Tenant vs. Tenant

[Comfort1day]

I signed a lease with my roommate on August 29, 2004 for a one year lease that is due to end on October 1, 2005 on a house. Our landlords are the owners of the house. My roommate and I don't have a lease agreement between the two of us just the one with the owners. She started not liking me about a month into the lease because I wouldn't let her intrude on my space and kept my bedroom and bathroom doors locked. Now we have three and a half months left on the lease and she has given her "30 day notice" on the blackboard in our kitchen. She has already moved all of her property out of the house and has not contacted the owners. She stated in the "notice" that she will only be paying half of the rent at the end of her "30 days" and only $100 in utilities when she owes much more. I need to know what actions I am allowed to take and what I should do. I am lost since I have never been burned like this. I am concerned of her being able to get back into the house and doing more damage than she has already done and hurting my dog. Please advise.

 

[bryan]

Ok, let me see if I have this clear. She will be moving out and will continue to pay 1/2 the rent and $100 towards the utilities. I am assuming this will be untill the lease is up? Am I missing something here? You say she owes much more for the utilites, what is this based on?

 

[Comfort1day]

Wondering

She stated that she would make one payment of $250 on July 16, 2005 for rent and one payment of $100 that same day for utilities. I am more concerned with rent.
Our rent total is $980 due on the first of each month. We each pay $490 towards the total rent payment. Our lease that we both signed is up on October 1, 2005. That leaves three full rent payments to be made in the total amount of $2,940. So, she would owe a total of $1,470 by the end of the lease. If you subtract the $250 amount that she plans on paying July 16, 2005 she would still owe $1,220.
Utilities that are due currently are:
Electric - $68.92
Lawn - $75.00
We have not gotten the water or electric bill for this month we are currently in.
Does that clarify my situation?

 

[Comfort1day]

Response?

Waiting for help on this. I don't know when I am allowed to make actions. What actions to make. Who to talk to... and so forth. Help Please.

 

[Comfort1day]

Update - I win

Today finalized that I no longer have to deal with my ex-roommate. I had called a meeting with the owners at the local starbucks before rent was due to determine what would happen since we knew she would not pay. We decided to give her a chance and if she met our expectations of non-payment the owners would file a lawsuit against her. I had spoken with a contract attorney who said that the clause stating abandonment held up and that they did not have to evict her but they could immediately start on filing a lawsuit against her. That is what we did. We sent demand to pay certified and such and she caved as soon as her parents got wind of what was happening. Sure she is getting off lighter than she should but since the owners are not charging me what she is not paying I figure that is between them. All in all it went much better than I would have predicted.

 

[Comfort1day]

I spoke too soon

When my roommate moved out of the house she and the owners signed an agreement stating that she owed an amount of money to them. That she would be responsible for that amount. In the law books I have read this relieved me of any responsibility to her half of the rent. I continued to live at the house for the rest of the lease plus a week. After moving out I called the landlord to disscuss the deposit. I wanted to know where we stood on that subject. They stated it was not fair to give me my deposit back because my roommate had ditched. I tried to reason with them that they have an agreement with her and the deposit was to cover damages. The house is in way better condition than when we moved in. I have pictures from when we moved in time and date stamped and pictures of when I moved out time and date stamped. They are saying that I broke the contract. I did not. If I had broken the contract there would be a signed piece of paper between me and the owners or I would have been evicted. Now they are threatening to sue me for the amount that my roommate still owes them if I pursue in getting my deposit back. I am not rich. My deposit was supposed to pay for the deposits at my new place.

 

[neoplop]

I take it you didn't ask the landlord for a written release of responsibility when they accepted your roommate's promise to pay. You should have.

There is probably a clause in your lease that provides that not acting to collect rent or evict a tenant does not cancel their rights under the lease.

Depending on the state laws, it is likely that by both signing a lease, you _both_ agreed to be responsible for the full amount of rent. If the landlord didn't receive rent from one party, he can collect the full amount from the other. If they sue, they will name both of you in the suit. If they win, which they more than likely will, they will first retain the security deposit, then try to collect from you if they can't collect from her (and nothing forces them to try to collect from her first). At that point, the only thing you can do is sue her to recover that money (or name her in a countersuit filed with your response to the landlord's suit). The trick will be collecting if you win.