Is this considered breaking and entering?

Question

I have a friend who goes to college at FAU. She rents an apartment with two other girls. One of the girls was told to move out by the other two a few weeks ago. Now there is another girl who is going to be taking her spot. Well the girl who is supposed to be moving out should have been out by the 1st of the month. Now the girl who is taking her place has her stuff in the living room and has been waiting for over a week for her room. The girl has already recieved her security deposit back and should have been moved out a while ago. They called the police b.c they wanted to move her stuff out and the police said that it would be considered Breaking and entering. Is that right? the girls name is not on the lease anymore and the new girls is and he stuff is in her room, which she refuses to get out. What should she do about this situation? Please ask for additional details if need be. The sum of the story is this girl should have been moved out two weeks ago and she refuses to?

Answer 1

You're fine. One of the elements of any robbery, theft, or trespassing crime is that the perpetrator did not have permission or the authority to take the property or enter the premesis.

It's your lease, it's your apartment. Feel free to go in and get her stuff out.

However, I would not recommend tossing it on the street just yet. You need to make a reasonable attempt to contact her and inform her that she needs to come pickup her stuff or you'll just put it on the street. Make sure to document how you tried contacting her and when.

Finally, IF you end up tossing the stuff on the curb, make sure to have someone with you, take pictures of all the stuff you put out there, and you might want to even consider writing a basic inventory down.

If there ends up being a problem later on, all of this will cover you completely.

Answer 2

It depends entirely on the jurisdiction, and this doesn't sound like breaking and entering, but you should give considerable deference to the advice you receive from the police.

Under most criminal common law, breaking and entering requires an unlawful entry of a residence. It seems unlikely that someone who shares an apartment could "unlawfully" enter a room of that very apartment. A roommate doesn't generally need to "evict" a holdover share -- these arrangments are usually far more informal than landlord/tenant relationships, and might not even be covered by the same law.

Bottom line, though, is that (given the advice you received from the police) it seems likely that you have inadvertently left out some important element of the story. The police should know the elements of breaking and entry applicable in your jurisdiction. If you question the judgment of the particular officer with whom you spoke, maybe you should call back and talk to someone else. Or ask to speak to someone at a higher level of authority.

It would be risky to take action in the face of advice from the police that they would consider it to be unlawful.

Answer 3

Not sure about the rules in your state, but if the girl who was asked to 'move' was not formally moved (ie signing some contract) and she is reluctant to move then management has to evict her (or evict all of you). The two girls telling her to move hold absolutely no legal weight. If the 3rd girl has been receiving mail at that address for at least 30 days, even is she was not on the lease, then that is technically her legal residence. She will have legal right to have the locks broken if you change them without her notice and if she is smart, even if you had her arrested, the charge would not stick because she cant 'break and enter' her own residence.

At this point, she's going to have to be served with an eviction notice via certified mail or personal service. Check online for free paperwork and/or talk to an eviction lawyer.

Bottom line, you cant just put her out verbally.

Answer 4

Breaking and entering is defined as unlawfully entering a progression with the point to commit against the law. If no purpose to commit against the law exists, then that is Trespass (in WA a minimum of). What bothers me about your question is why ought to a relative change locks on your dads living house and not in any respect grant you with a key. i'm guessing that for some reason you're literally no longer allowed contained in the living house. Are you over 18? there is an somewhat good threat you'd be arrested for it. It relies upon on the situations surrounding the replaced locks and your dad. in case your dad had the locks replaced because you've been bringing living house undesirable boyfriends and he has thrown you out, then no you have not any legal proper to enter the living house without your dads permission. you're leaving out multiple training, yet to respond to your question, convinced that is a threat to be arrested for it.

Answer 5

Sounds like the story you tell here wasn't communicated so clearly to police. Instead of breaking and entering charges, maybe an eviction would be in order. Is there legal aid available at or near FAU?

Answer 6

If the girl who is moving out is no longer on the lease it is breaking and entering because she no longer lives there. I would pack up her things and put them on the porch, then change the lock. If she still insist on getting in the house after changing the locks and her stiff no longer exsist in the house, not only is it breaking and entering but harrassment too.

Answer 7

I've always thought of breaking and entering as breaking INTO someone's place, not moving stuff out.

Answer 8

You can't force her out without a court order. Anyone who puts her stuff out can be arrested and she can also sue for civil damages.

Answer 9

They need to file to have her evicted.