Okay so I am renting a 3 bedroom house. Three people signed the lease. Myself and my two roommates. One of our roommates moved out, gave us less than a months notice that she was leaving. She didn't do anything to find a replacement roommate to cover her share of the rent.

My other roommate and I are not really in the position to split the rent 2 ways for January.

My question is...is the roommate that moved out (whose name is still on the lease) still responsible for a third of the rent? If we only pay 2/3 of the rent can our landlord go after us, or will he have to go after the third roommate who moved out?

This has turned into a really bad situation. Our landlord is giving us the run around on letting us find a new roommate.

12/29/2010 11:42:28 PM

I'm pretty sure it depends on how the lease is written. So double check what the clauses are and stipulations on replacing that person.

ie, my lease as me and another person on it. if they move out, the rent still has to be paid.

12/29/2010 11:44:43 PM

pretty sure ^ is right. Unless yall have individual leases then you are all responsible to pay, doesn't really matter where or who the money comes from

12/29/2010 11:49:45 PM

You are all equally responsible for making sure the full rent is paid. But who is your landlord? If it's some company you may be SOL, but if it's an individual you may have more luck explaining your situation and getting them to try to collect from the missing roommate.

12/29/2010 11:51:14 PM

Yeah we are going to send him an e-mail explaining the situation.

Ask him if maybe we can work out a deal for January's lease since we haven't had time to find a 3rd roommate yet.

I hate to say it though, but if worst comes to worst, I know that there are things that are not up to code in this house (we have no smoke detector), and I know that if things aren't up to code he has to pay for a hotel room for us until things are up to code. But I would really hate to resort to that and cause a bad relationship with the landlord.

12/30/2010 12:09:32 AM

I don't see the problem. Move out. Your lease is apparently up at the start of january.

12/30/2010 12:15:43 AM

Our lease ends in August.


We are thinking we will ask if we can pay a little less in January, and pay more in February. We will agree to sign documentation saying he will get the full rent for two months by the time we mail in our rent checks for Feb.

That way it will allow us to find a suitable roommate and not scramble around at the last minute.

12/30/2010 12:24:04 AM

How do you measure, measure a year?

12/30/2010 12:33:14 AM

Quote :

"I know that there are things that are not up to code in this house (we have no smoke detector), and I know that if things aren't up to code he has to pay for a hotel room for us until things are up to code."

You sure about that? I think you have to notify the landlord and then give them time to fix the smoke detector problem. I could see justification for the hotel room if, for instance, the heat didn't work and it was freezing outside.

12/30/2010 1:18:48 AM

Quote :

"I know that if things aren't up to code he has to pay for a hotel room for us until things are up to code."

I challenge you to find that documented anywhere credible; especially the NC General Statutes.

12/30/2010 2:55:39 AM

I can't find it right now, but theres a statute that says something to the tune of: if the the dwelling becomes uninhabitable, the landlord must provide alternate housing until repairs are made.

A tenant can also get out of the lease if the dwelling can't be made habitable within like 2 weeks or something.

I know this because one of my friends had raw sewage back up into her house and flood her first floor

[Edited on December 30, 2010 at 3:31 AM. Reason : but nothing about not paying the rent because you don't have a smoke detector lol]

12/30/2010 3:31:13 AM

http://www.ncdoj.com/files/consumer/landlord-tenant-booklet.aspx

Smoke detector is required.
You should notify him of this and get it fixed.
It's not going to help you get a rent reduction though.

^ While you won't be responsible for paying rent on a truly inhabitable house; I've seen nothing to indicate that the landlord has to pay for alternate housing. I suspect that was an act of goodwill by the landlord.

[Edited on December 30, 2010 at 3:52 AM. Reason : s]

12/30/2010 3:41:02 AM

Yeah maybe I made that up. Really thought I saw that though.

12/30/2010 4:08:43 AM

how long ago did the roommate move out - it sounds like you've known about it for a few weeks but are just now finally doing something about it - why the delay

12/30/2010 8:04:31 AM

Quote :

"One of our roommates moved out, gave us less than a months notice that she was leaving."

12/30/2010 8:45:31 AM

You should have immediately notified the land lord when the roommate said she was moving out. I'm sure she is breaching the contract by moving out, but you need to see what the land lord says in regards to the language the lease.

