Long story short my boyfriend and I lease a two bedroom apartment with a roommate. The three of us have been living together for about three years on good terms without incident. Now a friend of his just moved into a new place and the rent is higher than he thought it would be, so he needs somebody to move into one of the extra rooms ASAP to help him pay the bills. Our roommate was planning on moving out anyway at the end of this lease period, but this put an extra fire under his butt to move out. He wants to move out in late May, but our lease doesn't end till July 13th. I thought about putting an ad on Craigslist, but who the hell is going to want to take over the last 2 months of a lease for an apartment that's been lived in for years, when they could just walk into the leasing office and get a brand new pristine clean one? Our roommate offered to pay half rent until the lease is up, which is better than nothing, but in a way he's still leaving us twisting if our side of the rent is going to go up by half for the mean time.
Any thoughts? If someone here has gone through, or heard of something similar let me know how you worked it out.
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He probably wouldn't agree to it, which at that point I would just bite the bullet, pay for those two months (while keeping all records) then take him to small claims court.
If he says no, well, you may have to eat that extra cost because realistically it probably wouldn't be worth it to take him to small claims court for a mere two months.
Wow, that is escalating really fast. You would take a friend to small claims court just like that?
First thing you should do is look over your lease and see what provisions, if any, are in there for losing a roommate and or subletting. Also talk with your landlord, specifically about the difficulty you will face in being put into this situation. Depending upon your rapport with the landlord and the market scene in your area, they may be willing to meet you in the middle for the rent situation and drop the second half of the missing roommate's rent for the month and a half he would be out of the apartment.
Is your lease for each individual on there (such as, rent by the room agreements) or is it a global lease with all parties signed off on it?
Concerning subletting, Summer is a good time to find a month-long roommate as a lot of students need a place to crash during university closures. It certainly wouldn't be impossible, provided the rent is low enough (if you are charging just the missing holf of the rent, for example, that would probably get you someone fairly quickly). Whether or not you want to live with someone taking up that add is a different question, however.
They see it as "you three owe us X, period..."
The first thing I would do is talk to your friend and explain that he really needs to stick it out till July. It's two more months. If he's intent on moving in with the other guy, maybe he can help that friend with a few bucks to cover a little bit of the new friend's rent instead of offering you guys half rent.
If he's dead set on (intentionally or not) dicking you over, you need to talk to your landlord and explain the situation because a) they might not allow sublets without their permission anyway and b) they might be good with keeping you guys in good standing with rent and just having him owe if anything comes up short. Note: I'm not saying screw over the friend, I'm saying he needs to be a part of that discussion with the leasing office as well.
That said, I'd try to work out a deal with him.
Agreed, I just didn't want it to look like I was saying, "sneak over to the leasing office and tell them this guy is leaving and it's his fault the rent is late" There's obviously better ways to handle the situation.
What an asshole, I'm getting mad just reading about it.
see, this is why living with friends is a bad idea
For anybody who might still be on the man but he's your friend kick, ask yourself this: what kind of friend asks a friend to accept a thousand+ dollar liability just so that he can do a favor for a different buddy?
If you're really good friends and you want to maintain a relationship, I migt take the to "split the difference" deal, assuming you can afford to. I'd only do that for a really close friend though. Whatever you wind up agreeing to with him, make sure you account for any deposit(s) as well.
ed: I mean if he really wants to help his buddy out, perhaps he should chip in for the rent on his new place, then move there when his current lease has ended.
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
You really don't even need to start thinking about anything like small claims court until you've at least done that.
Sit your current roommate down and say,
"You signed a lease with us, we all budgeted for our share of the rent, and by you moving out early and leaving us with your share of the rent, you're really screwing us over. We would like your full share of the rent for the remainder of the lease unless you can help us find someone else to replace you."
I agree with Eat it you Nasty Pig, if he wants to help his buddy out, chip some money his way until his lease is done, all he is doing now is transferring his buddie's debt to you and that isn't fair to you.
The leasing office is renting apartments for one-third of what you're paying now?
Why are you paying it, then?
I think he's referring to the more "college " kind of apartments where they rent out one of three or four rooms in an apartment. You see them online for "rooms starting at $400!" kind of ads.
You can just walk up and rent a single room as long as you don't mind random roommates.
I'm also curious about how your roommate's friend didn't know what his rent was going to be.
Another option: Talk to your landlord if he wants to terminate the lease early, and all three of you move out asap.
Anyway some more info, my boyfriend is currently going to school on his GI bill which runs out in August, and corporate announced that they are closing the store that I work at, so you could imagine that an extra inconsiderate expense like this is the last thing we need. Though let me know what you guys think of this. I've already been told that I'm being transferred and keeping my job, but I'm not supposed to know yet. Would it be wrong to use the fact that I'm not supposed to know yet as a bargaining tool to say, "My boyfriend's GI bill runs out in August, and I might not have a job in a few weeks, this is the last thing we need."
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
The roommate owes you the last two months of the lease in rent. He can either:
1) Pay you directly, as he was doing in the first place
2) Find an appropriate subletter to assume the obligation of rent for him.
You need to be very clear with him about this. It sounds, from your post, as though the roommate is playing on his friendship with you to guilt you into "compromising". Please keep in mind that the bottom line is this: he is doing a favor for HIS friend, and expecting YOU to subsidize it. That's complete bullshit.
