The daughter of a Reader rented an apartment to a repeat offender with property-related crimes on his record. He changed the locks and illegally occupied the premises belonging to a woman from Bolesławiec. And he paid nothing. Fortunately, an eviction judgment was issued last week.
What is more, in the offender’s absence, the female Readers entered their own apartment and changed the locks. Apparently, two days later the repeat offender called the police, saying that he could not get into the house. However, when he was asked whether he was definitely the owner of the said premises, he immediately hung up.
It seems that our female Readers’ nightmare is slowly coming to an end. “There was a lot of advice on the forum about what we should do. When I wrote asking anyone who wanted to help us to come forward, there was silence. Suddenly, there was no one brave enough,” the apartment owner told us last week.
Let us recall. A Reader, the mother of the victim—the owner of an apartment on Gałczyński Street—called the editorial office. In June, her daughter, who now lives in Ireland, rented the aforementioned premises to a 31-year-old man. The lease was supposed to remain in force until December 27.
The problem was that the tenant eagerly moved into the apartment, but had no intention of paying for it.
The owner, her mother emphasizes, has not received a single penny to date. The man was so brazen that he changed the locks on the door. He barricaded himself inside and is illegally occupying an apartment that does not belong to him. And—as our interviewee emphasizes—he still pays nothing.
In January, his electricity was cut off for this reason. But there is gas, so he cannot complain about the cold. Except that—again—for now, the apartment owner is paying for the heating.
Importantly, at the beginning of October, the daughter, together with her partner and her mother, wanted to enter their own apartment. A struggle broke out with the squatter. According to the woman who reported the incident, the latter allegedly waved a knife, but fortunately the owner’s partner restrained him.
The result? The police arrived at the scene. Proceedings are under way concerning criminal threats.
During this police intervention, the 31-year-old claimed that the lease was valid until December 27. But when that date passed, he did not leave the apartment.
What is more, it turned out that the man had a criminal past. He is a repeat offender who stole a laptop last November (reportedly to repay debts). And in February—we reported that he had already turned 32 that year—he was detained after stealing a bank card and using it repeatedly.
The resident of our county also faced additional charges of making threats and violating the sanctity of the home. In total, the 32-year-old faces 16 charges. He could receive a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
For now, however, he has not gone to prison. He still illegally lives in the premises on Gałczyński Street. What is more, for some reason he damaged the mailbox.
As our interviewee calculates, the fact that the man is occupying her daughter’s apartment has already cost the latter approximately PLN 8,000.
What is the legal situation? “Unfortunately, rapid eviction is not possible because our law is structured in such a way that this person cannot be removed from the apartment without a court judgment,” istotne.pl was told by Arkadiusz Krzemiński, head of the Verius Legal and Compensation Law Firm. “To protect yourself against such a situation, it is best to conclude an occasional lease agreement at a notary’s office. First, you do not have to take the matter to court; you can go directly to a bailiff. Second, the safeguard is that under such an agreement the tenant specifies an address to which they will be evicted.”