Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Washington

I went to jail for trying to forcibly remove my boyfriend out of my home. He has never paid bills, never allowed to have him things here, and we had a verbal agreement that he did not in fact live in my home. We got into an argument one night and he was spewing insults. When asked to leave, he would not. So, I attempted to throw him out. Even put my hands on him in a violent manner. There was drinking involved and he even video taped me, thus proving that I put my hands on him. I am mentally disabled , and agoraphobic so we spent copious amounts of time in my house, and he did stay with me most nights.He lives in Idaho, has his own residence, but claimed he lived here in my house in WA state. He has not paid bills, and I believe he never received anything in his name to my home. Was it legal for me to forcibly try to remove him, what are my rights when it comes to booting someone from my home when asked to leave?


Asked on 2/17/17, 8:52 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Amir John Showrai The Pacific Law Firm, PLLC

In short, yes, it is illegal for you to forcibly remove somebody from your home, even if they were your guest. This is not so much a landlord-tenant question as it is a domestic relations or family law question. However, the two areas overlap. What you should do is call the police and tell them that your boyfriend is in your home and refusing to leave. The police will then show up and ask him if he has his own place and whether he in fact resides in your place. If he admits what you say, the police will ask him to leave. If he claims he lives with you, the police may ask him to leave for the night, if he has some place to go, or they'll ask you to leave for the night if you have someplace to go and he does not, and then they will tell you from there on out, this is a legal matter that needs to be handled through the courts, not calls to the police.

At that point, you should seek legal counsel from an attorney in your county. If he is in the home and refusing to leave, you will need in order to remove him. Your landlord could also bring a case against him since he is not a tenant and has no right to reside there.

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Answered on 2/17/17, 1:12 pm


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