Home / Housing disputes / How to evict a roommate from your apartment?
“Civil marriage” and cohabitation do not guarantee lifelong love and harmony. Very often, people’s paths diverge, which means it becomes necessary to evict a roommate from your apartment. If there are no conflicts, the person will move out on his own. But it also happens that the roommate harbors a grudge and refuses to move out of the apartment.
What to do in this case? Is it really possible to evict only the ex-spouse, but not to kick out the cohabitant? There are differences, of course. We offer step-by-step instructions and procedures on what to do if your roommate does not want to move out of your apartment.
We also recommend that you read “How to expel a roommate from an apartment without his consent?”
✅ Grounds
Before talking about the grounds for eviction of a cohabitant, you should clarify the issue of ownership of the apartment. Evicting a “common-law spouse” on your own is only possible from a privatized apartment. If you lived in a municipal apartment under a social tenancy agreement, most likely your cohabitant has the right to use the living space. Consequently, eviction will only be possible on the basis of a court verdict.
Reasons why you can evict a roommate from an apartment:
- Decision of the owner, shareholders
The owner of the apartment, who has/has not registered a cohabitant, has the right to evict the tenant without explaining his wishes. The person being evicted will have to pack his things and leave the area he occupies. The decision to evict can also be made by shared owners, but their unanimous intention will be required.
- Damage to property
Troublemakers are evicted from the apartment first. Moreover, if a cohabitant causes damage to the property of the homeowner, the latter has the right to demand compensation for damage (Article 15 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
- Violation of neighbors' rights
It happens that a roommate abuses alcohol, is addicted to drugs, triples rowdy behavior, and “poisons” the lives of the owners of other apartments. Neighbors have every right to complain to the housing authority and then impose severe sanctions on the offender. One of these is eviction from an apartment (see “How to evict noisy neighbors”).
The reasons may vary, but it is advisable to use them together.
Features of the eviction procedure
When a couple has not officially dissolved their marriage, then by law they are official spouses, and therefore can occupy a common apartment. When a divorce takes place, specific situations need to be considered. Eviction is relevant if the following factors occur:
- breaking windows;
- wife beating;
- breaking doors.
Such actions by the faithful are illegal and therefore fraught with criminal liability. But when your spouse is going to kick out your husband, you need to prepare:
- obtain confirmation from neighbors about the man’s antisocial behavior;
- confirmed facts of frequent calls to the police, confirming the wrongful actions of the faithful;
- provide a certificate of damage received.
When a woman often contacts the police, and the officers are not particularly helpful in pacifying her violent husband, then you need to contact the prosecutor’s office.
✅ How to evict a roommate from an apartment if he is not registered there?
The easiest way is to evict a cohabitant without his consent, if he is not registered in the owner’s apartment. But you need to remember that not all categories of tenants are subject to eviction.
The owner cannot evict:
- Dependent (disability + living with the owner of the home for 1 year or longer);
- Family member (by consanguinity or official marriage).
A cohabitant may be included in the first category, provided that he is financially supported by the owner of the apartment. Most likely, he will have “immunity” from eviction. If the cohabitant is not a dependent and is not registered in the apartment, eviction occurs as usual.
Example: While vacationing in Turkey, Ivleva met Cherkasov. Mutual sympathy arose, and upon returning from abroad, Cherkasov moved in with Ivleva. Registration in the apartment was not completed, because... the man was registered with his mother. Soon disagreements arose - Ivleva wanted to live with a “real man”, and her roommate did not work anywhere and abused alcohol. It happened that Cherkasov created inconvenience for his neighbors in the stairwell. Tired of endless conflicts, Ivleva turned to the district police officer with a complaint about her roommate. She said that the apartment belongs to her by right of ownership, Cherkasov is not registered there, violates public peace and does not want to move out voluntarily. The district police officer responded to Ivleva’s appeal, and soon Cherkasov was evicted from the apartment along with his belongings.
