Roomate evicted because roommate couldn't pay rent

[hacheema]

My roommate and I signed a lease from August 2008 to August 2009. The rent was $1828 but we decided to be resident managers and have the rent reduced to $1600. We had the intention of finding a third roommate. The apartment had two bedrooms and we decided to give our third roommate her own room. Before school (undergraduate at U of M) even started we had an incidence where the roommate went out of line and we had to take her off the lease. We signed a piece of paper saying that it was okay for her to go off the lease and attached it to the lease. We handed this over to the management and they agreed that it was okay for her to leave the lease. We tried frinding another roommate but couldn't. About two months into the lease my roommate said he was going to have financial trouble if we couldn't find a third roommate. We kept trying but couldn't find anyone willing to cover the $600 for the room our ex-roommate left. Mid-November my roommate simply left the apartment. His mother lives 10 minutes away and he decided to stay with her. He told me that I should move all my stuff out because if we get evicted they will take my stuff. I kept telling him that can't just not pay. He kept insisting that getting evicted was inevitable. I told him that I did not have a place to stay and I had finals coming up (December 12-18). Late November he said that I shouldn't worry about getting evicted in December because he would be able to pay December rent. I paid my portion, $800, of the rent on December 1st and expected him to do the same as well. However, a week into december I got an eviction notice. I was really stressed out because I had pretty tought finals and papers to write. Instead of being able to properly study for my finals I had to devote most of my time moving my stuff back home and into my friends and brothers apartments. I ended up sleeping on my brothers and friends couches until finals ended. I am back home now and dont want my renters credit to be ruined because my roomate couldn't pay rent. What can I do in this situation?

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

In a case like this, a landlord typically evicts all tenants (unless, of course, the remaining tenant can come up with the entire rent).

Gail

 

[hacheema]

if I keep paying rent till august 09 is there any way for me to not get evicted (i.e. not have my renters credit messed up)? I feel like it's not my fault my roommate can't pay rent. Why should I have to share the blame for it?

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Your landlord would argue why should they accept only half the rent on a unit? The contract was signed for a specific amount; it's unlikely that a landlord would take only half of that.

It's probably not much consolation but this seems to happen quite a bit in a roommate situation; several folks band together to rent a place but then something (bad feelings between the roomies, someone loses a job or flunks out of school) happens and one or more bail, leaving the other(s) financially stranded.

Gail

 

[hacheema]

Would it be possible for me to pay his half of the rent as well and then have him evicted? That way there would be no eviction on my record. I am just looking for ways not to get evicted. If you have any other ideas please let me know. And thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Much of this depends on where your case is in regards to the eviction process.

The first step in evicting someone is a notice from the landlord/management. This is not an actual "eviction" as only a court can order someone evicted. This notice typically says something along the lines of "if you don't pay within a certain deadline, you'll be evicted".

If this notice is ignored/not remedied, the next step is filing for the eviction through the local court system. Once filing is done, the tenant is notified of this and has a chance to respond to the court. If they ignore the notice, the order for eviction is granted without a hearing. If they respond, a hearing is set up where both sides can argue their case in front of a judge.

Sounds like you're in phase 1 of the process; you've received a notice from the landlord/management. If you remedy the issue (i.e., pay what your roommate owes) the process should go no further.

You can then turn around and sue your former roommate for his share of the rent.

Gail