Q: I own the house, my boyfriend pays utilities. What rights does he have? He is physically abusive and is a drug addict?
I own the house. He has lived in it with me for two years. He pays utilities. I have tried to break up with him but he refuses to leave the house. He is physically abusive and I just recently found his drug items in the house. It is not safe for him to live with me anymore but he refuses to leave. What can I do? What legal rights does he have being that he lived in the house for two years?
A: If your boyfriend will not voluntarily vacate and you have not obtained an order from a court excluding him from the residence because of domestic violence or other reasons, you are required to take similar steps as a landlord would to evict him from your home through a holdover proceeding. Since it can be difficult to live with someone while you are working through the eviction proceeding, you want to be sure you don't waste time by making a mistake in litigation that you try to commence on your own. Therefore, I suggest you consider retaining a local attorney to assist you.
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