Working For Justice In Housing

ROOMMATES

Sharing an apartment with a friend or an acquaintance can be fun and economically worthwhile. Such sharing can also create some interesting problems.

· One tenant moves out, leaving the remaining tenant to pay the full rent to the end of the lease.

· One tenant stays, but refuses to pay his/her share of the rent.

· Two friends rent an apartment. One has guests stay over on a continuous off-and-on basis, which crowds the living situation.

· One tenant is disruptive and the other tenant is not. The innocent tenant and the landlord want to take the disruptive tenant’s name off the lease and to have him/her leave.

· Two tenants agree to split up with one tenant being willing to assume the responsibilities of the lease, but the landlord won’t agree.

In a lease situation, all parties have to agree to a change in the terms of the tenancy; one tenant alone and the landlord cannot agree to remove the other tenant’s name from the lease. Similarly, even if the tenants agree that one tenant can leave and ask that the tenant’s name be taken off the lease, the landlord doesn’t have to agree.

Both tenants are responsible for the lease to the end of the tenancy. If one tenant refuses to pay rent--whether or not that tenant continues to live there--and the other tenant cannot or will not pay full rent, and both tenants are evicted as a result, the landlord can sue one tenant or both tenants for lost rent.

If the innocent tenant pays the full rent until the end of the lease, or is evicted, the innocent tenant can hold the other tenant responsible for damages, i.e., for either the rent paid for the defaulting tenant or the rent owed to the landlord because both tenants were evicted. Should the landlord sue only one tenant, that tenant can sue the other tenant for his/her share of the damages and join the suit to the landlord’s suit so that both tenants have to appear before the judge.

How to lessen some of the problems:

· Have a clear understanding of each other’s lifestyle, how the apartment is to be managed and what is expected of each other, especially as to guests, parties, noise and cleanliness.

· If possible, each tenant should share with the other a current credit report, references and evidence of job history and income that would warrant a partnership. (Most apartment complex companies will require that both tenants be qualified as to good credit, sufficient income, etc. so that obtaining a credit report wouldn’t be necessary.)

· If two tenants renting a two-bedroom apartment can’t get along, the landlord may allow each to transfer to a one bedroom apartment.

· If one tenant has sufficient income to rent the apartment alone and the landlord is agreeable, then he/she might want to be the only signer of the lease and rent to the other tenant on a month-to-month basis. If the relationship does not work out, it can be easily terminated and the lease signer would be free to seek another apartment mate.

Legally Reviewed - BNI. Last Update - March 2001

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