Am I liable to pay the rent? I never signed a tenancy agreement!!?
Basically I'm a student, I moved into a shared property in September 2009 and never signed a tenancy agreement. I was emailed one by my landlord and he said it needed to be signed and he will come round with the paperwork so we can all sign it (its a joint short hold tenancy agreement). However, he never brought the paperwork round therefore no contract was signed. It was meant to be a 12 month agreement. I moved out last month due to issues with housemates, the state of the property and my personal health problems. I notified the landlord 20 days in advance. The landlord said he will advertise to find a replacement and I will have to keep paying the rent until he finds one. He stated that if he doesn't find a replacement by the end of August then I have to pay him rent up to that time. Some of the issues with the property was there was no smoke alarm (surely, if he's going by the book now then he should have throughout the time of me living there?), no deposit was taken even though the contract stated one will be taken. Also, at one point there were six people living at the property (it is a three bed with lounge and dining room converted into bedrooms, so only communal area is the kitchen. plus there is one bathroom) which I'm sure is against the law? What I want to know is, does he have a legal footing against me? i.e. do I have to pay him rent up to the end of the 'agreement'? My landlord says that I agreed to the contract by moving into the room, however the contract explicitly states "Where two or more persons sign as Tenants all such persons shall be jointly and severally liable for the performance of all covenants, obligations and duties of the Tenant as referred to in this Lease." - No-one signed the contract. I do fear that he could get two of the housemates now to sign the contract now and say it was signed back in September. What do I do??
How do I deal with a co-tenant breaking the lease?
You should first look to your leasing agreement to see if there are any provisions that speak directly to this situation. In some cases, there is a penalty for ending a lease early (especially with such little notice) that may motivate your roommate to stay longer. I wouldn't count on this though, chances are all of you are responsible for the full amount of the rent. Right now, you should be in damage control mode. This means finding a new, suitable roommate ASAP. The first thing you should do is ask your landlord if there is some sort of waiting list (this is common with off-campus student housing) and have them notify the people on the list that there will soon be an opening. If your landlord doesn't have a waiting list, ask around to see if you know someone who is interested in moving or place an ad on Craig's List or another website that deals with rentals. You should also let the roommate who's leaving know you still expect them to pay their share of the utilities for which you'll likely get the bill after they are long gone. If you can, use the past months to estimate what this bill is likely to be and see if you can't get them to pay their share before they leave. If they don't end up paying this, you and your other roommates may have a claim against them, but depending on the amount, it may not make financial sense to pursue this in court. Good luck!
Can a person move into my jointly owned home without my permission?
If they have the permission of the person with whom you jointly own the property, then most likely yes (though that could vary depending on your jurisdiction).Part of the nature of joint ownership is that you lack complete exclusive control over the property. Absent other issues (e.g. a restraining order), joint owners share the ability to invite guests.
Help! Moving out of private rented student accommodation, can no longer live here, whats going to happen?
I am a final year university student. I live in a rented house with 3 other people. These 3 people knew each other prior to me moving in, so i am the odd one out in a way. I have been unable to live here happily. I have paid rent for the last 7 months, but have recently decided that i am unable to live here. The house is very very cold and does not keep heat in, i do not have a lot of money but my housemates control all of the fuel usage and have caused high bills, but the house is still cold. I have paid for bills even when i have been away from the house for over a month, unfairly in my opinion. I have somewhere to live if i move out of here, but the landlord will not agree to end the tenancy. I have been advised to walk away and keep myself happy because i am so unhappy in this house that it is making me depressed as i am often confined to my room as 2 of the housemates I live with are a couple and act as if they live here alone. I have instructed my bank not to pay the rent any longer and i have already paid for the rest of this month so i will move out this week. Will they chase me for the rent, even though i've been willing to lose my deposit. I hope to avoid them, and my guarantor has advised me to walk away as he will play dumb i they come looking for the rent when i've gone of the radar. anyone have any experience with this?
My roommate wants to leave country, but refuses to pay his share of rent for the remaining lease. What are my options?
A2ANote: The lease in question ended in September 2014; I’ve recently been asked to answer this, so I’ll answer it with a more general answer, for the record, knowing that the situation has long been resolved for the questioner.You are almost certainly liable for your roommates share of the rent, should your roommate abandon the apartment before the lease is up.The default in most states is “joint and several liability”; check your local law, and hope that’s not in the lease.But it’s not going to matter for your mother; as guarantor, she’s liable for your roommates part, even if you can wiggle out of it personally. It’s the same as if she had cosigned for a loan.May I make a suggestion?Have your mom call his mom.Depending on which part of Asia your roommate is from, there will be considerable pressure on them to do the right thing.Another possibility is to look for a new roommate now, before your roommate is ready to leave.If you find one, and your landlord is OK with the new person replacing the person who wants to leave you and your mom on the hook for the full lease amount…Kick the departing roommate out.You can offer to let them stay on the couch — no more than a week — while they look for somewhere else to live, if you are kind-hearted, but they are no longer a roommate after they have been replaced.If they find this upsetting, then point out to them the fact that them leaving the apartment before the lease is up is no different than the apartment leaving them before the lease is up.Make it clear they they are gone in no more than 30 days, no matter what, since you are willing to start eviction proceedings to get them removed, if you have to.Intent to breach the lease is the same as breaching the lease; you don’t have to tell them that the landlord would have to be involved in the eviction itself.But it’s likely the landlord would be happy to cooperate, if the person was going to leave them with a pain in the neck regarding collecting the full rent from you and/or your mother, rather than the roommate honoring their commitment.
If I have co-signed a lease for an apartment and my co-signee moves out before our lease is up with no intention of paying anything more or finding a replacement, what is my next step if I can't afford the rent on my own?
It depends on whether you're on a fixed-term or periodical lease, but by saying "before our lease is up", I'm assuming you're on a fixed-term lease. Your co-tenant is obliged to pay rent for the entire duration of the contract. Having said that, if your co-tenant stops paying rent, it puts your whole lease into arrears and affects you, as you may be served with an eviction notice for non-payment, even if you're paid your half. You are "jointly and severally liable" for paying rent, which means that you can be held responsible for your co-tenant's portion of the rent, if they don't pay. If you're easier to find (eg because the co-tenant has gone interstate or overseas), or if you have a better paying job, the landlord may find it easier to come after you for the whole balance remaining on the lease, and whilst you can sue your former co-tenant, you may not have any more luck than the landlord in tracking them down and/or getting money from them. So it's not a pleasant situation to be in.Your best course of action is to be pro-active and find a replacement yourself; that way you know that your lease is secure, and you can find somebody who you'd like to live with. And make sure that you don't allow your co-tenant to get their portion of the bond refunded, at least until your new co-tenant moves in.Make sure that you keep the property manager at the real estate agent informed as to your co-tenant's intentions, and ensure you lodge all the appropriate forms (eg form 6 which states who gets how much of the bond at the end of the tenancy), and that any damage or cleaning due to your co-tenant is taken into consideration.There are loads of possible things that can go wrong. But in summary, you need to:1) Try and find a new co-tenant ASAP,2) Ring the RTA and/or Tenants' Union for advice on protecting your own interests, and3) Keep the PM / landlord up-to-date on the situation.