Posted: 4/8/2008 1:56:58 PM EDT
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My girlfriend is in college and is sharing a 2 bedroom apartment with a friend. They split the rent evenly and the landlord doesn't care how she gets the money as long as she gets it. My gf has paid on time every month but her roommate is like 3 months behind plus late charges. Now they are both getting sued together. My girlfriend has check stubs and bank statements showing she has paid every month, but since they are lumped together she is getting taken down because of her roommate. Regardless of what could have been done to prevent this, what do you recommend she do now? It doesn't make sense to hire a lawyer because that will cost more than the back rent. (Btw, I told her not to live with this girl in the first place, but I am smart enough not to remind my gf of this fact.) |
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That's what I was thinking. She could pay all of it off for her roommate to avoid eviction/being sued and then turn around and sue her roommate, correct? This would avoid credit issues in the future. Believe me, they are no longer friends at this point so she would not feel bad about doing this. They only have 1 more month on the lease and my gf is moving out. |
Yes. And if your GF doesn't pay the landlord can sue her. If he wins that means he can garnish her wages, bank account etc. She's far better off going the route you mentioned. |
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They send seperate checks... Apparently there's a roommate 1 and a roommate 2 according to the landlord and roommate 1 is all paid up and roommate 2 is not. However, the landlord doesn't care who is paying and who is not. What is the liklihood that my gf will get the money out of her deadbeat roommate if she goes to small claims? |
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You need to read the lease and consult an attorney licensed to practice law in your jurisdiction who is knowledgable about landlord-tenant law. Speaking only in general terms and without knowledge of your specific situation, almost all the residential leases I have seen hold the lesees jointly and severally liable for the full amount of the rent. This means that the landlord can choose to collect from one or both of them the entire amount. If your GF ends up having to pay the full amount, she theoretically has a right of contribution from her roomate. That is to say she can sue the roomate for the rent she had to pay on her behalf. That said, her roomate is likely judgment proof (has no assets), and your GF probably can't recover her legal fees unless there is a contractual provision to that effect. The practical effect is that she should pay the full rent to avoid a possible judgement against her an ensuing credit problems and move out as soon as she can get out of the lease. Be more careful choosing a roomate next time. |
It can be tedious. You often have to get a further judgement for the defendent to pay if successful in the initial small claims suit, then the defendent could be garnished. Lots of court work; losers know how to play the game. Simplest would be to pay what's owed and get the landlord to evict the deadbeat. |
