Friend took advantage

A friend I've known for 17 years gave me a sob story about her father molesting her son, and that she didn't have anywhere to go. I just happened to have a wonderful apartment that I wasnt staying in because I have been living with my fiancee. I was just waiting for th lease to be up. I tld hershe could stay at the apartment for a while so she could get hersel together and find a place and new job. Well a while turned into 5 months. She trashed the apartment and when i told her the lease was up and she had to leave shessid she would be out and hAs yet to leave. I had movers come and take all my things out, so all that is in there is her junk.. No beds no fridge nothing .. Utilities turned off except for electricity. Ive had child services go out and she is still there. The manager said if she continues to stay there they will do an eviction however that eviction would be for me since technically im still on he lease. She had30 day notice, and wasnt paying rent. She was supose to give me some money towards her utilitiy use, but she still hasnt paid for the amount owed. Total she gave was 400.00 my rent is 1235 a month and she has been there for 5 months. What can i do?? The manager said if they go over there and she isnt there they will change the locks and if i come pck all her stuff up and get it out of there that will be sufficient. Can i do that if i put hertings in a storage unit and tell her wheree its at? Sorry about typos im doing this on my cell phone. By the way I live in California in San bernardino county

You can't remove her things. That would be illegal. The manager is just looking for an easy way out for himself by telling you that. He knows you can't remove her stuff. Technically, you weren't even supposed to shut off the utilities while she was living there. It is illegal for a LL (yes, you're her LL) to shut off utilities to any occupied unit. It is considered an illegal eviction. He also knows he can't lock her out by changing the locks. He would be in big trouble for that. She could sue him.

She has been there long enough that she has established residency at that address and now has tenant's rights there. If she won't leave on her own, the only way to have her removed is to evict. Unfortunately, that will be to file an eviction on you "and all others". It will show up on your court record for all to see. You would have to explain it to future LLs (many of whom would deny you off hand). You will be responsible for any damage to the unit too. Expect to have a small claims suit filed against you for the costs of repair.

You might call the clerk of court and ask if a tenant can file an eviction against a subtenant (which is what she is). If so, you could file against her and show it to the LL. This may stop them from filing against you for eviction. But they will still expect you to pay for the repairs.

This is why all LL's sites advise NEVER RENT TO FRIENDS OR FAMILY. It never turns out well in the end. Good luck to you.