No lease: Landlord moved his cousin in with me [Pennsylvania]

[Clervis]

About a year ago, my buddy (call him Steve) bought a house next door to him. I ended up moving into the place (which was a total stripped dump) last May and l've been fixing it up and living there since. I wanted to sign a lease, but Steve didn't want to. He didn't even want rent, but I've been writing him rent checks every month, supplemented by the work I've been doing.

Then last September, Steve wanted to move his cousin in with me. I said no at first, but later said that he could stay while he looks for a place while I was out of town for 3 weeks, but he had to be gone when I got back.

Now it's 10 months later. Steve's cousin is still there and Steve and I are at each others' throats. He's about ready to kick me out and I'm about ready to leave. What are my rights and options here? I'm not that interested in taking any legal recourse, but I'd like to know where I'd stand if I did.

[Disagreeable]

Re: No lease: Landlord moved his cousin in with me [Pennsylvania]

You need to give 30 days notice.

[Friend In Court]

Re: No lease: Landlord moved his cousin in with me [Pennsylvania]

About a year ago, my buddy (call him Steve) bought a house next door to him. I ended up moving into the place (which was a total stripped dump) last May and l've been fixing it up and living there since. I wanted to sign a lease, but Steve didn't want to. He didn't even want rent, but I've been writing him rent checks every month, supplemented by the work I've been doing.

Then last September, Steve wanted to move his cousin in with me. I said no at first, but later said that he could stay while he looks for a place while I was out of town for 3 weeks, but he had to be gone when I got back.

Now it's 10 months later. Steve's cousin is still there and Steve and I are at each others' throats. He's about ready to kick me out and I'm about ready to leave. What are my rights and options here? I'm not that interested in taking any legal recourse, but I'd like to know where I'd stand if I did.

Give 30 days' notice and move.

Although you did not sign a lease you established a landlord-tenant relationship by paying rent. Whether the work you were doing has a monetary value you can establish, whether it was major enough and complies with the law to create an equitable lien against or the property or would in effect just end up raising the value of the place as a rental are facts that would have to be established and probably not worth the time and effort to sue over.

Chalk the whole thing up to experience so that next time you have a formal rental agreement, compensation or offset set with an amount certain for any labor and/or materials you supply to a rental premises -- and make sure all i's are dotted and t's crossed on a standard rental or lease form for your state.