Roommate moving out. Do I have to pay his portion of the rent? We currently pay our shares individually?

Question

I have 3 questions:

1. Both he and I are on the lease. We both pay our portions of the rent separately every month. I have one room and he has the other. Does this mean that i'm liable to pay the entire rent until my landlord finds another tenant or I sublet the second bedroom? The lease doesn't expire for a couple of months.

2. He hasn't given us a 30 day notice; in fact, the landlord heard of his departure from me. Can he be sued or does this depend on the terms of the lease? I currently reside in Pennsylvania.

3. He is taking his refrigerator with him. Is the landlord supposed to provide one in the first place?

Answer 1

The lease is with your landlord. You are not responsible to pay his portion. Also, the landlord is responsible for finding a second tenant but wouldn't you rather than him? That way you have someone you know and like.
He can sue if he can find him and even then the landlord is not assured money.
The fridge? Was there one there when you rented the place? Did the landlord say he would get one? You can get a small one from Walmart for less than $100 or go to salvation army. Until then, use what I like to call the walk in which is the great northern outdoors.

Answer 2

The landlord will expect the rent in full. Your roommate is on the lease so he is required to pay his share of the rent until the end of the lease or whatever notice is required by the lease.

If the lease can be terminated early you need to decide to renew it under your name and pay it all, or to move out.

Normally the lease runs for its full period.

If your lease didnt include a refrigerator , your landlord is not required to provide one. You may find one cheap at a goodwill store or walmart has little fridges for student dorms.



You can take your roommate to small claims court for the rent due.

You need to find another flatmate .

Answer 3

1. Yes you would be responsible for his portion of the rent. I depends on your lease agreement whether subletting is allowed. It depends on your landlord if they will be willing to let you off the hook in regards to rent. Chances are, you will be dishing out some money.

2. Yes the landlord can sue the tenant for Breach Of Lease. If you are held liable for all the charges until the landlord re-rents then you can sue the exiting roommate for recover your fees you are out. Check with your State laws with regards to real estate matters.

3. Depends on the state. I am speaking from CA. Here, it is not a requirement to provide appliances such as washer, dryer or fridge. Many of our owners do not so if it fails, they do not have to replace them.

Answer 4

Your land lord is messed up. If both of you are on one lease, all of the money should be paid by one or the other of you. Since the original lease said that you would provide the refrigerator, the land lord is not required to provide one. Your roommate is legally required to pay the rent to the end of the contract or make adjustments.

INSIST THAT THE LAND LORD USE HIS SHARE OF THE DEPOSIT TO PAY FOR THE MISSING MONTHS RENTS. Hopefully the land lord can get you a refrigerator until you move, the contract expire or you get a new room mate.

Answer 5

When I was an apartment manager two girls shared an apartment. One left without given the other girl a notice. The rental agreement was in both of their names. The remaining person is responsible for the rent. The security deposit is divided 50/50. The person that left their portion of the rent is deducted from their share of the security deposit. If they owe more than their share, the owner would have to take them to small claims court or deduct the overage from the remaining person.

If the remaining person wants to stay, a new rental agreement has to be written and they would be 100% responsible for the rent. A new security deposit would be necessary, and if they decided to add another person, they would have to have a credit check and the standard clearance as a person walking in off of the street.
If the apartment did not come with a refrigerator you will have to buy one; get a used one in good condition.

In my case the girl that left without a notice had the gall to come back and request a check for her part of the security deposit. I told her that we mailed her a statement showing unpaid charges, and that she still had a balance owing of $62.00. I told her that we were going to report this to the credit bureau as an noncollectable item. She back the next day with a money order for the $62.00.

Answer 6

If you are both on the lease I would say he is liable for rent not you. The refrigerator part depends on your lease. Check it and see what it says about your appliances.

Answer 7

In the debtor's mind they have a valid objection and simply will not pay the debt. Here are the top 6 objections collection agencies hear from debtors as reasons they will not pay. Many objections can be prevented by simply being a better landlord. Recovered debt means more profit!

Answer 8

It depends completely on the lease. If the lease didn't mention anything about it, then u both need to reach an agreement.

Answer 9

Read your lease. Most issues like this - who is responsible for what, what is and isn't provided in the apartment, etc. should be spelled out in there.

Answer 10

Check out the PA landlord tenant laws:

http://www.thelpa.com/lpa/landlord-tenant-law/pennsylvania-landlord-tenant-law.html

http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:KV9Ou_na5tsJ:www.attorneygeneral.gov/uploadedFiles/Consumers/landlord_tenant_act.pdf+PA+landlord+tenant+law&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=us