12/30/2010 8:56:27 AM

Yeah our landlord has known about the smoke detector since before we moved in.

The reasoning for us now doing something about this is because with 3 weeks notice it's really hard to find someone, get it approved by our landlord, and have them move in.

Basically from what I gather from looking around the internet. Since all three of us are on the lease we are all three responsible for the full rent. However, since our third roommate bounced she seemed to be getting off without a worry. That just doesn't seem right to me. It doesn't seem fair that she can break the lease, and leave the two of us scrambling around to pay rent.
She's a friend, but this situation is starting to turn a relationship rocky.

12/30/2010 8:57:49 AM

That is what civil court is for...I think. Sue her to pay rent until a replacement tenant moves in.

Also she is no longer your friend.

[Edited on December 30, 2010 at 9:05 AM. Reason : lkj]

12/30/2010 9:05:05 AM

If all three of you are on the lease, then all 3 of you are financially responsible. The landlord (whether it be a company or individual) has the right to come after all of you for rent, etc if its not paid.

The fault here is that you got yourself into a place that you can't afford by yourself. Never depend on someone else's income to help pay your bills, you never know what the other person will do (quit their job, leave, whatever).

12/30/2010 9:21:37 AM

Well when I said my roommate and I are not really in the position to split the rent two ways, I mostly meant her. I can afford to pay for 2/3 the rent while my roommate pays for her 1/3. But then that puts me in a bad position.

I mean I understand all the should've, could've, would've y'all have here, makes sense looking back at it, but this is what is going on.

We are asking him if we can work with him on January's rent. (While I would have enough money to help cover the rent, I would be pretty much broke for two weeks)
We are promising that he will have a full two month's rent by feb. first.

We rent from an individual. Do you think this is something that is totally horrible to ask of our landlord?

12/30/2010 9:34:59 AM

^ Doesn't hurt to ask, but be prepared for him to say no.

Crap like this makes me really glad I don't deal with roommates anymore

Quote :

"She's a friend, but this situation is starting to turn a relationship rocky."

Y'all aren't going to be friends for much longer. I'd cut your losses now.

12/30/2010 9:49:03 AM

I need to get her to mail me my harry potter book before we cut ties.

12/30/2010 9:54:35 AM

oh noes. not the harry potter book!

12/30/2010 10:21:35 AM

If she signed a lease she is responsible for her portion of the rent for as long as the lease holds. Then it comes down to either the landlord or the two of you taking her to court for the portion she signed a document saying she was responsible for. Yes its a pain in the ass but I believe thats your only real option in a situation like this. Then it comes down to how reasonable and sympathetic your landlord is to the situation.

12/30/2010 10:22:58 AM

Have you reminded the roommate that she signed a lease and is therefore responsible for her portion of the rent until she finds someone else to assume her responsibility? It seems to me that you are taking a lot of the responsibility for this other girls actions. Have you confronted her about it? I can't tell from reading your posts.

12/30/2010 10:32:46 AM

Yikes. Be careful of what you're seeing here in the way of advice.

Lease Agreement: Typically you're equally responsible for the full rent, unless the lease states that you're only responsible for your own $X portion. Most private landlords don't do this, because can limit their options to be made whole when one or all tenants skip out. Check your lease.

Habitability of premises: You have to notify the landlord in writing of the issue(s), the landlord has X amount of days to remedy the problems (number of days depends on the severity of the issue, and are listed in ncgs). Not having the issues fixed cannot be a valid reason to withhold rent (also in ncgs). Your only option as a tenant regarding habitability issues is if they are not abated is something called constructive eviction.

Roommate Issue: That sucks, good luck getting them to pay and salvaging your friendship.

Best Practice: Contact you landlord, keep them up to date on whats going on and follow up any phone calls with what you talked about (to keep a written record) in trying to make the landlord whole with rent. Pay what you can, esp if you can afford the whole amount. Don't use the habitability issue as leverage, doing that creates an adversarial situation when you need the landlord's good grace. If you do want to bring it up, make sure that you're clear that this is a separate issue from the rent situation.

