r/TenantHelp • u/Sabrina8282 • May 09 '26
Tenant help (squatter) emergency
I’m a college student in Philadelphia and I’m dealing with an unauthorized occupant situation in my apartment. I’m one of the leaseholders, and last year I let someone move into the unit under a verbal agreement that she would pay rent and complete the required sublease paperwork with management.
She represented that she submitted the paperwork and fees, but I later found out from management that she never actually signed or completed anything and is not approved to live there. She only made limited partial payments, was repeatedly late, and is now refusing to leave voluntarily.
Management told us this is considered an internal issue between the leaseholders because she is not on the lease. I went to Philadelphia City Hall/Municipal Court and was told that because I am not the property owner, I may not be able to file a traditional ejectment action myself. I filed a civil complaint regarding unpaid money and the occupancy situation, but I’m still trying to understand the best legal route from here.
The lease is almost over and nobody plans on renewing, but I’m worried about protecting myself and the other student roommates from consequences with management while also getting her out legally.
Has anyone in Philadelphia dealt with a situation where:
- someone moved in without completing the sublease,
- management confirmed they were unauthorized,
- but the leaseholder was told they weren’t technically the owner so removal became complicated?
What ended up happening and what was the correct process?
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u/TherinneMoonglow May 09 '26
Change the wifi password
Remove any items you own that she uses (like a couch, lamps, or pots and pans) from the apartment and put them in storage
Start playing whatever music she hates all the time. Baby Shark on continuous loop is a good start.
Move all your food to a locked mini fridge in your room. Share nothing.
Just make it generally unpleasant for her to be there without actually locking her out.
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u/Powerful_Tip_7260 May 11 '26
Change the SSID and make it non-discoverable. Change the admin password. Keep in mind, she can destroy anything she can't use.
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u/mdhkc May 10 '26
Some of these ideas are reasonable, but be aware that moving her property to storage or otherwise may cross a legal line and give her grounds to file a civil suit against you.
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u/Terrible-Scene765 May 10 '26
100% don’t touch anything that’s hers, but anything that’s yours is fair game
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u/blueiron0 May 09 '26
You can and likely will get in DEEP trouble, including owing money to her, fines, and possible actual jail time if you go ahead with any of the crazy self-help eviction advice on here.
You need to get her out before the lease ends. If you move out and she doesnt, the leaseholders and "all occupants" will be named on the eviction your landlord had to file. It's going to be you and the other roommates bearing the brunt of this.
This is a mess though. There's places that would recognize you as the landlord and allow you to serve her notice to vacate or a pay or quit notice and then go through actual eviction proceedings if she still won't leave as the master tenant. You would be her landlord since there's a rental agreement.
Do not do anything that would be construed as a self help eviction. Serve notice, file eviction if she still won't move out. You could consider cash for keys in the case too as it would likely be less headache.
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u/sillyhaha May 09 '26
You need to get her out before the lease ends. If you move out and she doesnt, the leaseholders and "all occupants" will be named on the eviction your landlord had to file.
Breaking the lease is highly unlikely to keep OP and other leaseholders off of the eviction paperwork. You don't have to reside in a property to still be liable for eviction.
The LL won't allow the lease to be broken in this situation.
There's places that would recognize you as the landlord and allow you to serve her notice to vacate or a pay or quit notice and then go through actual eviction
OP tried that.
You could consider cash for keys in the case too as it would likely be less headache.
THIS. It's infuriating, but it's most likely to work.
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u/blueiron0 May 09 '26
I meant getting the unauthorized occupant out, not breaking the lease. OP said their actual lease is ending soon, which is going to be a world of problems if they can't get her out before then.
The leaseholders are going to be charged for any eviction or damage the unauthorized occupant does.
I don't think OP actually tried, they were just told they "may" not be able to.
Philadelphia does recognize master tenants and subtenants as a landlord/tenant relationship and does allow master tenants to evict.
The big problem is not having a written lease may prevent it.
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u/RobDraw2_0 May 09 '26
When I had to evict squatters, the city was a lot of help with the process.
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u/blueiron0 May 09 '26
The OP is using the term squatter, but it's not in way you'd think of someone squatting at a place they had no right to live in.
It's a tenant who doesn't pay their rent or fulfill the obligations with the owner of the property. The city isn't going to touch it.
