Freak Roommate

todd@bsaw · 09-16-07, 02:58

Upon remembering the 'Freak Neighbor' thread, this is dedicated to crazy roommates and little immature battles. I'll preface this by saying I am 27 and have lived with many roommates in my life with no problems at all and creating many great relationships. Why this situation is any different, I have no idea... I need to rant...

We are 6 months into our year lease. I have lived in this house for about two years but only the last 6 months with my current roommates (4bd/2ba home). Both are students in their early 20s and one is a co-worker. I was helping them out by giving them a place to live because they got kicked out of their dorms. That should have been a warning, but I guess I'm too nice.

The very first weekend in the house, Roommate A threw a party and got so drunk he wanted to start a fight with everyone and almost took a swing at me when I confronted him after breaking the front door.

For the last 6 months, it has been a battle to get him to do anything around the house... dishes, cleaning the bathrooms, mowing the lawn, taking out the garbage, etc. Last month, he made an effort for a week to show he could do stuff around the house. He vacuumed, did the dishes once, and wiped the bathroom sink out. He then complained to the rest of us that we weren't doing our part and he was doing everything around the house. Even left me a GIGANTIC note on my door about leaving my "cr@p" around the house (my laptop...).

He got so annoyed by my 'attitude' that he found a new place to live and will be stepping out of the lease without any financial obligation (he talked to our landlord about my 'attitude' and struck a deal with them to break the lease), sticking me and Roommate B with the responsibility of finding someone new in two weeks. He still owes me $400 for past utilities.

This is were the problems started...
He refuses to talk to me in person (this is the guy I work with) so he relays messages to me via co-workers. He ignores me in the house and only replies to text messages via the phone, he won't answer when i call. I locked his computer out of our router and blocked the tv since my name is on the contract and he hasn't paid me for them. When I came home from work, I found our (his) recliner in the driveway with the upholstery slashed. I was out of town this weekend and when I returned today he had turned the thermostat down to 64* so the AC ran all weekend. He took the batteries out of everything in the home and is purposely making a mess in the kitchen and not cleaning because he has no intention of taking his dishes with him when he leaves.

I really don't know how to deal with someone like this. I've been fearing coming home to my personal stuff vandalized or my car keyed.

Thanks for reading, sorry I needed to vent. Feel free to relay more stories or help me out with my situation. This guy is just a Class A hole.

GregCavi · 09-16-07, 03:12

Change your locks ASAP. You don't want that psycho in your home.

Greg

WilliamHBonney · 09-16-07, 03:18

I think a gun is in your near future. Scare the sh!t out of him lol. Start acting crazy around him. Use his toothbrush to clean the toilet. Put an open half gallon of milk hidden in his closet for a few days. Put lindburger cheese between his mattress and his box spring. Talk about how "they" are coming to earth next week to visit. Have friends over and sit around in your underware and chant. Put a cinder block behind his wheel so when he backs out in the morning he backs over it. Pee in his shampoo bottle. Torture him.

Sorry to hear that Todd there is not a lot that you can do right now. I would make sure that when he does move that you INSIST that the landlord change all the locks at THEIR expense.

Also, why is it that you and the others have to find someone to replace the lease? It is not your responsibility to fill that house unless you signed something to that affect. That makes no sense at all.

Nothing much you can do about the electric bill. Good move on blocking out the cable and the internets. Lock all your stuff up. If he leaves dirty dishes out tell him he has 24 hours to do them and if he does not do it, you and your roommates are going to throw them away. Park around the block so he does not know where you park.

If he has a party, ask the people to leave. Tell them that they are trespassing and that their names are not on the lease. If they refuse, call the police. I did this several times in college and it always worked. I'd be happy to stop over

Cooter · 09-16-07, 03:19

Good idea Greg! Change them ASAP!!

todd@bsaw · 09-16-07, 03:24

I think what is annoying him the most is how calmly I'm taking everything he's throwing at me. I'd invite you over as long as you aren't coming to sit in your underwear and chant.

As for the lease, he was going to make an agreement with us, the roommates, to give us three months rent (no utilities or past utilities mind you) to "buy" himself out of the lease. I didn't accept that and told him I wasn't the person he should be making a deal with. That's when he called our landlord and probably proposed the same deal. If he took it, I plan on leaving the end of this month because I consider that a break in the lease for everyone. I am not going to be responsible for the entire house.

Edit: Also, could I consider the torn recliner as a threatened act of violence? If so, I think I could demand the locks changed and kick him out now and not give him the rest of the month.

WilliamHBonney · 09-16-07, 03:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by todd@bsaw

I think what is annoying him the most is how calmly I'm taking everything he's throwing at me. I'd invite you over as long as you aren't coming to sit in your underwear and chant.

As for the lease, he was going to make an agreement with us, the roommates, to give us three months rent (no utilities or past utilities mind you) to "buy" himself out of the lease. I didn't accept that and told him I wasn't the person he should be making a deal with. That's when he called our landlord and probably proposed the same deal. If he took it, I plan on leaving the end of this month because I consider that a break in the lease for everyone. I am not going to be responsible for the entire house.

Edit: Also, could I consider the torn recliner as a threatened act of violence? If so, I think I could demand the locks changed and kick him out now and not give him the rest of the month.

Ehh....careful man. Unless that landlord signs the lease letting you out of it you are legally obligated for your lease. I had a roommate in college that tried that and the landlord sued him and won.

azenthusiast · 09-16-07, 05:08

If his name is not on the place, kick him out and tell him you'll call the cops on him for trespassing if he ever comes back.

ericfine50 · 09-16-07, 05:56

Change your locks and talk to the landloard. You need to take photos of everything he does, just in case he would call the cops on YOU and the other roommates for any reason. If you wanted to get extreme, put locks on all bedroom doors.

good luck
eric

thesacrifice · 09-18-07, 03:46

He has lived there for six months, he has established residency, so the suggestions about locking the doors and kicking him out aren't a valid or legal option. What you have is a civil cluster that you need to resolve thru the courts, if you want a clean break.