NCGS: Its chapter 42 I believe, but I don't really feel like looking for specific reference links (sorry)

12/30/2010 11:14:11 AM

As far as the smoke detector goes: http://tinyurl.com/3yu6a5o

I'd rather spend $13 (hell, $6.50 if you split it with the remaining roommate) than get in a fighting match with my landlord over something that's $13 and could save my life

12/30/2010 11:20:36 AM

Tell the roomate who is leaving that she will either pay the rent, find a replacement before she leaves or you will sue her in claims court.

Write this out. Take it to her with your landlord or another witness present and get her to sign it. Then you wait 30 days and if she hasn't come through, file a claim. You will win and she will be up shit creek. The state can garnish her wages, and freeze her bank accounts to get you paid.

Your landlord is your biggest ally here, don't try to fuck him/her because you signed a bad contract with untrustworthy people

12/30/2010 12:49:20 PM

^ Agreed with Noen and ThePeter. She's not your friend anymore; at least not until this is settled and the dust has cleared. If she signed a lease she has a legal obligation to pay whether she is living there or not. It's time for someone to make her grow up and live in the adult world.

12/30/2010 1:30:18 PM

Yup, need to contact her, tell her that you will be taking her to court unless she pays her portion of the rent for all months remaining on the lease or finds another tenant to fulfill her obligations. Landlord could also sue her for breach of the lease.

I just had a roommate move out, we discussed it, I told him just to make sure that either he continued to pay or found a replacement tenant. He found a guy, got the landlord to approve it, and moved out. Not really a huge deal. Of course, we're all men, so there wasn't a bunch of bullshit drama involved.

12/30/2010 1:56:34 PM

^bdmazur disagrees with your last sentence

12/30/2010 2:05:29 PM

You'll note that I said "men," not boys. Big difference.

12/30/2010 2:14:23 PM

Check the lease wording... it's usually something about being jointly and severally liable. Which means something like the landlord can sue any or all of you if the full amount is not paid.

Also as far as not paying rent and things being up to code that's a game you can't win. I was in a house which went without water for a week, then without electricity for a week. The electrical problem caused multiple fires. Despite that the minimum housing guys said you can't withhold rent. All the city will do is issue a citation and demand they landlord correct the issue within X (usually 90 days).

12/30/2010 11:46:26 PM

Yeah, the current roommate and I have discussed it.

We are just going to suck it up and pay the full rent, and take it up with the ex roommate on our own.

Although we are going to start playing things a little differently now that she is gone.

Finally got ahold of the landlord's e-mail address so now we are going to document the things that need addressing.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is it a rule or law that if you bring up something that needs repair the landlord has 30 days from the day that you tell him to fix it?

12/31/2010 12:09:25 AM

^http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/statutes/statutestoc.pl

12/31/2010 12:15:15 AM

^^ Read the landlord tenant booklet I linked. It covers the landlord's responsibilities and your rights pretty well. He has 15 days on the smoke detector.

Quote :

"PART FIVE: WRITTEN NOTICE TO THE LANDLORD. The landlord’s duty to repair promptly all plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and other appliances and facilities does not begin until the tenant has given written notice to the landlord of needed repairs. The written notice requirement does not apply in emergency situations, such as loss of heat in mid-winter or sudden leaks in the plumbing that are going to cause damage to the premises or injury to the tenant if a repair service is not called right away. As a practical matter, the best thing to do when a refrigerator, oven, or air conditioner breaks down is to call or visit the landlord immediately to report the problem. Follow up the conversation with a note or letter to the landlord which mentions the earlier oral request for 5 repairs. For instance, “Dear Landlord: This is just a reminder of the request I made by phone this morning for repairs to the furnace at 344 Center Drive.” Sign and date the note and keep a copy. If you have to hire a repair person yourself because the landlord will not do anything, a copy of the written notice will be very helpful if you go to Small Claims Court seeking reimbursement for the repair bill you paid."

Quote :

"The landlord shall replace or repair the smoke detectors within 15 days of receipt of notification if the landlord is notified of needed replacement or repairs in writing by the tenant."

"Repair promptly" leaves some discretion based on the severity of the problem and difficulty of having it fixed. The smoke detector is a little more straight forward.

12/31/2010 1:16:40 AM

Yeah things like smoke detectors, fire/electrical/bio hazards, adequate heat (but not a/c) are all examples of shit that the landlord needs to address straight away. You can't withhold rent over their repair, but it is grounds to terminate the lease and move out if they don't get them fixed.

12/31/2010 3:54:25 AM