Will a notarized paper hold up in court?

Question

My husband and I signed a lease with a friend in January for an apartment to be rented for one year. Our roommate paid 1/2 of the rent and so did we. Well, a few days ago, he moved out when we were at work. He is still on the lease and told us that he would still pay for his half. We have a notarized paper saying that he will pay half of the rent until Jan 31, 2008 and that he wil no longer reside at the residence. If he doesn't continue to pay the half he owes, we want to sue him for the rest he owes. Will the notarized paper help us?

Also, he willingly left,knowing he was on the lease and said there was nothing we could do about it. Can he break the lease and not get in trouble?

I also asked the landlord what to do and he said that is was up to us to sue b/c he won't...But, anyways...

Answer 1

Yes that should support your case. Regardless though, if he is on the lease he is required to pay. You probably don't NEED the notarized paper.

Answer 2

Not necessarily. Notarizing something only attests to the identity of the person who signed the document. It doesn't make a document otherwise "legal".

In most jurisdictions the courts have held that two months is adequate time for a landlord to secure a replacement tenant. The landlord might have a claim against the former roommate if the rent isn't paid but he'll have a claim against you a well.

Unless that document that you hold is determined to be a lease by the courts, a one-sided assertion that he will pay the rent through January probably will NOT hold up in court.

For a contract to be valid, there must be valuable consideration on both sides. In a lease, the tenant gets to occupy the premises and the landlord gets money -- there's value on both sides so the contract is valid. Your former roommate's notarized statement that he'll pay the rent without getting something of value in return is one-sided and therefore probably unenforceable.

That brings us back to the 2 month window that many courts have held as sufficient time. You would probably be able to collect 2 months worth of rent from him even without the statement. Beyond that, don't hold your breath. You would have to show that you had made a reasonable effort to secure a new roommate but had failed to do so. If you had made no effort at all, you might not even get the 2 months.

Answer 3

When a paper is notarized that usually means that the notary has determined that the person that signed the paper has been identified as the person named. It doesn't mean that the document is written clearly or has any standing in a court of law. It does mean that it would hard for him to dispute that he signed it.

He might contest it in several other ways. "They had a gun to my head!" "I am underage and not responsible!" "I can't read english and they lied to me about what it said!" (I actually had a guy with a PHD in English say in court that he signed a paper without reading it because it was to confusing).

In court the judge decides what he believes and decides how he should decide each case.

Answer 4

The ONLY thing notarizing a document does is to provide the word of a trusted third party that the parties that signed the document are who they claim to be. The Notary Public makes no representation as to the validity of the contents of the document. That said, if the document state what you claim it does, it is evidence of his agreement to pay and is admissible in court.

Answer 5

the original lease that you all signed is what will really hold up in court. take the notarized paper as back up...the minute is misses one payment, file small claims court...and when you get the judgement...immediately go to his employer to garnish is wages....if he quits his job...take the court papers to his bank and take his money from there...

you are sitting pretty...good job!...always in writing :)

good luck

Answer 6

the landlord will sue, not you my dear.

Answer 7

I sure hope so and I believe it will.