Need Advice- My sister in law is living with a roommate who is physically abusing her

[Mike Shemp]

Hello BP Community,

I will try and keep this post as short as I can, but ultimately I'm looking to ask the landlord and legal experts in this community about any advice that can be given to my sister-in-law about the situation she is in.

She lives in Newbern, NC in a SFH that she rents and is in a lease until April 2024. She is living with her ex-boyfriend who pays half the rent, but is not on the lease. My wife went to visit her this weekend, and found out that her boyfriend has been verbally and physically abusing her: he swung his pants at her and the belt buckle hit her in the head and she required 4 stitiches, he threw a glass bottle at her and gave her a black eye to the point where it was swelled shut, and has also slapped her on multiple occasions. Cops have been called to the residence in the past from neighbors due to the arguing. Lasst night while my wife was visiting, he became verbally abusive and tried pushing his way into the bedroom as they were trying to close the door, and the cops came again. One thing to note is that my sister-in-law has not reported the physical abuse to anyone other than may wife (as of last night) as she has been afraid to tell anyone. She did not even tell the cops last night when they came, and only told my wife after the cops left.

My advice to my sister-in-law was to contact the property manager immediately.  Explain to them that your roommate has been physically abusive to you on multiple occasions, and that that based on this you would like to get out of the lease immediately.

Is there anything else she should, or could be doing to get out of this lease as fast as possible?   Other than the obvious of moving out as soon as she can, calling the police if her roomate/ex-boyfriend so much as raises his voice while they are still living together, my wife and I would appreciate an advice the landlords and lawyers may have to give.

Thank you for reading.

Mike