College student says he returned to apartment to find 2 strangers living there

By Erika Stanish

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    PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — When a college student in Pittsburgh returned to his apartment after being away for a month, he says two strangers were living there instead of his roommate.

University of Pittsburgh student Maverick Crupi said he was blindsided last month when two strangers suddenly moved in, with no notice from his landlord at the SkyVue Apartments.

“I opened the door, I walked in, and everything in the kitchen that was there, that I had there, was no longer there,” Crupi said. “There was new pots, there was new pans, there’s a candle.”

Crupi said he also found two naked strangers inside his apartment in the city’s Oakland neighborhood.

“This lady, she’s probably like 35, 40 [years old], just naked, walks out, looks at me and starts screaming,” he said.

The college student said he was given no notice that his former roommate apparently sublet his room. After reviewing his contract, he believed it was in total violation of his rights as a tenant.

“If you’re going to rely on the contract to have me pay you rent every month and utilities and follow whatever addendums you have in there, then you, as the person that made the contract, need to follow it to a T, too.”

A clause in the contract states that replacing a resident or subletting “is allowed only when we expressly consent in writing,” going on to say that “the remaining resident and replacement residents must sign an entirely new lease contract.”

By-the-bed lease

But KDKA Investigates learned the contract Crupi signed was a “by-the-bed” lease, meaning while his apartment was a two-bedroom with a shared living space, he was only renting, paying for and leasing his bedroom.

Several local attorneys told KDKA Investigates SkyVue was not in breach of the contract.

“Because these were individual separate leases, then that’s something where he’s not really going to have much of a claim to the breach of the covenant of quiet and enjoyment here, just because new tenants were put in there without his prior knowledge or consent,” attorney Daniel Stoner said.

Stoner said that had Crupi and his former roommate signed a joint lease together, the subletting clause in his contract would have been effective. But even then, Stoner said it comes down to landlord discretion.

“It is true that the landlord, that’s really at their discretion and option if they want to enforce those clauses or not, and sometimes they do. Sometimes they don’t,” Stoner said.

Several attorneys KDKA Investigates talked to say most tenant-landlord contracts typically are more landlord-friendly and weigh in favor of the property owner.

“Look at your contract. Look at the laws that are in the city. Try to see if you’re getting what you’re entitled to. At the end of the day, the bare minimum, hopefully, at least you’re getting that, and people are following their contract,” Crupi said.

How can tenants protect themselves?

Stoner said make sure tenants read and understand their contracts, and do not be afraid to ask questions.

“Those are questions that you certainly should be asking, particularly if you are entering into a lease where you’re renting out an individual bedroom and you’re living in a unit with other people that are that are renting,” Stoner said.

If a tenant needs help with a contract, Stoner said to contact an attorney. He also suggested practicing good communication.

Even so, Stoner said the landlord could have done a better job making sure this wasn’t a surprise for Crupi.

“If somebody did get hurt, the landlord could potentially be liable for all this,” the attorney said. “This could have been easily preventable just by giving the guy a call or sending him a text or email to let him know this is happening.”

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