Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
Trending News
My roommate has decided to terminate our lease without my consent. What can I do?
-jointly but separately liable lease
-roommate is moving back to her hometown by her own choice
-instead of continuing to pay her half of lease, has decided to terminate our lease
-I never agreed to this and have not signed an agreement to terminate our lease
-The apartment complex told me I have two options:
-Pay $585/month to continue living there
-Pay half the termination fee (342.50) and get out
-I don't agree with this at all (I never wanted the lease terminated), but to keep the peace, I offered to pay the termination fee in payments. The leasing office refused and claimed I had to pay by the end of this month.
-I don't have the money to move out and get a new place with another roommate because of this fee, so I am forced to stay and pay $242.50/mo extra in rent.
-The leasing office never gave me a notice in writing, and there doesn't seem to be anything on the lease allowing one roommate to terminate without the other's approval.
Can I sue the roommate, the complex, or both? Do I even have the right to argue this case in court? Any suggestions on any of this situation?
SEVERALLY liable. My fault. I was writing from memory.
My issue with the complex is they released her from our lease and now are trying to force me to sign a new one... I don't have the money to pay deposits elsewhere and therefore they're forcing another lease on me.
The lease was terminated in a manner which seems to be illegal. I'm consulting a lawyer on the matter.
They're terminating the old lease and trying to make me sign a new one, releasing the old roommate from any liability for the lease at all.
The leasing office has refused payments in hopes of getting me to leave and then forcing the full $5,480 (plus 10% late charges) worth of rent upon me. I just found out about the fact that I could get it in writing that they refused the payment... I may try that next time I'm there.
The apartment complex has stepped in and is refusing to allow me to make the claim that my roommate should have to pay the full termination fee, as they are trying to offer me a new lease to work with. If I stay, I don't have to pay my half of the termination fee. At least not until their superiors call the office upset because there's $350 missing from the books... it's happened before.
8 Answers
- 1 decade ago
Unfortunately you do not have a case. Because you signed the separate liability you are liable for any charges incurred by the roommate terminating her lease. Also if you do not have the money to pay the extra to move, you wont have the money for a lawyer even if you did have a case. Im sorry. Good luck.
- Forty2Lv 41 decade ago
Any of the legal options available to you are going to cost you more $$ and more time than the actual cost of this lease.
My personal opinion is that since the room-mate (not you) is terminating the lease, they should pay the full termination fee and you could ask them/require them to do this.
One thing you can do is tell them that if they don't pay the termination fee (since they are the one terminating and not you), then you can tell them, and follow through with the filing of a small claims court petition for the half of the termination fee. This costs around $50 to file.
You can then tell the apartment complex that you have filed the court petition and if and only if you recover the fee it will be reimbursed to them.
- ?Lv 71 decade ago
You do not have an action against the complex as you have a joinly but separately liable lease
Joint and several liability means that the landlord can seek all damages from one of you or both of you.
You can have an action against the roommate if their name is on the lease and she did not legally break the lease terms
- Anonymous1 decade ago
I doubt you were "jointly but separately liable" for the lease. This does not seem a valid description. If it is valid, it would be a very strange lease for anyone apartment complex to write.
Perhaps your lease was "jointly and severally liable" ? My first suggestion is to re-read the lease contract you signed.
If indeed jointly and severally liable, you would pursue your former roommate for her share of the liability.
Source(s): Wikipedia: "Under joint and several liability, a claimant may pursue an obligation against any one party as if they were jointly liable and it becomes the responsibility of the defendants to sort out their respective proportions of liability and payment. This means that if the claimant pursues one defendant and receives payment, that defendant must then pursue the other obligors for a contribution to their share of the liability." - How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
well the thing is most states this hold true if you offer to make payment on a bill to some one try to get that in writing cause you can legally not be liable for that amount you cant refuse payments of any form the hospital refused partial payments from my brother he got that in writing took it to court the judge told the hospital consider your self payed
- leontineLv 45 years ago
There are some very incorrect solutions right here. Legally, one social gathering won't be able to legally be faraway from a fastened term hire till all events to the hire conform to it in writing. Your landlord did no longer have the splendid to launch your roommate from the hire with out your written consent. What the owner did does no longer invalidate the hire. It invalidates your roommate's launch. She continues to be legally on the hook. Your landlord can sue you in case you breach your hire or fail to pay hire. You have been probable the two mutually and severally to blame. If the owner sends it to collections, you dispute the declare with the series corporation in writing. you are able to desire to then sue your roommate for her ingredient of the hire in keeping with the hire. Your roommate could would desire to offer a launch signed via the two the owner and you to dispute the case, which she won't be able to do.
- 1 decade ago
I have no ideas of the legalities but you should try and find new room mate ASAP that would be the quickest solution to your problem I think.
