Roomate Roomate moved out without notice, verbal contract, damages and utilities still owed.

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Motorola

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I am currently renting a 4 bedroom house from a friends Parent. The friend is the Landlord and passes rent to his parents. We have a verbal contract to pay 400 a month and split utilities.

Approximately June of 09 a coworker who I have known for over a year needed a place to move in. I spoke with my landlord/roomate who agreed to let him move in. He moved in with his dog and verbally agreed to both of us to pay 400 a month and pay 1/3 of utilities. A few months pass and the other roommate hasn't kept up with any cleaning of common areas or cleaning up after his dog. His dog in the past months has scratched and dug into a table to the point it needs to be replaced, and his car has leaked oil all over the driveway and garage. He was told numerous times to fix both issues. The landlord finishes school in December and decides to move back to Minnesota and leaves me in charge of the house after speaking with his parents. I leave for new years to spend a weekend out of town, upon returning home January 3rd 2010 I find his room half moved out. I call him and find out he has found another apartment and is refusing to continue living here. I tell him he is breaching a verbal agreement and if he is leaving I want all of the utilities he owes me for December, the 3 days rent for the current month he has resided in the house, the 3 days worth of utilities, the oil on the driveway fixed, and the table upstairs payed for or refinished.

He has been moved out for 25 days now and still has not given me any money or fixed any of his damages. I have photos documenting the damages, at least 10 witnesses to the damages while progressing, 2 witnesses to his agreement of rent and utilities splitting agreement, and 2 witnesses to his leaving without 30 days notices. I had the homeowner forward me the utility bills and I printed them off in their original form and gave them to him. He still refuses to pay anything or fix any damages. Is he still under contract since he moved out and still has not paid or fixed his damages or has he breached his contract and can be taken to court.

I believe we could take him to court for property damage, breach of verbal contract for Month to Month tenants, and refusing to pay owed utilities and rent. I am fuzzy on the Montana laws but if anyone could offer any advice I would greatly appreciate it.
 
If your landlord/roommate moved to Minnesota without giving you 30 days notice then that person is still liable for his share of the rent. I know that wasn't your question, but that person isn't absolved of the roommate responsibilities of providing notice just by having a connection to the owner. It sounds like it was a month to month deal , so he is only responsible for 30 days rent after the time he moved out.

As for the deadbeat roommate, he also has not given the required 30 days notice and is responsible for his unpaid rent. He also owes a prorated amount for rent 30 days after the date he moved out. He is only responsible for utilities up to the time that he left. He is also responsible for the damages to the table and any other property, as well as his deposit (if there was one), minus reasonable and itemized deductions for cleaning/repairs.

The problem here is that you are not the owner/landlord. You are responsible for your share of the rent and utilities only. If the owner/landlord is not receiving the full rent then that person can sue the other roommate for the past due rent, utilities, and damages... again only up to 30 days after the move out.

From what I gather, the rent, damage and utilities is probably in the neighborhood of $1000. This can be addressed in small claims court, but the roommate sounds like a deadbeat that won't pay even if you get a judgment. Personally, I wouldn't pursue the matter in court unless the roommate had some sort of assets that might be claimed if he fails to pay.
 
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