My roommate forged a lease addendum to evict me, my fiancée, and our toddler

I should have known something was off when Jake asked to grab a coffee after the parent-teacher meeting. We’d never done that before. But Maya’s teacher had just said she was reading above her age level, and I was floating, so I said yes.

We sat on the bench near the carpark, under the fluorescent lights. Jake pulled out a manila folder. I thought maybe it was a flyer for soccer sign-ups.

“You owe three months’ rent, Liam.” He slid a typed page across the bench. “You need to move out in seven days.”

The page had my name, our shared-house address in Newtown, a signature that looked like mine, and a clause I’d never seen: *Tenant agrees to vacate within seven days of written notice for non-payment.*

“I’ve paid every month,” I said. “Bank transfers. You can check.”

“The addendum overrides the informal agreement,” Jake said, and his voice was flat in a way I’d never heard. “I need the room. Chloe’s moving in.”

Chloe. His girlfriend. The one who’d started sleeping over four nights a week, leaving her hair products in my shower and her takeaway containers in the fridge.

I showed the page to Priya the next morning. She lives in the unit next door and works at a legal aid clinic in Redfern. She held the paper up to the light, then laid it flat on the kitchen bench.

“This signature,” she said softly. “It’s a photocopy. See the toner bleed? Someone scanned your signature from an old lease and printed it onto this page.”

My hands started shaking.

That evening, Jake posted in our shared friend group chat. **“Liam hasn’t paid rent in three months. I’ve given him a week to vacate. If anyone has space for a deadbeat, let me know.”** He tagged eight people. The comments came in fast: *That’s rough, Jake. Bro, that’s not cool. You deserve better.*

I typed and deleted three replies. Then I called NCAT. The woman on the phone was patient. She explained I could lodge a dispute online and file for a temporary stay of eviction. I also called the police non-emergency line and reported a potential forged document.

Priya called a house meeting. Jake sat on the edge of the couch, arms crossed. Chloe wasn’t there.

“Jake,” Priya said, “the signature on this addendum is a photocopy. Do you understand that forging a legal document is a criminal offence in New South Wales?”

Jake looked at his hands. “Chloe said we needed our own space. She said if Liam was gone, we could have the whole floor. I didn’t think—I just scanned his signature from the lease we signed when he moved in.”

The silence lasted long enough for me to hear the refrigerator hum.

“I’m not pressing charges,” I said. “But you’re going to delete the post, send a message to the group saying you made a mistake, and we’re going to NCAT together on Monday to get this sorted properly.”

Jake nodded. He didn’t apologise. Chloe stopped coming over. The group chat split into two factions, and I stopped reading it.

Priya helped me file the stay order. NCAT granted it the same day. I still live in the house with Maya and my fiancée. The room next door is empty now.