roommates & rent issue: help?

IowaStatePhiPsi · #1 03-04-2005, 06:40 PM

OK, here is the situation:

Roommate A is on the lease with me. Roommate B is not.
A & B and 1 of their friends found a house to move into for the fall, but the lease starts in April so they are moving out of our place before the lease expires at the end of July.

Roommate A, as he is on the lease, is legally obligated to pay some of rent. Roommate B is not on the lease, so is not legally obligated.

If I use my check-images showing that i have only paid 1/3 of rent the entire time to date that we have been in this place, could I succeed in small-claims to force both Roommate A and Roommate B to each supply 1/3 of rent until a subleaser is found for each?

ZTAngel · #2 03-04-2005, 07:38 PM

I know for sure that Roommate A will have to pay 1/3 of the rent until the end of the lease or find someone to sublease his room. I'm not sure that you have any legal control over Roommate B unless you had a verbal agreement but it may not stand up in court.
Best of luck. I went through this a few years ago with a roommate.

mu_agd · #3 03-04-2005, 07:40 PM

wouldn't roomate a have to pay 1/2 the rent since there are only two people on the lease?

sageofages · #4 03-04-2005, 07:42 PM

I think Roommate B will be off the hook, as B is an incidental occupant to the house (ie, not on the lease, and in most cases should not be residing there according to most leases I have seen).

HOWEVER, you and roommate being on the lease are each on the hook for 1/2 the rent (NOT 1/3) each.

This should get you some assistance in getting roommate A to pressure roommate B to cough up their 1/3.

IowaStatePhiPsi · #5 03-04-2005, 08:45 PM

when roommate B moved in there was a verbal agreement that each of the 3 of us would pay 1/3rd, do you think that would hold up with B moving out?

Either way, I know for sure that Roommate A is obligated to pay a portion of rent and with 2 names on lease, that means I can get him for $405/mo for 4 months he does not live here.

I have a copy of the lease and am searching through check images and logged AIM conversations for anything & everything pertinent to the situation to take with me to Student Legal Services on Tuesday. I want to protect my back as much as I can and that sets the limit of how much rent I pay at $405 and no higher.

norcalchick · #6 03-04-2005, 11:51 PM

Can you make them find a sub-leaser or 2 before they move out?

IowaStatePhiPsi · #7 03-04-2005, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by norcalchick
Can you make them find a sub-leaser or 2 before they move out?

they're trying, I'm just watching my back that they dont leave me with the whole amount of rent. I even volunteered my service to send out an email to the listservs I'm on about the subleasing.

SAEalumnus · #8 03-06-2005, 08:02 PM

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!

Tom Earp · #9 03-06-2005, 08:54 PM

Bite the bullet, get new roomies!

You are better off with out them!

Is The Pad Nice or a Dump?

Hell, when I was in college, we a had a Mans pad! Actually, it sucked, but not in Our eyes!

They are not going to pay as gone, get new asap!

IowaStatePhiPsi · #10 03-07-2005, 12:41 AM

Roommate B is listed as a roommate with the landlord but not on the lease.

Roommat A and I have had some in person and online conversations (God bless the log function on instant message programs), and he has told me I will not have to pay more than half, he is searching for a subleaser.

I've printed out all check-images showing I have never paid more than 1/3 rent since Roommate B moved in and paid only 1/2 rent before Roommate B moved in.

So sounds like I'm not going to get screwed over if everything stays on course. (but he's screwed out money for moving early, his loss)

KSig RC · #11 03-07-2005, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by IowaStatePhiPsi
OK, here is the situation:

Roommate A is on the lease with me. Roommate B is not.
A & B and 1 of their friends found a house to move into for the fall, but the lease starts in April so they are moving out of our place before the lease expires at the end of July.

Roommate A, as he is on the lease, is legally obligated to pay some of rent. Roommate B is not on the lease, so is not legally obligated.

If I use my check-images showing that i have only paid 1/3 of rent the entire time to date that we have been in this place, could I succeed in small-claims to force both Roommate A and Roommate B to each supply 1/3 of rent until a subleaser is found for each?

