville, SC, but my landlord won't move out. I was forced to pack up his belongings, room by room, in order to place my own things. Even after laboriously packing his belongings, he still will not vacate and keeps coming in for items as if they are in storage. Out of four bedrooms, he occupies three. He says, because he is only charging 450.00, I am getting 450.00 worth of house. I see him at least two or three times weekly since moving in. When I tell him it's not right that he occupies more space than I do, he says he has no place to put the items. The rooms, when I moved in, looked like landfills on the floors. All the shelves had his belongings. The kid's debris strewn, cluttered rooms appeared as if they were still there until I cleaned them up and packed the items.

    When I complain about him coming in to retrieve items all the time, he says he has a right to come in to make repairs. The thing is, making repairs is never on his agenda. Although he promised to put flooring in kitchen he still has not done so and this is July going into August. I can't use the washer and dryer that I purchased because the wiring is defective and they shock you. The front porch lights do not function and many, many other things are wrong. I am tired of looking at him and his mess, but I don't know what to do. I am 71 years old and it wore me down to have to pack his belongings before I could unpack and place my own. I really mean I was practically bedridden with back pain from all that lifting. He acknowledges that fact. T

    hat he has no place to put the items makes sense to him. Initially, I thought that he really felt he had a right to use my place as storage because of my low rental fee, but he is doing the same thing to other tenants, using their rooms as storage. I would really like to sue him for all the work I've done and to get all my money back so that I can afford to move someplace I can live in all by myself. This is the craziest situation I could ever imagine and everybody finds it difficult to believe the mess I am in.What rights do I have and what are the chances of winning a lawsuit if I sue. I have photographs that I took of all the rooms. As I mentioned previously, he still has three rooms occupied. The craziest thing is that he seems like a really nice guy while he is screwing you over.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Landlord Won't Move His Personal Belongings Out of a House I Rented

    If you have a written lease and it provides that you are to get full and exclusive possession to the house, you have an argument for the landlord to remove his belongings, and may be able to escape your lease if he does not. If your lease gives you a room and access to common areas, then the fact that the landlord uses rooms you're not renting for his own purposes is not a violation of the lease.

    If you have no written lease, and your landlord has told you that you are leasing only a room and access to common areas, then that would appear to be what you are doing. If you are not satisfied with the arrangement, or with the condition of the premises, it would make sense to give your notice and move elsewhere.

    When you show up at a rental property and it's cluttered and full of junk, your best bet is to inform the landlord that it needs to be cleared out and cleaned up before you'll take possession. Once you take possession, you lose your bargaining power.

    What "other tenants" are you talking about? If you are confirming that you are renting only a room in the home and access to common areas, and you're using the one bedroom that contains none of your landlord's property, then the fact that the other tenants have his property in their rooms is between them and the landlord.

    If your home is unsafe, as appears to be the case with the wiring issue you mention and possibly the flooring issue, you can see if local housing authorities will inspect the property and order repairs. Be aware, though, that if the property is deemed unfit for habitation or if it turns out that your landlord is not permitted to rent to you, you may end up having to move. If you're in a situation where there are multiple tenants living in a single family home in a residential neighborhood, there's a good chance that your landlord is ignoring local restrictions on rental properties, and that he has never had his property inspected and approved as a rental (as is required in most parts of the country).

    Your landlord may be a nice guy, but also be a hoarder or have a similar mental health issue that makes it difficult for him to deal with or part with his accumulated stuff.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Posts
    988

    Default Re: Landlord Won't Move His Personal Belongings Out of a House I Rented

    OP..so you have a written lease for the whole place..if so, for how long?

    If you behave like a door mat ..he is going to walk all over you...but it's unclear if youNhave a lease for whole place or not.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
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    18,340

    Default Re: Landlord Won't Move His Personal Belongings Out of a House I Rented

    Quote Quoting eloquentimagery
    View Post
    This is the craziest situation I could ever imagine and everybody finds it difficult to believe the mess I am in.
    I can believe it.

    The mess you are in is nobody's fault but your own.

    Quote Quoting eloquentimagery
    View Post
    The rooms, when I moved in, looked like landfills on the floors.
    Yet you handed over your money and moved in anyway.

    Like I said, nobody's fault but you're own.

    And since you accepted the place that way you are not entitled to any money back.

    A lawsuit will fail because, again, you accepted the place that way when all you had to do was say "no thanks" and turn around and walk away with your money still in your pocket.

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