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“No. What difference does that make? It’s my house. He can’t simply decide to live there instead of me. Are you going to come out and deal with him?”
“I’m afraid what you’ve described is a civil dispute. Unless there are threats or acts of violence, it’s not a police matter. We can’t simply remove someone who’s been living there. You’ll need to seek legal advice.”
“Are you shitting me?”
“Unfortunately not. My advice is to contact a solicitor and begin legal proceedings.”
I was still stunned into silence several seconds after ending the call.
“When are they getting here?” Tyler asked through the door, smugness barely concealed in his voice.
“Fuck you!”
“That’s not nice.”
“Try saying that with the door open.”
Silence followed.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so.”
Apparently, I was the one who needed a hotel.
For tonight, at least.
Chapter Eighteen
Rowan
I booked into the Pan Pacific Hotel because, as Tyler had maliciously pointed out, I was a “poor little rich boy,” so I could afford it. I certainly wouldn’t have booked him in there. He would have had to make do with a Travelodge. After a quick shower, I called a lawyer friend and explained the situation to him in terse language that spilled over with bitterness.
“I’m not a property lawyer,” Darren reminded me once I’d relayed the entire story. “I’m an immigration lawyer.”
“Same thing.”
“It really isn’t.”
Ignoring him, I pressed on regardless. “So I break in, right?”
He made a pained noise. “If you do anything without consulting a solicitor, you could make the whole situation worse.”
“How could it get any worse?”
“Trust me, it can. You do not want to give Tyler any more power over you than he already has.” He let out a sigh. “Look, I’m not an expert, but I’ll tell you what I know. The first thing you need to do is have a solicitor send what’s called a reasonable notice to leave. That gives Tyler between forty-eight hours and seven days to leave of his own accord.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
“Then you’re looking at applying to the county court for a possession order. It’ll take at least a month for the case to be heard. Probably longer.”
“How much longer?”
“Eight weeks or thereabouts.”
“Eight weeks! You’re telling me he could hang on to my house for eight weeks?”
“Afraid so. And even then he’ll be given fourteen days to vacate the premises. If he still doesn’t leave, you’ll be forced to apply for bailiffs to remove him. That process can take a couple of months.”
“So what you’re basically saying is that Tyler can refuse to leave for months while I jump through legal hoop after legal hoop, all of which will presumably cost me a small fortune.”