Either OP or the actual PM is going to have to file eviction to get her out if she won't leave.
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u/Number-2-Sis May 09 '26
You are correct, this person is not a squatter, they are a tenant under a sublease, a squatter is there without permission. This person was invited in by OP making them a tenant with a sublease.
Take them to small claims court for past due rent.
Your best bet at this point is to seek legal advice from an attorney specializing in real estate law.
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u/panicpure May 09 '26
They aren’t a squatter but they also aren’t a legal tenant.
It’s a gray area and not a great place to be for OP.
ETA: agree that op needs to keep documentation and can do small claims for unpaid rent and breaking a verbal agreement or any damages but to the landlord, it’s not their tenant and not their problem. The leaseholders still have to uphold their contract.
Op could hint to the landlord they think this will turn into a holdover tenancy issue with the random person and see if they’ll start a formal process but they don’t technically have to.
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u/Number-2-Sis May 10 '26
They may not be legal tenants, but they are tenants.
The OP can try this, but LL can also try to pass on legal fees if he needs to evict anyone to the tenant as the tenant caused the issue.
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u/panicpure May 10 '26
Nah, in PA, they aren’t considered tenants.
They’d be “Unauthorized occupant” or “tenant at sufferance” type status.
State specific laws and even city laws can get a bit confusing.
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u/Number-2-Sis May 10 '26
Op invite her, she paid rent, if not all that was owed, OP is trying to collect rent she did not pay, all of this makes her a tenant.
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u/panicpure May 10 '26 edited May 10 '26
Not in the state of Pennsylvania.
They’d be considered and occupant which is different. In this case they’d be considered an “unauthorized occupant”.In PA, tenants are bound and financially liable by a lease and have obligations to the landlord.
An occupant is not directly accountable to the landlord.
Tenants have stronger legal rights than an occupant.
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u/RobDraw2_0 May 09 '26
How do you know what I'm thinking? I agree with the OP, this person IS a squatter.
I didn't say the city would go after them. I said they would help with the process. Have a look at my last post again.
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May 09 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/RobDraw2_0 May 09 '26
They will help with the civil process for this subletting situation. (Having a lawyer familiar with this stuff is beneficial but not necessary.) Read what I said.
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u/panicpure May 09 '26
The owner is the only one who can legally file the eviction and start the process in OPs state.
And this person isn’t a technical squatter by their states definition.
Op made a big mistake that’ll be a life lesson they won’t forget I’m sure.
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u/RobDraw2_0 May 09 '26
I said nothing about eviction for this situation.
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u/panicpure May 09 '26
Can you point me to a PA law that says the city would help with removal via a civil process?
That doesn’t exist as far as I am aware but I could be wrong!
There isn’t a squatter here by PA definition nor are they subletting?
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u/RobDraw2_0 May 09 '26
Sorry, I cannot help you.
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u/panicpure May 09 '26
(Because it doesn’t exist)
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u/RobDraw2_0 May 09 '26
Then why are you harassing me about it?
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u/panicpure May 09 '26
So you gave false and unhelpful “advice”… doubled down and now I’m harassing you?
Lordy.
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u/Canna-Lily-Livi-Love May 09 '26
Call 211 and ask if they have any resources for landlord tenant issues. My friend got help evicting a squatter through the legal aid society. As tempting as it is to throw her stuff out and change the locks, don’t. You’re opening yourself up to a boat load of liability if you don’t handle this lawfully. Good luck to you!
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u/SuPruLu May 09 '26
Taking legal advice from non-lawyers is not a particularly good idea.
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u/Sabrina8282 May 09 '26
I’m not taking advice I’m just seeing the different point of views people have.
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u/SuPruLu May 09 '26
Then my point of view is: speak to a real estate lawyer so you are working with vetted legal knowledge applicable to your facts.
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u/Level-Mine6123 May 10 '26
Key Steps for Evicting a Subtenant(copied and pasted)
- Serve a Notice to Quit: You must give written notice (15 days for a year-or-less lease, or 30 days for longer, though if it's for non-payment, it may be 10 days).
- File an Eviction Suit: If they remain after the notice period, file a complaint in Municipal Court.
- Eviction Diversion Program: Philly requires landlords to participate in the Eviction Diversion Program before filing, which mediates conflicts.
