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Old 03-06-2005, 08:02 PM
SAEalumnus SAEalumnus is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2001
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You may want to review the legal-ese on your rental contract prior to initiating a small claims action. I found a couple of statments on mine that may well also appear on yours:

(#) "LESSEE shall not transfer his interest in or to this Agreement, nor shall LESSEE assign or sublet said premises, nor any part thereof. ANY ATTEMPT TO SUBLET OR ASSIGN SHALL BE VOID AND AN IRREMEDIABLE BREACH OF THIS AGREEMENT."

If a term similar to this one exists in your contract, then having roommate B residing in your apartment while not on the lease may constitute grounds for both you and roommate A to be evicted and a negative report placed on *both* of your credit records.

Since the building owner is providing a service to you (housing) for which you pay (rent), then someone residing in your apartment without being on the lease could be construed as theft of services (living in the apartment without paying for it). In this case, while roommate B may well be paying some portion of rent to you and/or roommate A, since roommate B is not listed on the lease, management has very little (if any) legal recourse against someone not listed on the lease (hence, not held under contract).

(#) "The undersigned LESSEE(S) whether or not in actual possession of premises, are jointly and severally liable for all rent incurred during the term of this Agreement, and for all damages to the demised premises caused or permitted by residents, their guests and invitees."

If your contract contains a 'joint and several liability' (i.e. 'collectively and individually responsible') clause like this one, it means if either you or roommate A (who is on the lease) moves out, management can come after the remaining resident for the full amount of the rent through the end of the term of your lease.

If you are going to pursue a case in small claims court, having proper documentation is essential, so you would definitely want to have copies of your rent checks just in case. A small claims decision is generally made in favor of the party who makes the more convincing (and usually better documented) argument, so you may well be able to win your case anyway. Either way, you may wish to seek the advice of someone with specific legal knowledge or training regarding these matters. Good luck!
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