"friend" landlord, need help

[gypsyspet]

Long story but try to make short... My bestfriend for years asked ME about a year&half ago to move into his house by the pool behind his house. (It is a complete & seperate house w/full kitchen, totally seperate bdrm, bathroom, shower, big living room area, dining table area, w/d hookup, etc.) He hadnt bothered to rent it out in a few years & hadnt done anything to it since then so it was really getting ran down. He said that way I would always feel secure yet I'd always have my own place. He said this way I wouldnt ever have to give a key to my house to ANYONE & never have to worry about rent again(i'm on perm.disability), etc. Plus the place would just sit & slowly fall apart otherwise, so it would really be helping him out too (though he was suppose to PAY for anything structural & anything major that needed or that Ever needed done).....
Though he told me I didnt need to {he's decently well-off when it comes to$$$), I immediatly had a seperate electric & seperate meter ran to my house, then had my hotwater tank, stove, etc switched to electric so at least the only thing I would be on as his is the water. I had to immediatly have a new roof put on(it was falling in), which I paid for, & made about another $1000 in repairs that were Immediately Nessasary. I have ended up paying not only my half(every month), but the entire h2o bill (he lives in big 11room house) about every 3-4months at least!
Anyhow, he's been starting to be more possesive & more possessive and overbearing, including the other day told me that if I have about a month to get all the boxes of stuff out of the room I use as storage or else he's going to then come in and close off that room of my house & I'll no longer have that space!
I'm having to get the materials & pay for at least 60%(probably the entire wall will have to though instead) of the outside back wall to be replaced THIS weekend due to it rotting out & getting ready to fall at any time, not to mention I just had to have the outside front wall foundation area fixed 2weeks ago cause I would flood.
Anyhow, to top it all off, because I kinda made him P.O.'d over some friend of his, he told me that I need to get him a key made to my place. I told him #1 no, cause I dont trust that no one else couldnt get a hold of his keys #2 no.

I need to know what kind of lease or contract I need to get or write so it'll protect me from him just getting p.o.'d for something stoopid & me coming home to being locked out. I've put ALOT into fixing this place up & in the middle of doing more to it. I cant have EVERYTHING i've spent over the last year on, washed down the drain, just because I told my friend my thoughts.

Any help?

[OHlandlord]

I don't know why you would pay to have these things fixed. It is his property and he should be required to fix them. You, in turn, should be paying him rent to protect your rights as a tenant. Currently you have few rights because 1) you are paying no rent so are only an authorized guest (in some states) and not a tenant, and 2) you have no written agreement. Even in states that now consider you a tenant, at best you are only a month to month tenant and he can terminate your rights to be there with the appropriate length written notice to vacate. In most states this would only give you about 30 days to get out. (please post your state)

You DO have to give him a key to your unit. State law everywhere says the owner has the right to a key to all areas of his property in case of emergency, so give him one now. With no written lease, he can just give you the appropriate notice (usually 30 days again) to change the terms. So if he told you to remove storage items and gave you 30 days to do so, you have to do it. (A lease would protect you against this.) It appears you have the utilities (except H2O) in your name and you are responsible for those. But you are not responsible for the water bill. Just don't pay it any more. If your water gets turned off, you can call the building inspector to have him turn it back on. (BTW - is this pool house zoned as a rental?) With or without a lease, he is not allowed to lock you out. As long as you have proof of this as your residence (keep a copy of a utility bill in your purse), you will be allowed to re-enter. If he tries to lock you out, call the police and show them the bill to prove it is your place.

I would strongly suggest that you get a good lease and have him sign it. Agree to pay reasonable rent (you're already paying it in repairs!) and have a set ending date for the lease (usually a year). He will be unable to change the terms or kick you out as long as you pay the rent for the next year. He would have to make all repairs out of the rent you pay him except for normal maintenance. But you still have to give him a key. Hope this helps.

If he is as unstable as you say, do you really want to remain here?

i am looking for a place for me and my cat wont go anywhere with out them
will even work for room and board good out cleaning and little cooking nad little yard work as well i lvie now wiht mypernt not by choice and htey do not treat me right /nice
ho;fy a palce in coral spring or out least fl (well we can caht about that)
got no money nothing but..

richardpoetic@bellsouth.net and yahoo.com