Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Michigan
House guest over staying welcome
My niece recently divorced. She had to move out of her apartment with her 3 year old son. she asked if she could move in with my husband and I until she got an apartmet.
We said she could until she got an apartment. She signed
up at the local state agency for low income housing, and
had her name on the list. We would ask her if she had heard anything about an apartment and she would say no, not yet. I have since found out that she was offered an apartment which she turned down. Her excuse was that she
was waiting for a job interview and might be moving soon. She has put in for many jobs which she hasn't gotten for one reason or another. We're afraid she's getting too comforable here. We don't charge her rent, end up paying for her long distance phone calls because they come on our phone bill. We have even paid her car payments and insurance so that when she gets a job she has a way to get there. My question is, do we have any legal rights to know if she has been offered an apartment from the agency? We are thinking she will turn down another one so she doesn't have to leave. I know we're not her landlords but we must have some rights.
Thank you for any information.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: House guest over staying welcome
Could you make it any easier for your niece to want to stay? Paying all of her bills and making things too easy. What do you mean by rights? Do you mean can you force her to take the next apartment? I guess that is up to you and whether you will make it harder for her to want to stay. No, legally you can't force her to take the apartment by suing her. However, you need not make it so wonderful for her to want to stay with you either. You are creating your own problems!