Do landlords bear any legal responsibility to lock out an abusive husband?

[MavsSuperFan]

2nd time this has happened.

one of my tenants is trying to get me to lock out her husband, switch the locks on him, and asking me to evict him and get him off the lease for the unit.

She claims that she is being abused. I tend to believe her, because I have heard from other tenants in the property and she has bruises on her face and she got him thrown in jail.

Ill be honest I dont really want to for a few reasons.
(please dont judge I need the property to earn money)

Firstly, I dont think she can make rent by herself and support 2 kids. Secondly, I think evicting a single mother and her 2 kids will be difficult. Thirdly I dont want to go through the trouble of evicting a guy who has always been pleasant to me and gotten the rent to me in a reasonably timely manner. And finally he is a big guy (whom apparently has anger issues) and I dont want to get involved.

If she gets abused again after asking me to change the locks and get her husband off the lease, I wont be liable in any way right?

[DukeDelonte13]

you should talk to a lawyer about that. You should be friendly with a lawyer as a landlord. As long as you are leasing properties, you'll run into issues from time to time.

She needs to call the police. Tell her all you can do is call the police and let them sort it out.

[Godzuki]

whose name is the lease in? hers or her husbands?

i mean you can't really do that to him unless its in her name, right?

he is the one paying for the apartment i take it so i assume its in his name. basically she needs to gtfo if thats the case...

sux because a lawyer might charge you for simple advice like that.

not saying i know, but trying to use some logic here of what i think i do know

and yeah i would not get involved in anyone elses domestic disputes period.

[L.Kizzle]

She's getting abused ... tell her to call the cops.

Unless you want to be a witness of a future case somewhere down the line, don't get involved.

[BigBoss]

It's only your problem if neighbors are complaining, if he's destroying property, or missing out on payments.

Otherwise it's on her. She needs to

1) Press Charges
2) Get a restraining order
3) File for divorce
4)Go to counselling.
5)Move out

Any combination of those 5.

She has no right to ask you to lock him out. That is probably illegal if his name is on the lease so you shouldn't cause problems for yourself. Explain the situation to the tenant and tell her that she needs to make a decision vs putting this on you.

[9erempiree]

As someone who has a rental, you hire management companies for a reason. You should not be involved in any lock out.

[L.Kizzle]

Forgot to ask, is she a looker?
If so, comfort. If you do lock him you, you might be able to get some sympathy psuuy from her.

[GimmeThat]

If you have no legal responsibility. And you ended up choosing not to help her because of that.

You might just have to go to bed knowing that you rather hustle, than die not trying.

[russwest0]

Forgot to ask, is she a looker?
If so, comfort. If you do lock him you, you might be able to get some sympathy psuuy from her.

This.

[Tarik One]

Stay out of it. Sounds like she's looking for an ally. Who knows, maybe she has provoked a lot of these domestic disputes (not that I advocate abusing women, but you get the point).

The hubby has the crib in his name and is bringing home the bacon, and is using that to his advantage. She found a soft side in you and is hoping you will be her knight in shining armor.

Women are good at what they do.

[outbreak]

As others said either consult a lawyer or just tell her she needs to talk to the authorities and you'll happily comply with what they ask you to do. If the laws are similar there to what they are here it doesn't matter who's name the lease is under but you can't do anything until someone contacts the authorities. If you do something now on your own you run the risk of getting involved in a messy situation and they could both turn on you later.

[hateraid]

Let's not iump to conclusions. You have to talk to the guy and get his story. You can't just assume he's abusive and automatically take her side. Women can be just as manipulative