Am I legally obligated to pay informal rent?

[charleshedrick]

I recently moved out of a former friends place mid month where I had no lease or any agreement of rent or utilities payment. I had been paying 270 a month and half of utilities for the past 6 months but this was just the verbally agreed amount. I know its kind of mean but i am broke and I don't like her so I was wondering if I am legally obligated to pay her half of the informal months rent as well as utilities and such. nothing is under my name at the place and again, i have not signed anything saying that i would pay any rent and i do not believe she has filed any taxes on the money that i have been paying her or filled out any legal documents saying she is the landlord or anything. I would assume these circumstances would not constitute as a landlord/tenant relationship and would not hold up in any legal sense but i just wanted to get a more knowledgeable opinion on the subject. Thanks for any replies!

 

[jacksgal]

You left mid month. Ok few questions before I answer

Did you warn this person or give notice of your intent to leave?

If when and how much notice?

What state is this in?

Depending on your answer you could be on the hook for more than just 1/2

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Again, depending on your state, in the absence of a written lease a tenant (and yes, you have been one of those) is said to have a "month to month" tenancy.

Termination of a month to month tenancy generally requires a 30 day written notice. Some states specify when this notice has to be given (i.e., a certain number of days prior to the beginning of the month for example).

The tenant (you) would then continue to owe rent/utilities for this 30 day period of time.

Gail