(Also, frankly, I would guess that the "rent is higher than he thought it would be" is also complete bullshit. How does that even happen? The guy moved in and suddenly the landlord illegally jacked up the rent? No, I suspect your roommate just wants to move in with his friend early, and has manufactured the 'poor guy needs money' excuse so he can stick you with the rent.)
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Don't assume that being told you're getting transferred to another store, but don't tell anyone because you're totally not supposed to know yet, means anything until you've actually gotten the transfer. Lots of people get told stuff like that to keep them from blowing off the place before the end.
He can't just pay $600 for an empty apartment because he would need another $1200 to cover the rest. Unless I'm not getting what you're saying. The three of your signed a 1 year, $1800/mo lease together and have been splitting the rent evenly. You aren't each, individually, leased to the landlord for your separate room + common area for $600, right? Because if that were the case, you wouldn't be out the money at all. The third roommate would be dealing with the landlord, instead.
So, basically, you're looking for someone who needs a place to live for $600. The fact that there is only 2 months on your lease means nothing if you're planning on re-signing another one or going month-to-month. It's not a matter of taking his 600 bucks and going to the office for a "new apartment." He'd need to take his 1800 bucks to get one, right? The office isn't leasing rooms out separately. And if they are, why the hell didn't you take that route instead when you moved in together?
This is important. He says the rent was more than he thought? How much is more? Double? So much more that needs another person to live with him and split it? I can see overlooking an extra fee for a parking charge or water heater rental or something, but you're not suddenly paying hundreds more than you thought without realizing it.
If it's only a hundred more a month or so, you roommate could likely just lend his buddy the money for the next two months until his lease with you is up and then he could move in. Instead, he's letting you fork over the difference. You're not the other guy's friend. You don't owe him any favours, especially when it puts you out $600 over the next two months.
Yeah I'm looking at this from the same angle. They may not be lying, you might have that job lined up 100%, but until you have signed some kind of contract or gotten some kind of official guarantee the guys word means nothing. I wouldn't plan my finances based on the supposed fact that you are guaranteed the job.
With that in mind, getting your roommate to keep his end of lease is even more important.
In California, leases almost always forbid subletting without the landlord's permission (for obvious reasons).
Note that the "friend"/roommate is not offering to take care of finding a subletter, getting the landlord's approval, etc.; he's just offering to pay half rent, and The_Spaniard is stuck trying to find a replacement. Screw that.
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Because that guy couldn't afford the flat.
If he leaves your two high and dry he is leaving you guys in the exact same situation. He isn't so much fixing a problem than he is moving it onto you two.
You just gotta say that this is a cost that you two flat out cannot afford.
Satans..... hints.....
This third guy (your roommate) is willing to chip in an extra three hundred a month for two months. Have him talk to the fourth guy (the one with the overly expensive apartment) and see if he's willing to lower the rent by three hundred for the first two months only. He might say yes because while it's not the full amount it's more than zero and it is a friends thing.
Satans..... hints.....
I really, really don't think finances are even an issue here. Think logically about this third party guy: how much could the rent really have jumped that he'd need a roommate to split the rent to afford it? Chances are this guy just really wants to move in with his buddy. He's offering the OP and his boyfriend "just enough" so that they accept and he can hop out of this situation. He's not worried about ruining the relationship there, because he'll never see them again anyway. Half the rent might be just enough so they take the money and let him leave without any fuss.
Again, Spaniard, you should be trying to find a roommate. It doesn't matter that this guy fucked you over and you totally shouldn't have to deal with that. It is his fault, but it's going to be your problem. Even if you want to take him to small claims, it's going to be many months before you see any of that money and your rent is due on time, every month. The solution that will see you out of pocket the least is finding someone to take his place. Appeal to his morals and make him help you do that, but the bottom line is that you need another roommate. It doesn't matter if there is only two months on your lease. Like I said before, if you're staying anyway, there might as well be 14 months on your lease. Someone is going to need a place to stay who can't afford an entire place. It's why roommates exist in the first place.
"You're on the hook for the full rent for the remainder of the lease unless you find someone to take your place."
That's it. Then go and help him look and/or look on your own. Now is not the time to start talking about what ought to happen or what people should have to do in this situation. Now is the time to solve your problem.
So get the landlord's permission. If you tell him your roommate is ditching you and you need to find someone to make up that portion of the rent so you can afford the place, he's not going to deny you. Would he like to be paid his rent on time or not? And yes, Spaniard is stuck finding a replacement. Life isn't fair. "Screw that" is not a solution, it's an emotional response that won't do him any good when the landlord is asking where the rest of the rent is.
I don't know all the specifics of his friends deal, just the mention of it he made. We were trying to exhaust all possible avenues of resolving this situation and avoiding conflict before actually having the serious sit-down with him that had the potential to turn ugly. After talking to all our friends, seeing if any of them were interested in a room, posting an ad on CL, and talking to the leasing office, I am good and ready to have that talk. So in the next day or two, when the three of us are here in the apartment at the same time I'm going to call that meeting.
He owes you all of the rent for the duration of the lease. That is his debt. He has to pay it. It's his obligation. He can't "offer to pay half." That is him, in fact, asking you if you'll pay half.
This.
Seriously, this guy is taking the friendship that you seem to cherish for granted. He's asking you to pay about a thousand dollars on his behalf, unless you can magically fix the problem, on your own, by finding a sublet.
If he doesn't change his mindset when you talk to him, you DO need to take up the apartment's offer to mediate this, depending on what it is. It'll help you in the long run.