By the age of 35, you should have done a lot of things. Among them: Have your own place.
More graduates are reluctant to leave the comforts of their childhood home, especially with rent and house prices on a tear. But one couple has had enough. Mark and Christina Rotondo, a couple living in Camillus, N.Y., have left a series of eviction requests for their 30-year-old son Michael and, having failed to shift him, have turned to the courts to help them out.
On Tuesday, Onondaga County Supreme Court Justice Donald Greenwood told Michael that he had to go. “It really seems to be kind of outrageous that somebody in this day and age could be in somebody else’s home for the six-month notice before they have to leave,” Greenwood said. “That creates all kinds of problems in the era of Airbnb.”
According to CBS Philadelphia, one letter from Feb. 13 reads: “You are hereby evicted. You have heretofore been our guest and there is no lease or agreement that gives you any right to stay here without our consent.” It adds, “On the advice of our lawyer, we have decided to grant you up to thirty (30) days from the date shown above to remove your possessions and vacate the premises.”
In another letter from Feb. 18, the parents say they gave their son $1,100 so he could find a place to stay. It added, “There are jobs available even for those with a poor work history like you. Get one — you have to work!” They suggest that he sell any items of significant value to help fund his move. “You need the money and will have no place for the stuff,” their letter reads.
The Rotondos are not alone. The share of recent graduates moving back into their parents’ homes increased to 28% in 2016 from 19% in 2005, and the trend is more pronounced in areas impacted by the housing crash in the late 2000s. Those areas include Las Vegas and Riverside, Calif., according to real-estate company Zillow’s Z, +3.76% recent analysis of U.S. Census data, as well as perennially expensive cities like New York City and Los Angeles.
Many young adults are living with their parents strictly because of joblessness, low wages or high housing costs. For his part, Michael Rotondo told the New York Post that it wasn’t ideal living at home, given the case. “It’s awkward,” he said. After the judge’s ruling on Tuesday, Michael told reporters that he had his own business, but he seemed nonplussed by the judge’s ruling.
“The notion that, you know, I’m just out of there really seems most unreasonable,” he said.