Landlord Question and Answer Forum

My son is 19 years old, will be 20 in August of this year. He has graduated from high school and works at Wal-Mart as a full time employee. In December we told him that he needed to start paying 28 % of his bring home pay to help out with bills starting in January. The 28% covers his room & board, electricity, water, Direct TV service, food, car to drive, insurance on the car, use of the washer & dryer. He was also told that he would be responsible for loading dirty dishes into the dishwasher and that he could not leave dirty dishes, trash or dirty clothing in the living room area or on the bathroom floor because the bathroom is shared with his younger brother but he could keep his room however he wanted as long as his bedroom door was kept closed and when the smell lingered outside of his room he would have to clean it or be charged a $75.00 cleaning fee due payable the day the cleaning service was performed. January 5th he paid a 46.00 water payment and spent 36.00 at the grocery store for dog food and a few other items we needed. That was it. This month he has paid to get the tags to the car that he drives (no one else drives the car) I do not feel like he will pay any other amount for this month. He is disrespectful to me and his step father and constantly belittles his younger brother (who is only a year younger but is still in high school). He continues to sleep on the living room sofa when he has been asked not to, he lets dirty dishes pile up and leaves his trash and dirty dishes out in the living room for days on end. I am tired of constantly telling him to pick up his trash or to load the dirty dishes into the dishwasher as well as telling him not to talk to his brother the way he does. I have told him several times that he needs to move out of my house, but he ignores me. What can I do legally to get him out of my house?

You can file for eviction (and yes that is the ONLY thing you can do, and it takes a while, so you might as well start now). There's a good article on this site about the eviction process: https://www.ezlandlordforms.com/articles/eviction_process___a_step_by_step_guide_to_eviction_in_all_states/

Posted by Ralph F, CA on Wednesday, February 9, 2011

I was hoping that there was another way. I know the steps to take and everything that I have to do in order to file for eviction. Do I still have to follow the eviction filing procedures even if he is not on my lease? Why do our young adult children make us have to even want to evict them and take them to court. As a mother I am having the most difficult time with this issue.

Posted by Ron and Dawn L, TX on Wednesday, February 9, 2011

I hate to say this but he's disrespectful of you because you tolerate his behavior. Throw him out of the house. Forget worrying about the legalities. This is your son and you aren't doing him any favors by allowing him to act that way.

Posted by Jonie L, CA on Tuesday, February 15, 2011

It sounds as though your son is having issues with self discipline and personal identity. Maybe what your son needs is a possitive role model to show him other alternatives. The military is still hiring. Give your Son's cell phone number to a recruiter. After the recruiter gets ahold of him, your son will either join us here in the Army or finds an alternate place to live. Your Son maybe going through an identity crisis. 19 years of being taken care of did not prepare him to take care of himself.

Posted by CPT Darrell H, CO on Tuesday, February 15, 2011