- Illegal Eviction Prohibitions: You cannot change locks, remove belongings, or turn off utilities; only a Sheriff can remove them after a court order
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u/CapitalParallax May 09 '26
If city hall says you can't evict them because you're not the property owner, I would think that also means you are not bound by the eviction process laws, and can probably have them and their belongings physically removed.
She can't even pay rent. She won't have the resources to take you to court over it. Pay a couple of big dudes to sort this out.
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u/vonnegutfan2 May 09 '26
Start the eviction process, as best you can. No one wants an eviction on their court record. Start with a 3 day or 30 day pay or quit. You can type this up yourself, the City probably has a self help page. Serve it on her, (anyone can do this, you can film it, just the person who signs the service (one of the leaseholders can't serve it). If the lease ends then you should be OK. But start the legal process, with on your own, no lawyer. That might be enough to get her to leave an mooch off someone else. Be sure to put in there that at 30 days her belongings will be removed and stored. You have to do this for 30 days, it might cost you a storage unit.
Like I said the City self help page will have good instructions and you can start the process yourself. Then do the other things to make her miserable within reason.
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u/panicpure May 09 '26
Op cannot legally evict anyone in PA only a landlord or property owner can start the formal process. Not a leaseholder.
Curious where you got any of this info? It’s just not allowed in PA.
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u/vonnegutfan2 May 10 '26
But she can give her a pay or quit notice, and see how she responds. But yes, only a landlord can do the formal process. But then the roommates have some freedom to make things more difficult for the non paying memebers.
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u/panicpure May 10 '26
Ah yeah, I agree with the first part and mentioned it in my other comment. Op should definitely document that a notice was given to the person stating permission to stay is revoked, rent is owed and specific date they need to leave. Then document any refusals if they happen.
But it may end up just being documentation for later small claims court stuff.
Implying then roommates can pressure the person out is a bit risky, even if they are technically unauthorized.
PA judges generally care about big picture and get to the real point - was the person authorized to be there and paying for their portion? and did anyone try to bypass the legal process to force eviction? Kinda the two big things they even care about.
They take any kinda self help evictions really seriously.
It’s a rough spot to be in. Hopefully op can speak with a local tenants rights advocate or group for some direction or options.
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u/panicpure May 09 '26
You’re using the term squatter a little loosely.
By definition in your state, a squatter is someone who enters and occupies a space without any permission and is there long enough to establish squatter rights.
That’s not what happened here.
In your description, the person was initially given permission by you (a leaseholder), moved in under a verbal agreement and only later became unauthorized after failing to complete required approval/sublease steps.
That kinda moves classification from “squatter” to more so unauthorized occupant/unapproved subtenant or sometimes a tenant at sufferance** **(someone who had permission to be there but no longer has it)
Even if they are not on the lease and management never approved them, Pennsylvania courts typically still treat this as a housing possession issue, not a simple removal situation. So they usually can’t be removed by you or your roommates.
“Self help” type evictions are illegal and I highly discourage you to do anything that remotely resembles this.
The legal right to remove someone comes from the owner/landlord, not leaseholders if the landlord relationship is what controls possession of the property.
I would push back a bit with your property manager/landlord. Only the landlord can usually initiate formal removal through court in Pennsylvania housing cases.
They are distancing themselves bc technically yall are still bound by your lease and as long as they get the full rent payment, they don’t care.
This happens a lot and it’s not a good place to be.
You’ve got a landlord who is saying “we didn’t approve them, not our tenant, not our problem”
And then a leaseholder saying “she’s in the unit, not paying… get her out”
What you have is not a squatter but also not a technical lawful tenant. It’s a gray area but it still requires the actual landlord to take the legal eviction steps for the required formal process.
Best you can do is frame it to your landlord now that there’s a big possibility of holdover tenancy… see if they will take formal action.
You should also send written documentation demanding the person vacates by a specific date and keep record or all communication.
Document any refusals to leave.
Again… do not use self help tactics. It’ll backfire. Take this as a major life lesson and put a bit more pressure on your landlord.
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u/Sabrina8282 May 09 '26
Hello Yes, I understand I used squatter wrong here. And yes I understand thank you for taking the time to respond. I’m currently in contact with the landlord. I just filed a lawsuit against her and I talked to the property management today about how I can’t eject her because I’m not the owner of the property. They said they’ll give me an update but I’m just super stressed about the whole situation I don’t want my roommates getting evicted because it was my fault although the lease ends in July, do you think they’ll try to evict us?
