How to Evict a Roommate in Rhode Island (and Other Household Situations)
What Rhode Island law says about roommates who are not on the lease, guests who won't leave, family members, renting a room in your own home, and tenancies at will — each with the statute or official source.
Short answer: Under Rhode Island's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, a tenant is a person entitled under a rental agreement (written or oral) to occupy a dwelling unit to the exclusion of others. A roommate who is not on the written lease is a tenant only if they have their own oral or written agreement with the landlord. 'Landlord' includes a sublessor, so a tenant who sublets to a roommate is that roommate's landlord. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-11
| Roommate not on the lease | Under Rhode Island's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, a tenant is a person entitled under a rental agreement (written or oral) to occupy a dwelling unit to the exclusion of others. A roommate who is not on the written lease is a tenant only if they have their own oral or written agreement with the landlord. 'Landlord' includes a sublessor, so a tenant who sublets to a roommate is that roommate's landlord. Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-11 |
|---|---|
| Removing a roommate or subtenant | No roommate-specific statute. Because a sublessor counts as a landlord, a tenant who sublets ends a month-to-month subtenancy with written notice at least 30 days before the date in the notice (10 days for week-to-week). Self-help recovery of possession is prohibited, so a subtenant who stays must be removed through a court eviction for holding over. |
| Renting a room in your own home (lodgers) | No separate lodger exclusion. Rhode Island's act defines a 'roomer' as a tenant occupying a room or group of rooms used for living and sleeping but not for cooking or eating, so roomers are tenants under the act. Unless the rental agreement fixes a definite term, a roomer who pays weekly rent has a week-to-week tenancy (ended on 10 days' written notice). The act's exclusions do not include renting a room in an owner-occupied home. |
| Tenancy at will | Rhode Island's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act does not use the term 'tenancy at will'. Unless the rental agreement fixes a definite term, the tenancy is week-to-week for a roomer paying weekly rent and month-to-month in all other cases. Either side may end a month-to-month (or other periodic tenancy longer than a month but shorter than a year) with written notice at least 30 days before the date in the notice; week-to-week needs 10 days; year-to-year needs 3 months before the end of the year. |
| Hotel and extended-stay guests | Transient occupancy in a hotel, motel, or other lodging (as defined in R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-18-7(11)) that is subject to the state sales and use tax or local lodging tax is not governed by Rhode Island's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, unless the parties expressly agree to be covered. So the key question is whether the stay is still subject to the lodging tax. Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-8(4) |
Never remove someone by changing the locks or taking their belongings: if the person has become a tenant, only a court can order them out. If there is violence or a threat, call 911 and ask about a protective order.
Templates
Rhode Island eviction laws · Free legal help in Rhode Island · Roommate rules in other states
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.