mjarrett t1_j0vdrig wrote on December 19, 2022 at 6:29 PM

Are you a renter yourself, or do you own your home? If a renter, was your friend allowed to stay, are you allowed to sublet?

Does your friend have a written lease with you? Were they paying any rent?

Alwayswasalwaysis t1_j0w72ym wrote on December 19, 2022 at 9:41 PM

I am renting I did not ask for permission to sublet They were paying 300 in rent a month and we had soem written agreements but no real lease. They have not payed in the last month and a half.

mjarrett t1_j0wregn wrote on December 20, 2022 at 12:06 AM

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer (in any State). I've been a landlord for the past ten years in Washington state, but have never had to go through with an eviction.

If your subtenant is living there, and paying you rent, you have a lease, and the written agreements would reinforce that. That means you would have to follow Washington state law similar to a landlord.

What you are describing is commonly referred to as a "cash-for-keys" agreement. If you Google it, you should find plenty of sample templates online. Honestly, if the price is right, I think this is the right option for you. The promise of a payout gives your subtenant motivation to follow through.

The alternative is to start the eviction process, and if you think your subtenant is trouble now, think how much worse they'll be once you serve them an eviction notice? Especially if the trouble results in your landlord getting involved; if your landlord wants to deal with this more conclusively, they'd have to evict YOU to get rid of the subtenant!

Alwayswasalwaysis t1_j0wrulr wrote on December 20, 2022 at 12:10 AM

Is cash for keys binding?

mjarrett t1_j0wtuyl wrote on December 20, 2022 at 12:25 AM

About as binding as your sublease was. :p

The distinction doesn't matter much though. The remedy if your tenant doesn't vacate when they agreed is eviction. The remedy for getting a tenant out for not paying is eviction. Either way, the tenant doesn't get the cash and gets an eviction filing on their record, which they presumably want to avoid.

Hopefully you weren't asking in the other direction. But yes, if your check bounces, they could come after you in court for the money, or even for damages for an illegal eviction.