Harassed for rent

[xumu]

What is the name of your state? IL


What rights on rent do I have?

Relative complains under his breath a lot about everything. I pay enough rent. He wastes money on wine, lotto tickets, personal body sprays. He added me to his taxes as a dependent and a family friend said he is taking advantage of me. So I won't get any stimulus money.

Its stressful to live with this relative. I'm awaiting to here from an apartment soon. I can't afford a motel around here.

 

[adjusterjack]

What rights on rent do I have?

If you aren't a minor or somebody who is legally obliged to support you then you pay rent in exchange for a place to live.

Relative complains under his breath a lot about everything.

That's not a "legal" issue. Nothing you can do about it except leave.

He wastes money on wine, lotto tickets, personal body sprays.

Nothing you can do about that either.

He added me to his taxes as a dependent and a family friend said he is taking advantage of me. So I won't get any stimulus money.

That's something you can do something about. It's tax fraud. You can report him to the IRS:

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/how-do-you-report-suspected-tax-fraud-activity

Its stressful to live with this relative.

Again, leave as soon as you can.

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state? IL


What rights on rent do I have?

Relative complains under his breath a lot about everything. I pay enough rent. He wastes money on wine, lotto tickets, personal body sprays. He added me to his taxes as a dependent and a family friend said he is taking advantage of me. So I won't get any stimulus money.

Its stressful to live with this relative. I'm awaiting to here from an apartment soon. I can't afford a motel around here.

You have the right to pay, on time, the agreed upon rent. If your relative if providing more than half of your living expenses then s/he has every right to list you as a dependent and get the stimulus.

If this situation is stressful you might consider looking for a room to rent elsewhere.



Px Hx

 

[Eekamouse]

You might try seeing things from his point of view instead of your own for a change. If you think things will be better somewhere else, move there and leave this guy alone. You need to remember, you're living in his home, not the other way around.

 

[FarmerJ]

As far as another place to live , many communitys have older motels that now do long term rental. Some places still have so called boarding houses- rooming houses and last but not least look at services such as LSS to see if they offer pairing services where a older person - senior citizen has a extra bedroom but may not want to live alone or is willing to negotiate some of the rent for house keeping .

 

[not2cleverRed]

What is the name of your state? IL


What rights on rent do I have?

Relative complains under his breath a lot about everything. I pay enough rent. He wastes money on wine, lotto tickets, personal body sprays. He added me to his taxes as a dependent and a family friend said he is taking advantage of me. So I won't get any stimulus money.

Its stressful to live with this relative. I'm awaiting to here from an apartment soon. I can't afford a motel around here.

Define "enough".

Do you have a lease? If not, then perhaps you two should consider a written lease, spelling everything out explicitly.

What your relative spends HIS money on is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, so it's no use nattering about it.

As far as him adding you to his taxes as a dependent... Are you acting like a dependent? Does he pay the grocery bill?

 

[Taxing Matters]

That's something you can do something about. It's tax fraud. You can report him to the IRS:

xumu could have just filed his own return and claim himself to address this problem. The IRS would catch the the problem when it matches the returns. As for stimulus payments, for the stimulus already sent out he can claim that has a credit on his 2020 return if he didn't get the stimulus payment and was eligible for it.

 

[LdiJ]

You have the right to pay, on time, the agreed upon rent. If your relative if providing more than half of your living expenses then s/he has every right to list you as a dependent and get the stimulus.

If this situation is stressful you might consider looking for a room to rent elsewhere.



Px Hx

If the OP is paying rent to live there, then it's highly unlikely that the relative is providing enough support to claim the OP as a dependent. Unless perhaps the OP is a minor who is paying a token rent amount.

 

[cbg]

Is the OP contributing to the utilities? The food bill? What percentage of the rent/mortgage does what the OP pays cover? Does the OP share in the costs of the upkeep of the property? The OP's opinion that he pays "enough" rent is not proof that he actually is.

 

[LdiJ]

Is the OP contributing to the utilities? The food bill? What percentage of the rent/mortgage does what the OP pays cover? Does the OP share in the costs of the upkeep of the property? The OP's opinion that he pays "enough" rent is not proof that he actually is.

Of course, the OP's opinion that he pays enough is not proof that he actually does. However, support is not just housing. There is a lot more involved in support in determining whether or not someone is providing more than 50% of their own support and therefore is no one's dependent. Cell phone, health insurance, car payment, car insurance, gasoline, personal sundries, food and many other items contribute to support for tax purposes.

Government support, Social Security benefits of any kind, Medicare or Medicaid, food stamps, TANIF etc all figure in on the potential dependent's side rather than on the side of the person who wants to claim them as a dependent.

Therefore, someone could even pay no rent at all, and STILL be providing more than 50% of their own support and therefore would be no one's dependent. The totality of the situation matters. Therefore, once again, unless we are talking about a token amount of rent paid by a minor, the fact that someone is paying rent at all makes it fairly unlikely that they are someone's dependent for tax purposes.

 

[cbg]

So why, then, didn't the OP file his own return and claim himself? If he did, as Tax pointed out, the discrepancy will eventually be caught and then it's the landlord's problem. If he didn't, is it because he's fraudulently avoiding paying tax or because he really does qualify to be a dependent?

(Having read the OP's post hx, I know which way I'm willing to bet. And I'm not saying you're wrong, btw.)

 

[LdiJ]

So why, then, didn't the OP file his own return and claim himself? If he did, as Tax pointed out, the discrepancy will eventually be caught and then it's the landlord's problem. If he didn't, is it because he's fraudulently avoiding paying tax or because he really does qualify to be a dependent?

(Having read the OP's post hx, I know which way I'm willing to bet. And I'm not saying you're wrong, btw.)

Perhaps he tried and got an electronic reject and did not know that he could file a paper return. I deal with people all of the time who believe that if they got an electronic reject that they cannot file at all.

 

[zddoodah]

What rights on rent do I have?

Relative complains under his breath a lot about everything. I pay enough rent. He wastes money on wine, lotto tickets, personal body sprays. He added me to his taxes as a dependent and a family friend said he is taking advantage of me. So I won't get any stimulus money.

Its stressful to live with this relative. I'm awaiting to here from an apartment soon. I can't afford a motel around here.

I don't really understand your question.

While you didn't clearly say so, I assume you're living with and paying rent to a relative. What he spends his money on isn't legally relevant to anything, and whether he's entitled to claim you as a dependent on his taxes depends on facts not provided.

So what exactly does your question mean?