Lease Issues
August 17, 2010 1:24 PM Subscribe
I live with two other people in an apartment in Illinois. The lease holder of the apartment was just hospitalized for what be an extrended period and myself and the other apartment-mate are not on the lease.
I moved into and apartment last year with two other people in Illinois. The lease was originally signed by the person who got the apt first (I'll call him P) and myselft and the other apartment-mate came later. We were never put on the lease due to the insecurity of the of P about god knows what, but it never happened. The two of us were laid back about it and did not press the issue.
Fast forward 8 months and P has a total mental breakdown last weekend and is admitted to a psychiatric ward of a hospital. The diagnosis is still unclear, but it is a serious mental defect, like paranoid schizophrenia and other things. He agreed to be admitted and has since also accepted treatment. As of this writing, he is doing better, but he is not coming home for a while, I would assume.
So the other roomie and I are left with living in an apartment that is not in our name and we are trying to dance around the issue of not being on the lease with the rental office. I want to stay and keep the apartment for, if in the least, for P to have a place to come back to after the hospitalization period ends. He is a good friend of mine and I want to support him, in whatever way I can and is best for him. Having a place that he can come home to and some familiar, friendly faces may be a good part of his recovery.
The question I have at this time is what are my options with regards to my rights as a tenant? (For that matter, am I an official tenant?) While I am not on the lease, I do have the electric bill in my name for this place and have mail delivered here. I did a change of address to this place with the USPS when I moved in as well, so there is some documentation on me living here.
Thanks for reading.
I moved into and apartment last year with two other people in Illinois. The lease was originally signed by the person who got the apt first (I'll call him P) and myselft and the other apartment-mate came later. We were never put on the lease due to the insecurity of the of P about god knows what, but it never happened. The two of us were laid back about it and did not press the issue.
Fast forward 8 months and P has a total mental breakdown last weekend and is admitted to a psychiatric ward of a hospital. The diagnosis is still unclear, but it is a serious mental defect, like paranoid schizophrenia and other things. He agreed to be admitted and has since also accepted treatment. As of this writing, he is doing better, but he is not coming home for a while, I would assume.
So the other roomie and I are left with living in an apartment that is not in our name and we are trying to dance around the issue of not being on the lease with the rental office. I want to stay and keep the apartment for, if in the least, for P to have a place to come back to after the hospitalization period ends. He is a good friend of mine and I want to support him, in whatever way I can and is best for him. Having a place that he can come home to and some familiar, friendly faces may be a good part of his recovery.
The question I have at this time is what are my options with regards to my rights as a tenant? (For that matter, am I an official tenant?) While I am not on the lease, I do have the electric bill in my name for this place and have mail delivered here. I did a change of address to this place with the USPS when I moved in as well, so there is some documentation on me living here.
Thanks for reading.
It's true as roomthreeseventeen points out that normally as long as the rent is paid, the rental office won't find it necessary to ask any questions. However, at some point the lease will run out and there may be questions then. Or some other abnormal situation may arise. It would be a good idea to write out a letter explaining the situation very briefly:
I (P) leased your apartment but I am no longer able to be there due to an illness that requires hospitalization for an extended period. My two friends (state names) have been living with me and I request that you lease the apartment to them. I may move in with them again when my health permits.
Yours, (signature)
You can write this for him and just get him to sign, which he will probably do since you point out that he is doing better.
posted by grizzled at 1:35 PM on August 17, 2010
I (P) leased your apartment but I am no longer able to be there due to an illness that requires hospitalization for an extended period. My two friends (state names) have been living with me and I request that you lease the apartment to them. I may move in with them again when my health permits.
Yours, (signature)
You can write this for him and just get him to sign, which he will probably do since you point out that he is doing better.
posted by grizzled at 1:35 PM on August 17, 2010
Ask the landlord for a new contract with all three of your names on it. Sign it. Return it. If P hasn't been ruled incompetent by a court, he can still sign paperwork.
posted by goblinbox at 1:35 PM on August 17, 2010
posted by goblinbox at 1:35 PM on August 17, 2010
I would check with your local tenants union for advice. It looks like this is the Illinois Tenants Union's website: http://www.tenant.org/
posted by needs more cowbell at 1:50 PM on August 17, 2010
posted by needs more cowbell at 1:50 PM on August 17, 2010
Are you expecting P to pay his 1/3 of the rent until the lease expires? Does he have family that can pay this money and have you been in contact with them?
If P is still willing to pay his 1/3 of the rent then I'd lay low. Just make sure to pay your rent on time and in full every month and deal with the renewal issue with the lease expires. I actually think it's more likely that P will try to get out of the lease based on his medical condition. The apartment complex might be willing to take him off and redraw the lease with just the two of you but will probably want to have completed rental applications, a background/credit check and a new security deposit.
On a side note, if P had issues about adding you to the lease before than I doubt that he's going to be more enthusiastic about now.
posted by victoriab at 2:11 PM on August 17, 2010
If P is still willing to pay his 1/3 of the rent then I'd lay low. Just make sure to pay your rent on time and in full every month and deal with the renewal issue with the lease expires. I actually think it's more likely that P will try to get out of the lease based on his medical condition. The apartment complex might be willing to take him off and redraw the lease with just the two of you but will probably want to have completed rental applications, a background/credit check and a new security deposit.