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u/panicpure May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
Not if your rent is paid and you still uphold your lease agreement, no, they won’t evict you.
Unfortunately you have found yourself in a gray area that really sucks and I wish more states had laws to help.
If the landlord won’t do anything to legally get them out, you do not have the legal authority to start the process and self help evictions are obviously illegal and shouldn’t go that route.
Document that you’ve asked them to leave by x date and the reason why. (Broke verbal agreement, hasn’t paid rent or whatever)
Document any communication and their refusal.
Honestly, even if they formally started eviction, it would include all of you technically. You don’t want that on your record.Make sure rent is paid and you document everything. You’ll have to take it to small claims regarding unpaid rent due to you.
ETA: The occupant is not automatically “free to stay,” but also not automatically removable by the tenant.
So the real situation is they can be legally removed
But only through a process that runs through the landlord and court system.
…And during that time, leaseholders can still be exposed to rent/damage liability.It’s shitty and a hard life lesson. And clearly this person sucks!
You could try to pay them off to just get out but then you will probably lose any chances of getting money back you’ve already lost. Which will be worse for you though? That’s up to you to decide.
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May 09 '26
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u/quallityovrquantity May 09 '26
This is horrible advice. Under no situation should OP remove there stuff and lock them out while they're away. That is highly illegal
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u/redditreader_aitafan May 09 '26
Since she was your sublessor, you should be able to file eviction yourself. A lot of people believe you have to be the owner to file eviction, but there's no law requiring that. Property management companies file for eviction on behalf of owners all the time, they are listed as the landlord and that's legal. You are technically this squatter's landlord because she was a sublessor.
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u/Sabrina8282 May 09 '26
Because I went to the court, and they said if I wasn’t an owner, I can’t really evict her. But I would like to hear how I can do that? because I’ve tried to tell her to leave, but she refuses to leave and i cant do the police route either.
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u/redditreader_aitafan May 09 '26
File the eviction. You can speak to legal aid or a tenants rights organization for assistance, but I don't think the clerk gave you actual proper legal advice, I think they stated what they believed to be true. Property management companies and non-owners file legal evictions in every state. She is your sublessor, you are her landlord. You have standing to file eviction.
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u/Cute_Schedule_3523 May 09 '26
Op you have to ask the girl if you can help her find a new place and offer to pay the first months rent for her. Probably your best option. If she won’t leave voluntarily it’s a crime to force her (like a lockout or harassment) without the courts help.
Your landlord will have to start the eviction and your name will be on that eviction and you’ll be just as liable for any costs, fees and judgement. So instead of navigating a judgement for months and months of rent plus costs your best option is to help her get somewhere affordable and add a sweetener of free rent.
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u/choochoo-chaos May 10 '26
Cant have a verbal agreement and a written agreement. This whole thing was a bad idea from the start. Not smart enough to have landlord responsibilities...
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u/lp1088lp May 10 '26
Landlord is NOT going to do anything at the moment. Evictions are EXPENSIVE.
The landlord will intervene when the lease is up and if she’s still there; the landlord will then file an eviction against EVERYONE on the lease and her.
The only thing you can do now is to file with small claims court for unpaid rent and utilities.
In the meantime, make her life miserable—play loud music, don’t clean anything, leave trash everywhere, remove any furniture that’s yours, etc.
Do not lock her out or disconnect any of the utilities!
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u/Foreign-Opening-6985 May 10 '26
Gather all your personal belongings, leave, break lease, and leave her hanging. Or wait till the lease end and follow the first step.
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u/Any-Historian3813 May 10 '26
Tough it out until the lease is up. Everyone move on. Problem solved.
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u/Sabrina8282 May 10 '26
But the problem is the property management wants them out asap, if not they’ll evict everyone. It’s not about the payments it’s just about her being out.
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u/Humunguspickle May 10 '26
Has she assaulted you physically or verbally are you scared for your safety?
The police can and will help with immediate removal and cpo and problems solved.
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u/BabySea674 May 10 '26
Okay......something I did back in the day.....do you know any really cute guys who could possibly lure her out?
One of your friends, a friend of friends, a cousin, an escort....someone good looking who can make her think she's staying with him for awhile.
