In the state of Connecticut, is it lawful for a parent to evict his
child (over the age of 18) from his home for any reason? 
Specifically, the reason is that the child (age 21) is not
willing/able to contribute towards the operation of the home because
his bills consume his income.  The child is also attending a local
community college, if that helps.

Good morning djevanescent and thank you for your question!

Going of Hummer?s comment below, I looked for any sort of CT law that
would define landlord/tenant relationships, however I was not able to
find one that included parent/child as he found for North Carolina. 
The only thing I did find concerning landord-tenant relationships in
CT is:

"The landlord-tenant relationship is created from an agreement known as a lease."

Westport Law
( http://www.westportlaw.com/landlord-tenant.htm )


According to the Connecticut Landlord/Tenant Act, the term "landlord",
"owner", and "tenant" are as follows:

Sec. 47a-1. Definitions.

(d) "Landlord" means the owner, lessor or sublessor of the dwelling
unit, the building of which it is a part or the premises.

(e) "Owner" means one or more persons, jointly or severally, in whom is vested
     (1) all or part of the legal title to property or 
     (2) all or part of the beneficial ownership and a right to present use and 
         enjoyment of the premises and includes a mortgagee in possession.

(l) "Tenant" means the lessee, sublessee or person entitled under a
rental agreement to occupy a dwelling unit or premises to the
exclusion of others or as is otherwise defined by law.

Source:  Chapter 830 - Rights And Responsibilities Of Landlord And Tenant
( http://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/pub/Chap830.htm#Sec47a-1.htm )



Based on these definitions, you could be deemed the landlord of your
property as you are the owner.  However, without a written or oral
rental agreement, your son could not be considered a tenant as defined
by the Connecticut Landlord/Tenant Act.

Most written leases and rental agreements contain the following provisions:  

1.  a description of the property the tenant is renting; 

2.  the length of time the tenant will be allowed to live in the unit; 

3.  the names of the landlord and the tenant; 

4.  the amount of rent, the due date and any late charges for late
payments of rent;

5.  the landlord?s rules and regulations; 

6.  the tenant?s rights and responsibilities; 

7.  responsibilities for maintenance of the unit; 

8.  provisions for utility services (whether or not payment of
utilities is included in the rent charge); and

9.  the amount of the security deposit, if any.

An oral agreement is usually a month to month agreement.  This means
that rent is paid on a monthly basis and the tenancy continues
indefinitely until either the landlord or the tenant terminates it.  
The downside - an oral lease is more difficult to enforce and its
terms are more difficult to prove because it comes down to one
person?s word against another?s.

If your son has not signed a lease, made an oral agreement with you or
paid rent, I am afraid it would be impossible to "evict" him.

I would suggest that you sit down with your son and perhaps make an
agreement with him.  I had one with my parents as a child.  I could
either attend college and abide by the rules they set (i.e.,
contribute to cleaning and caring for the property, maintaining a job,
etc.) for free or I could pay monthly rent for the use of my room.  If
you think your son might not abide by this oral agreement, put it in
writing.  That way, if he does not live up to the terms of the
agreement, you can start the eviction process as landlord/tenant.

Unfortunately, the only legal way a landlord can remove a tenant from
the property is through a court eviction action called summary
process.  The process is explained more at:

( http://www.jud2.state.ct.us/webforms/forms/hm031.pdf ) (see page 18)

For more information, see: (
http://www.larcc.org/pamphlets/housing/tr_eviction.htm )


I hope this answers your question.  If you need any further
clarification before rating, please do not hesitate to ask!

Nenna-GA
Google Researcher



Sources:

Connecticut Judicial Library ? Housing Law
( http://www.jud.state.ct.us/lawlib/Selfhelp/housing.htm )

Federal Real Estate Services
( http://www.federal-services.com/laws/ctstatelaw.html )

Westport Law
( http://www.westportlaw.com/ )


Google Search Terms:

Connecticut eviction laws
( ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=connecticut+eviction+laws )

Connecticut Landlord-tenant relationship
( ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=connecticut++Landlord-Tenant+Relationship&btnG=Search
)

Hi djevanescent,

I found this, one would assume it would be the same or similar for Connecticut.

North Carolina State Bar
F. Landlord-Tenant Relationship
   5.  Girlfriend-boyfriend or parent-child relationship
       a.  Owner or tenant invites girlfriend or boyfriend to move in;
later the owner or tenant wants person invited in to leave. The
relationship between the two depends on the agreement between them.
Essentially, court must look at whether the parties agreed that person
moving in would have responsibility for paying rent or specific duty
to share certain amount of expenses. If there is such an agreement,
the person moving in is the tenant or subtenant of the original
occupier and must be removed by summary ejectment. Otherwise, the
person invited to move in is a guest and becomes a trespasser if
doesn't leave when asked. [ Jackson v. U.S. , 357 A.2d 409 (D.C.
1976); Bernet v. Rogers , 519 N.W.2d 808 ( Iowa 1994)]
       b.  Same reasoning would apply to adult child living in parent's home.
http://www.ncbar.com/lamp/c_summary_ejectment.htm

Regards,
hummer

Hello again,

I wanted to let you know that as of Sept.30th I will be unavailable to
do any follow up on this question. If you need anything else, please
get back to me before then, otherwise I'll be unable to help.

Nenna-GA