Joel, you're probably in trouble for the '1/3' portion of the presentation - although roommate A will be legally on the hook for half right off the bat. There are a couple of issues, though -

1 - You have to make a 'good-faith' effort to find another roommate to fill the hole . . . start putting ads in the Daily right now, or hang signs etc. Keep careful notes/copies/receipts for all of this, too. Iowa law doesn't allow you to just sue the roomie - you have to make an attempt. I think the standard is 4-6 weeks, so we were always told 2 months just to be sure. Start now.

2 - If you feel like really fighting it, there is such a thing as an 'implied contract' by which you can try to show that the kid paid a third, just like the two on the lease, up to this point. In this way, if the kid is trying to jet on the "I'm not on the lease, so I'm not responsible" plan, it allows some leeway for a judge to decide that the kid knows his responsibilities. This will require a lawyer, for sure, and may not be financially viable. (If you need a cheap lawyer, hit me up and I'll ship you some info from the Drake legal clinic et al)

3 - It might be more cost-effective to just tell the guys what you plan to do, as far as collecting rent, and see if they don't magically decide to fill the holes on their own. It's a lot of work to sue them, unfortunately - even in small claims court - so I'd suggest getting them to do the work for you.

gphi2k2 · #12 03-07-2005, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by IowaStatePhiPsi
Roommate B is listed as a roommate with the landlord but not on the lease.

Roommat A and I have had some in person and online conversations (God bless the log function on instant message programs), and he has told me I will not have to pay more than half, he is searching for a subleaser.

It is entirely possible that the laws are different in the States than they are here in Canada, but here online logged conversations aren't admissable in court. Given how easy it is to doctor them. I found this out when I was looking into how I could get my ex to cough up money he owes me. I had ICQ conversations saved in which he admitted I was owed the money. A lawyer told me that the transcript of the convo is useless.

But what other people have said to you is true. Regardless of roommate B's status, roommate A is responsible for the same portion of rent as you are as your names are both on the lease. So unless Roommate A wants to cough up a full half of the rent money, there's some incentive to make sure Roommate B coughs up their share.

IowaStatePhiPsi · #13 04-01-2005, 06:44 PM

Alright, according to the landlord if I pay 1/2 the rent or more each month for the next few months they'll only go after Roommate A for the remainder.

Now here's the new issue:

Issue: Roommate A had his March rent check to Landlord come back as NSF. Landlord won't let me pay my share of April rent without a certified check or money order.
On top of this: recently got a utility bill from Landlord for gas covering 3 months because Roommate A is apparently so horrible with his finances that his account with the gas company got dropped.

Alright. Think, think, think.
Solution:

Roommate A needs to give me CASH $430 to cover half of March rent ($405), half of the late fee ($20) and the cost to me for a certified check ($5).
On top of that he needs to give me $111.16 CASH to cover his third of utility bill.

Roommate B needs to give me $111.15 CASH to cover his third of utility bill.

Summary:

Roommate A to me: $541.16 CASH.
Roommate B to me: $111.15 CASH
Me to Landlord: $1163.47 certified check/money order for my half of March & April rent, and utility bill.

And the landlord can do what he needs with Roommate A about the $830 for his half of March & April rent and all future shares of rent.

I think I'll be headed to Student Legal Services on Monday if the roommates do not give me cash over the weekend.

IowaStatePhiPsi · #14 04-08-2005, 10:53 AM

OK:

Roommate signed an itemized list of what we owed the landlord and what his share was.

I have a receipt for my payment to the landlord of the entire amount.

Roommate signed an agreement he would move out by Thursday, 14th at 5PM and pay me $1400 in cash by 11AM on the 15th.

I've secured funds for me to pay entire rent of May, June, July so the agreement frees him of his financial responsibility.

He needs to sign his name on a form removing him from the lease and all is finalized with the landlord.

Lawyer at Student Legal Services says I have more than enough evidence to back my claims and win judgement in my favor. He suggested I see if I can find a bank statement in the pile of trash the roommate has laying around so that after judgement I can get the sheriff's department to take money from his account.

I have his SS# so I can get his wages garnished after judgement.

I got my ducks all in a row. Now to wait out the clock.