If a roommate is illegal (not on the lease) and refusing to pay utilities, can I take legal action?

Hmmm. Probably. However it would be throwing good money after bad. The deadbeat is in Texas which makes collection of any judgement unlikely. A contract between you and the deadbeat is lawful and binding without regard to the lease. You say that the utilities are due and not his portion of rent. If you and he entered into an agreement to split the utilities, that is a legal contract between you and he. The utility company has a legal contract between them and whomever the leaseholder(s) is/are, so they and/or you could go after him if he was on the utilities contract.

However, even if you took him to small claims court in Michigan which is where the contract between you and he was made, he most likely would not show up in court. The judgement would be made in your favor. Then it would be up to you to hire an attorney to execute judgement. That would cost you much more than you would gain. In addition, you would need such information as bank account numbers of his parents or his account numbers, if the deadbeat has any bank accounts.

So, I will give you a scenario based on assumed numbers, since you gave me no numbers to deal with. Assume that he owed you $200.00 per month for the last six months utilities for a total of $1200.00 owed to you. With filing fees and other costs, An Attorney would probably charge you $5,000.00 to represent you in executing that judgement. The numbers don't run do they? And he could not guarantee that he could get anything out of the deadbeats. Deadbeats like these typically get word of any judgement and they change accounts to protect themselves from collections. My assumption is that they most likely have very little to go after to begin with.

My suggestions: Forget collecting from them. The time and stress will not be worth it to you and you will spend more than you could possibly get back, making any possible victory in principle a hollow one indeed. Second suggestion: If, in the future you decide to sublease illegally, get all monies in advance of them moving in and in advance of any billings. Then, if they don't pay up, you kick them out before you are out on the limb financially any more than you already are in subleasing illegally to begin with.

But my best suggestion is don't sublease illegally. If you are discovered, you will lose your lease and your money and your place to live.

You could try to send them a certified letter return receipt requested threatening legal action and citing these facts and copies of the bills and any other written agreements you had with him, if any. If they are weak willed and gullible, they may be threatened enough to pay up. But, I would not bet the rent on it.

Whether or not your illegal roommate is on the lease of not has no bearing on any oral agreement you may have had with him to share expenses including utilities.

You might try sending him a certified letter with return receipt requested (and a copy to the parents) so you can demonstrate he actually received it saying if you don't get paid within 30 days you're considering legal action.

If that doesn't shake some money loose you can generally file a small claims action for under $100 in most jurisdictions. Both sides go to court and tell their story to a judge who makes a ruling on the spot.

However even if you win in court and get a judgement it will still be up to you to collect by finding any assets he may have within your reach, i.e. car, bank account, job, etc.

On a brighter note, in most jurisdictions, the loser pays court costs so if you win you will be entitled to your court filing fees again assuming you can collect.

Hindsight is always 20/20 but you really need a written agreement with any future roommates with a clear understanding who is responsible for what and a time frame for the debts to be paid.

First of all, I would suggest that you not him an "illegal." The term is inaccurate and loaded with innuendo.

If you want to take him to small claims court, the burden will be on you to convince the judge that he 1) agreed to pay a portion of the utilities for certain months and 2) failed to pay as promised.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that you are before Judge Judy or Joe Brown. The judge will not tolerate assaults on the defendant's character.

Bring the utility bills, any records you might have that show how much you and the other occupants paid toward them, and any written evidence of his agreement to pay his share of the utilities. If there was no written agreement, you should bring along a witness who was present when he promised to pay.

If you have neither a written agreement nor a witness, you can still bring the case to small claims court, but your chances of winning are much reduced.

You can try small claims court, but I don't think it will work. Especially if he is in a different state. Next time you want to try this type of arrangement, ask for a deposit so that you won't get screwed again. At least you have other legal roommates and subleasers to share the bills.

No- the only people legally responsible are all parties mentioned on the lease. Sorry, but I think you are out of luck.

Nope - you are pretty much stuck. You didn't have a signed agreement or have him on the lease then you are responsible for the bills incurred.

If he is not on the lease it can be very hard to prove what he owes. If you have the evidence and it is worth it to you, you can take him to small claims and see what happens.

absoloutly NOT.

if he is not on the lease then he is a guest and therefore not responsible for any bills.

if you take him to court YOU may get in trouble for allowing an unauthorized tenant to live wiht you

if he is not on the lease, than you are probably in violation of your lease therefore it will be hard to do anything considering the rental lease is the basis for all rental issues

Nope, if they are not on your lease, there is no legal grounds to make them pay.