Does a roommate have a legal say in the permanent replacement of a 2nd roommate?

Question

First off, please don't give me your opinion, unless it is backed by reference to a legal document...

If 2 people live together...they sign a lease, with intentions of them both staying the full term of the lease (1 year)...1 roommate decides to move out after 6 months...does the roommate staying there have any sort of legal say over the person to replace the roommate?

If the 2nd roommate moves out, without finding a replacement, is he still legally responsible for his share of the rent to the Realtor? or will it fall on the roommate still living there? meaning, does the first roommate have to pay the entire rent to not get kicked out, and it will be on him to collect from the roommate who moved out?

PLEASE provide a link to a legal reference. this is in Boston MA if that makes any difference.

Thanks

ok, to those of you who assumed i am the jerk moving out, i am not...i am a potential to move in....

here is the underlying thing...the lowlife realtor is charging half a months rent just to switch names on the lease...you may say, well, they need to make money somehow...which is why i understand why they charge a months rent to find you an appartment...they do work in finding places, showing them, setting things up with the landlord etc... plus, in their business model, it's acceptable to consider how many apartments they will show, and the cost to cover....but wrt charging $800 just to change the name on the lease...they are not doing $800 or work, even including the overhead in changing the lease...

anyways, the roommate moving out it moving out next week, and needs the money by then...through the other roommate we agreed to split the $800 50/50...fair right? well he's backing out on it, and is saying if i don't pay the $800, he will find another roommate...

his claim to back out on the deal, is that he had another roommate lined up that said he'd pay $800....but i was chosen over him (i know the roommate who is staying, and the roommate staying didn't really know the kid who said he'd pay the full $800)...

the reason for my question was that the roommate staying and i were throwing around the idea of denying any potential roommate the leaving roommate found (would have been a random person from craigs list or something)...

after "discussing" this forever with this kid, he said he's pay $200 if i paid $600...thats obviously better then me paying $800, but its not the fair 50/50 split...

however, due to irrelevant reasons, i have no time to look for another place in such short time, and i don't know anyone else in the area (i'm moving back to my school in the city, after taking a sabbatical, and i don't know anyone at school besides this friend)...based on having no choice, i took his offer.....

Pimpin John...where does it say this is an opinion forum? when someone asked for help on a math problem, or asks what a variable, or formula means, or how to use it, that they want your opinion? no...sorry buddy...sure, there are opinion based questions, but there are plenty of fact questions...

i also obviously know that the lease is a contractual agreement, and can be considered the "law"...and yes, i have looked at some documentation

http://www.masslegalhelp.org/housing/legal-tactics1

the previous is the link to tenants rights in MA...however it doesn't say anything one way or the other about a roommate moving out...I was hoping someone else had the same issue, found more info then me, and was willing to pass it on...unlike you inconsiderate, malice and cynical answerers that said i should expect "free law advice"...or that someone else is willing to pass on references they happen to know...

what goes around comes around

Answer 1

Thats a hard question to answer here, without, ...reading the lease and all the fine print. Your best bet is to contact , either the realtor you went through, or simply stop by any real estate office....and they should be able to answer the questions.
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................................also in boston area =)...and good luck

another place you may want to look , is the "real estate" chat room.....ask there as well...or even the "legal chat"

Answer 2

Two people signed the lease. They are responsible for the payments. If the lease says anything about both sharing, then that is what holds until the lease is revised, then until the landlord accepts a revised lease, both are held responsible. If the lease says either person can be hit for all the rent, which is more common, then that is what stands.
This is a private contract, not a matter of law, unless Boston or Massachusetts has passed specific tenents' rights laws. What is in the lease (normally strongly biased toward the landlord collecting the money) is what will hold. You could be facing almost anything.
Who else would have a say about the second room mate? The first roommate? Only if he finds a replacement with a written assurance of paying the rent instead of him.
The landlord? who cares.

Answer 3

The landlord and the roommate that is staying both have a say as to who is replacing the vacating roommate.

The landlord has a legal right to require that the new roommate meet his rental criteria and/or qualifications.

The roommmate that is staying, naturally, has a say in who they are going to living with for the remainder of the lease term.

Both roommates are jointly and severally liable to the landlord for the full payment of rent. The landlord can go after one or both of you for payment.

Just because you vacate the apartment does not mean that your obligation ends. Your name is still on the lease and you are still responsible for the terms of the lease.

If the roommate that vacates fails to pay their share of the rent until a replacement is found, the roommate that stayed will have to pay the landlord in full in order to stay.

The roommate that stays can sue the roommate that moved out in Small Claims court for their share of the rent, as long as attempts were made to find a replacement roommate.

Your legal reference is your lease and MA Landlord/Tenant laws requirement for the mitigation of damages.

Answer 4

This is an opinion forum, so I find your demanding tone a bit misplaced. In most states you are both liable for the lease. You shouldn't allow your roommate to leave without squaring it with the landlord apart from you. As to who moves in, I may not be understanding you. Why would the departing roommate even care who replaces him? As long as the person is credit worthy and reliable, what else is there.

Look up your own legal references. I don't do that for free.

Answer 5

ok well i don't know about legal reference but i rented for 4 years and i can at least tell you what i know. I did the seperate lease agreement for 3 years, where i pay mine she pays hers sorta deal. If she falled out or something happened where she couldn't pay nothing fell on me! now my 4th year we lived with a combined lease. it was all together, so if she falls i fall. in the lease agreement if one of us wanted to leave before the lease was up we had to find someone to take over our part of the lease and sign a completely new lease. I'm not talking subleasing, no it was a completely new lease. Now if i left and didn't find someone and broke my lease agreement she would have to pay it all on her own. you have to check and read your lease to find out the find details on that kinda stuff. You should have the contract. As for choosing who lives there is someone leaves, if the lease doesn't say, then thats between you 2. Obviously whoever stays should get to chose, since you have to live with that.

Answer 6

Say in who moves in? No. You are the one signing a new contract with someone. He can't force you into a contract with someone.

Obligated for rent? Yes, but if he doesn't it falls to you.

Collect from former roommate? Yes and No. If you both default the realtor will go after you both assumably.

Read your lease, it could have special terms and conditions.

Answer 7

The legal reference you are looking for is your lease. It usually specifies that you and your roommate are together and separably responsible for the rent.

What that means is that if your roommate moves out and refuses to pay the rent, you, the remaining roommate are responsible for the whole rent.

The landlord is going to go after the one he can find - you.

Read your lease, it will tell you all you want to know.

You can, of course sue your ex-roommate for not paying his share - you have his signature on the lease, which is a legal document.

Answer 8

It is your lease that is the legal reference. Who signed it, both of you? Then you are both obligated to fulfill its terms. You can't unilaterally modify it.

Answer 9

I would say.Just being a straight up man about it and pay your share.a Mna has only got his word.If you cant back that up.What else you got. 0000