On a side note, if P had issues about adding you to the lease before than I doubt that he's going to be more enthusiastic about now.
posted by victoriab at 2:11 PM on August 17, 2010
IANAL, IANYL, etc. Please do not do any of the things that have been suggested here without the advice of an attorney versed in Illinois tenant law. These may be good things to do or they may significantly impact both your and P's legal rights. As you seem to recognize, you are on some possibly shaky ground with your landlord and need to know how to proceed while protecting your rights and not screwing up P's rights.
posted by Old Geezer at 2:17 PM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Old Geezer at 2:17 PM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: >> Is your roommate not well enough to write his third of the check?
As of this moment, we are able to get his third out and he is amenable to that happening. In fact, he allowed us to take money out of his account via his debit card which is not exactly the most kosher thing to do, but we are in a bind and we have his permission.
>> if P had issues about adding you to the lease before than I doubt that he's going to be more enthusiastic about now.
Yeah, I sort of figured that too. A lot of the problem stems from his paranoid state. Up to this time it wasn't an issue, but with the recent episode, it may come to the forefront.
In general, as the lease is up on November 01, we can probably ride it out with no problem. I was just worried about what my status was as a roomie without my name on the lease if he gets into his paranoid state again. It is not much time left, but I wasn't planning on moving before the lease was up.
>> Please do not do any of the things that have been suggested here without the advice of an attorney versed in Illinois tenant law.
Understood. We are playing it cool for the time being. Hopefully by letting sleeping dogs lie, it will be resolved with out a hitch. I posted this query on AskMefi just out of a precaution. I am trying to cover all bases.
Thanks for all the advice! I really appreciate it.
posted by lampshade at 3:51 PM on August 17, 2010
As of this moment, we are able to get his third out and he is amenable to that happening. In fact, he allowed us to take money out of his account via his debit card which is not exactly the most kosher thing to do, but we are in a bind and we have his permission.
>> if P had issues about adding you to the lease before than I doubt that he's going to be more enthusiastic about now.
Yeah, I sort of figured that too. A lot of the problem stems from his paranoid state. Up to this time it wasn't an issue, but with the recent episode, it may come to the forefront.
In general, as the lease is up on November 01, we can probably ride it out with no problem. I was just worried about what my status was as a roomie without my name on the lease if he gets into his paranoid state again. It is not much time left, but I wasn't planning on moving before the lease was up.
>> Please do not do any of the things that have been suggested here without the advice of an attorney versed in Illinois tenant law.
Understood. We are playing it cool for the time being. Hopefully by letting sleeping dogs lie, it will be resolved with out a hitch. I posted this query on AskMefi just out of a precaution. I am trying to cover all bases.
Thanks for all the advice! I really appreciate it.
posted by lampshade at 3:51 PM on August 17, 2010
Best answer: The average length of stay in a psychiatric hospital in Illinois is 5-7 days. Of course there are situations when someone will stay in longer, but the likelihood of him being in the hospital until your lease is up is very small, even with a serious mental illness.
posted by la petite marie at 4:26 PM on August 17, 2010
posted by la petite marie at 4:26 PM on August 17, 2010
Response by poster: >> Of course there are situations when someone will stay in longer, but the likelihood of him being in the hospital until your lease is up is very small, even with a serious mental illness.
I hear ya.
Actually, this is an extremely severe case. We are talking full blown delusion and paranoia - stuff like claiming to be Jesus and that the Italian mafia is targeting him. It is not just one isolated case too. He has been slipping consistently for the past few months. In the last couple of weeks, I could barely understand what he was trying to tell me because everything he said just didn't make sense.
Also, he has been hospitalized before on numerous occasions and is on disability. Some friends of his who are familiar with his condition and the recent events are thinking that it could be on the order of weeks or maybe a month or two - it depends on how he responds to medication. The hospital that he is at has had him as a patient before, so they were aware of his case and he is not going to bluff his way out (he can be very charismatic).
Myself, I have never had a roommate who this happened to so severely, so I am am not sure what to expect. I am just trying to stay out of the homeless shelter if things go south.
In the best of worlds, he would accept treatment and get his medication straight and we could continue on as friends and roommates. I really want to see him get well.
posted by lampshade at 4:39 PM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
I hear ya.
Actually, this is an extremely severe case. We are talking full blown delusion and paranoia - stuff like claiming to be Jesus and that the Italian mafia is targeting him. It is not just one isolated case too. He has been slipping consistently for the past few months. In the last couple of weeks, I could barely understand what he was trying to tell me because everything he said just didn't make sense.
Also, he has been hospitalized before on numerous occasions and is on disability. Some friends of his who are familiar with his condition and the recent events are thinking that it could be on the order of weeks or maybe a month or two - it depends on how he responds to medication. The hospital that he is at has had him as a patient before, so they were aware of his case and he is not going to bluff his way out (he can be very charismatic).
Myself, I have never had a roommate who this happened to so severely, so I am am not sure what to expect. I am just trying to stay out of the homeless shelter if things go south.
In the best of worlds, he would accept treatment and get his medication straight and we could continue on as friends and roommates. I really want to see him get well.
posted by lampshade at 4:39 PM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:26 PM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]