How do I not lose my apartment?

October 24, 2006 9:57 AM

Last Thursday, my roommate told me he is moving out at the end of the month. What should I do?

Now, the apartment is cheap, but it's a shithole in a bad part of town and is swarming with cockroaches, so I'm not getting much communication from people looking for a place to live. And I certainly can't afford the whole place on my own, as I am currently unemployed.

Anyway, I brought this issue up to the rental office, because both of us have separate leases, and he would have to give them at least 30 days notice before he moves. However, they lost their copy of the lease they have with him and could only find the lease they have with me. Furthermore, the lease they have with me was filled out while I was the only person living in this apartment, so it lists my rent at $660/mo as opposed to $330/mo.

Has anyone else been in this situation before? And, if so, is there any legal recourse I have, or am I just basically fucked? Oh! I'm in the state of RI.

posted by The Great Big Mulp to home & garden (10 comments total)

I dont understand. Are you saying you later signed a lease for $330 (and you dont have it nor do they)? Or...are you saying the $660 lease is the only one you ever signed with them?

If its the latter, then, yeah, you're f'ed.
posted by vacapinta at 10:13 AM on October 24, 2006

I'm not familiar with tenant law in RI but I would guess that without the supporting documentation supporting your claim for separate leases and the full rental amount on yours, I'd say the burden is on you to find a new roommate or pay the full rent.

Even though it is not the nicest apartment, are you sure you have exhausted all avenues for finding another roommate? Any schools nearby? Put out ads in their classifieds, post on craigslist, put up some posters etc. If not, then try lowering the rent to less then half in order to sweeten the less then spectacular pot.
posted by purephase at 10:13 AM on October 24, 2006

Unfortunately, most leases make each tenant "jointly and severally liable" for payment of rent, meaning that each roommate can be held responsible for paying the entire rent on the unit if the other roommate(s) fail to pay their share for any reason. If your lease says that you are responsible for paying $660 a month for the apartment, they are entitled to collect that amount from you regardless of any agreements they may have with him. I'm not a lawyer, but it sounds like you're legally responsible for paying the entire rent for this month and in future months unless you give proper notice and move out.
posted by decathecting at 10:19 AM on October 24, 2006

Yeah, kind of building on what vacapinta said, it sounds like you're in one of two boats, legally speaking: either 1) you initially signed on for a $660/mo lease and then when your roommate came along signed another one for $330, effectively breaking the first one and replacing it with the second, or 2) you currently have a $660/mo lease and have sublet half your space to the roommate for $330/mo.

If it's #1, then your landlord is completely derelict in their poor record keeping and I'm guessing (though I'm not sure) that the local landlord/tenant law would come down in your favor (if indeed you can demonstrate that this is the case, more on that in a sec). If rather you're in situation #2, then you have the legal right to $330/mo from your roommate until whatever termination event occurs - and I'm guessing that 9 days notice is not what your lease agreed on. However, during this time your landlord has the right to $660/mo from you, and doesn't give a damn about your sublet problems.

Now, in either case, you'll need to demonstrate what situation you're in if you want to recover anything. And this will ideally include providing written documentation of all transactions you entered with both these parties (landlord and roommate). You should have copies of all lease documents in which you have an interest. If you don't, then your best bet might be to just lump the unfairness and scramble to get a new roommate ASAP, or break your own lease (with 30 days notice this time; landlords tend to be sticklers about that) and go find someplace cheaper.
posted by rkent at 10:27 AM on October 24, 2006

vacapinta and rkent: Initially I signed a lease with the rental office for $660 and, when this roommate came along, he signed another lease with the rental office for $330. They never had me sign another lease. So, I am not subletting to this guy, he has an agreement with the rental office.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 10:57 AM on October 24, 2006

IANAL, and not familiar with specifics of RI tenant law, but some points you've shared are basic to all landlord/tenant situations. If you haven't kept your lease copies, you're going to be presented with the landlord's version at $660/month, unless your leaving roommate has his old lease for your place, and is willing to share a copy with you, as secondary proof. His signing a lease with the landlord directly means you haven't got a "true" sub-let, but together with your lease for the original $660, effectively gives you the same notice arrangements as he had, which are probably at least a full 30 days, and maybe longer, if he's moving before the end of the lease. You might have some alternatives with a copy of both your initial lease and your roommates lease in hand, but until you do, it's waste of time to try contacting any rental housing boards.

If you can't afford the place, you need to make an immediate decision whether to leave or stay. Leaving means you have to rapidly prepare to move, and find another place you can afford, with a new roommate or two or three, who you won't probably have any knowledge of, and who will be willing to take on new roommates themselves, on short notice. That all sucks, and the only reason you'd do that is to avoid further dings on your credit history, and an eviction. But, an eviction process usually takes anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, depending on local law, so if you are really at the edge, staying put may be your only realistic option. All you may be able to do is to use the time between now and an eviction date to scratch like hell for alternatives in jobs and housing/new roommates.

If you stay, you need to begin an emergency campaign to find a roommate. There's no reason to live with cockroaches, when boric acid treatments are extremely cheap and effective, although boric acid treatments will take 60 to 90 days to fully control the problem, as subsequent generations of already laid eggs hatch and mature.

In the meantime, you still have to find a roommate, if you're staying where you are. You need to post contact cards in area laundromats, inexpensive cafes, grocery stores, convenience stores, and ads in any "free" or "alternative" papers in your area. You're trying to get visibility with other people in tough circumstances in your area, who also need a place to stay. Depending on what you know of your neighbors, don't rule them out either, as many people in low rent housing are also "in between" life situations, and maybe a neighbor you don't know is now or will be soon, facing your same situation.

Now is not the time for pride, either, with winter coming on. Check with local social service agencies about emergency rent assistance programs, and/or let them know that you would be willing to take in short term roommates from placement situations, which might include battered women's shelters, developmentally challenged adults, etc. Social service agency money may make the difference in keeping a roof of your own choosing over your head.

Good luck.
posted by paulsc at 11:08 AM on October 24, 2006

And, no, this lease mentions nothing about us being jointly and severally liable.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 11:12 AM on October 24, 2006

I had to ditch a condo I was renting with a friend of mine because she got engaged and decided to move out. Both of our names were on the original lease, and there was no way I could have afforded it on my own. I discussed this with my landlord, telling him that the best thing I could do would be to give him his property back so he could rent it to someone that could actually afford it (instead of staying there and not being able to pay for it). I rented from an individual instead of an apartment complex or management company.

If there is a lease for $330 between you and your leasing office, your roommate should have a copy of it. Find it.
posted by youngergirl44 at 12:22 PM on October 24, 2006

Also, since this doesn't seem like such a great roommate relationship, tell him that you're willing to take his ass to court too. Since you're unemployed, you have the time to do so. Make him find his goddamned lease and either pay you the money that he's required to until his notice is official (ie next month's rent) or take it up with the rental company. This is, on a fundamental level, his problem just as much as it is yours.
posted by klangklangston at 2:48 PM on October 24, 2006

It really sounds like you're hosed. Without a copy of the roommate's lease, you are officially the only one responsible for that $660. Since the management office can't find their copy (wtf?? and also, wtf is up with the weird quasi-sublet situation?), I think you are out of luck. Roommate obviously has no motivation to provide you a copy of his lease, since that would mean that he has to give you an extra $330, so your only chance is in the management office finding a copy of his lease.
posted by antifuse at 3:07 AM on October 25, 2006