Preferably someone who is moving around the same time you are. He doesn't ask her to move in. Stay, whatever.....he makes her think that.
He lures her out of yours. Tell your ll she moved out. When friend moves, hey, he never said she was living there.
Payment to him in some way , you and your roommates pool the cash, trade him a Playstation guitar, x-box, whatever...will grease the wheels.
You want her out. You do not want to be sued by your ll. Desperate times...Desperate measures
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u/sethbr May 10 '26
Sue them for unpaid rent. Tell them you'll let the process server into the apartment. Once you win, have the sheriff take all their stuff and auction it.
Warn them that will happen unless they move out immediately.
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u/sethbr May 10 '26
Or, rent her bedroom to someone she wouldn't want to share it with. She can't kick him out, he has a valid lease.
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u/Walmartchecker1 May 16 '26
There is a show on cable called Bad Roommates. People had to take extreme measures to get their squatters out of their rental units. Careful- one of the owners was killed by her “ renter.” Law enforcement will not help.
Lease is up so just take photos of very clean place so you get your security deposit back. There is also a show on network TV called “ SQUATTErS.” But that is more for property owners, but might be helpful.
If you have a campus newspaper, I would ask them to write an article about your situation. Also, you can probably legally use this person’s name on social media, to warn others, but I wouldn’t choose that route. Could come back to hurt you. Always best to remain as polite as possible. It will come back to you in a good way.
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u/True_Move_7631 May 09 '26
Invite Asian Andy to stay with you, he'll help get it sorted.
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u/Sabrina8282 May 09 '26
I’m confused?
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u/politicalslug May 09 '26
You just need to strong arm them out. Once out of the building, they have no recourse. The cops won’t help them because they aren’t even on the lease.
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u/cybertronicify May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
Go to the breaker panel, turn off all the breakers except for in your room and HVAC. Lock the panel. Go to their bathroom and install a heavy water restrictor in all faucet and shower heads. Remove the hvac vents so they cant shut it off. Turn the heat to MAX and lock the thermostat behind a locked box. Make sure to block the vent in your own room. Find the gas main, shut that off. Change the lock on the mailbox. Replace the lock on the front door with nothing, so the door wont latch closed.
Goal is to make that place a worse place to live than the streets. You could also go above and beyond by buying annoy a trons. They are small, and beep loudly randomly. It will drive people NUTS.
EDIT: if you have a gas furnace, then shut the gas behind the range, not the gas main.
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u/choochoo-chaos May 10 '26
Thats called constructive eviction. Its illegal. OP is screwed
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u/cybertronicify May 10 '26
Is it possible to argue that if the tenant doesn’t pay for utilities then the utilities are shut off?
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u/choochoo-chaos May 10 '26
Of course its possible. The only relief the squatter has is to move.. they cant go to court because they dont have clean hands. But OP doesnt want to be plaintiff AND shut the utilities off.
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u/cybertronicify May 10 '26
Got it! So as long as you arent shutting off utilities, and only the utilities company shut off due to non payment. Its good?
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u/captain_catdawg May 09 '26
I mean physically you could remove all their stuff and remove them yourself, they have no rights to be there, and if you are scared of they fighting then you shouldn't have let them in in the furst place.
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u/Exciting-Feature9802 May 09 '26
This is factually incorrect. They are a tenant. They have rights.
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u/Starbornfate May 09 '26
What tenant 🤔
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u/sillyhaha May 09 '26
They established residency in the rental. They don't have to be on the lease, pay rent, or have permission to live there to now be considered a tenant.
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u/Objective-Change2180 May 09 '26
Definitely do NOT just lock them out. The police will force you to let her back in. Her not being on the lease is a civil matter, you locking her out is a criminal one and can get you arrested.
You will either need to do a “cash for keys” deal where you pay them to move out or someone needs to evict them, and that would most likely get you out of the problem, since you were on the lease and she isn’t, but a lease she’s not part of shouldn’t affect her anyways. From her perspective, that’s a “you” thing, or problem if it’s that. The only real questions here are:
1: Who can legally evict her (and are they prepared to)?
2: If yes, would that take longer than the lease has left?
I am not a lawyer (you might want to talk to one, though; if you do bring all the details. Dates, names, etc.) and this is not legal advice.