Q: Need help guest refusing to leave my apartment. They are not on my lease, never have paid rent.
I live in California, in apartments owned by the Irvine company. I have a guest that had over stayed there welcome and refuses to leave my apartment when asked over and over to do so. This individual is not on the lease, no keys, and has never paid rent not even a penny. All transactions I have are verified by my bank that account for rent payments.
This female though has stated she will be telling the police if I were to call them, that I have physically and emotionally abused her. There are no marks on her or signs of an altercation even though I wouldn’t put it passed her to hurt herself before the cops got here. It’s basic extortion... how the hell do I get this girl out of my house? Please help.
A: The first thing I would do is write down in a letter in detail the story behind how she ended up in your home, the steps you have taken to ask her to leave, her threatened allegations, and your desire to have her leave. Make a copy of the letter and both give it to her and send it to her by certified mail. Be polite in the letter. I would then go to the local police department and file a complaint for trespass. At some point, she went from being a welcomed guest to being a trespasser. Give the police a copy of the letter. I suspect the police will run an identity check and find out some interesting information about her. There must be a reason why she will not leave. Ask the police to send an officer to your home and tell her to leave. If the police will not do this (they may consider this to be a private matter and not a police matter), then you should contact your landlord and demand that your landlord take legal action to remove her from your premises. You have the legal right to quiet enjoyment and this means you do not have to allow her to trespass on your rented property. Under no circumstances should you resort to physical violence because you will turn her into a victum and get into real trouble with the law.
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