I pit my fucking fairyland-living roommate!

[UKCatGirl]

I put up with you moronic questions, theories, and lack of basic skills required to live on your own. Just to sum up what I've taught you the past few months:

-Squirrels do live in Florida, not just up north;

-Tires have air in them, and you should check it regularly. Yes, this means that when you have a flat tire there is not just a "dent" in the rubber;

-Rabbits are not just pets, in fact I would venture to say most are in the wild;

-You can't keep the air on 60 fucking degrees unless you want to pay the fucking outrageous bill, or alternatively, deal with the a/c freezing up;

-Yes you dumbass, you can find rocks outside, you don't have to buy them at the store!!!!

There are many, many more, but it hurts my head and actually drops my IQ to keep recounting them. (As an aside, I swear to the readers that each of these things has happened, I don't think I could make this stuff up.) I dealt with all of this because you have been a good friend to me in the two years I've known you, I had every reason to believe you are basically a good person all-around, and I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. In the past two and a half months we've had our apartment, you have also been a good roommate, save throwing out some of my food without telling me. As of yesterday, I no longer believe these things about you.

You came in and decided to tell me that you want to get an apartment with your boyfriend (Shawn), and another couple (Sarah and John) that you know. This would be effective next fucking month, with you knowing that you and I have a year lease. You expected me to be fine with this! I explained--and rather calmly I might add-- that if you did this I would have no roommate, and that I know no one looking for an apartment, because everyone I know goes to school up here and already has somewhere to live!

You left the room and I called a mutual friend to see if you had spewed this nonsense on anyone else, and to confirm that they told you it was a horrible idea, as I was sure any sane person would state. Nope our dumbass friend said that you "need to do what makes [you] happy!" Umm what the fuck? This dumbass also said that maybe I should post signs to find someone to live with me. No, sorry I'm not living with someone I don't know and risk getting robbed and a myriad of other problems just so my fuckwit of a roommate can follow her fucking heart and be happy!

So roommate, listen up and see if you can get this through your fucking amoeba that you try to pass off as a functioning brain: You have known your boyfriend Shawn for five months, and only been dating him for two. You've known the other couple for less than that. Any rational person would avoid getting into a legal, binding contract in a situation like that. Which brings me to my next point. We have one of those legal, binding contracts! It's called a fucking lease! And it's for an entire year! Not for three months or until you get a new boyfriend or until the seasons change or however long your little pixie-dust-filled heart wishes it to be!

If you try and screw me on this, legal action WILL be taken against you! I don't care if you told our mutual friend, "I don't want to lose our friendship," if you try and go through with this, what the hell did you think my reaction would be? "Oh yeah I'm out a roommate and $600 a month, but that's cool, we're still BFF?" Maybe when Satan and Old Man winter have a love child that is pronouced ruler of the universe and freezes every lava lake in Hell and the devil himself mans the counter that rents the ice skates!

In short, whether you know it or not, you live in the real world and have to act accordingly. Grow the fuck up, bitch!

[Ensign Edison]

But what did she need the rocks for?

[Operation Ripper]

But is she hot though?

[Anaamika]

Nothing destroys a friendship faster than living together.

[Count Blucher]

Originally Posted by Ensign Edison

But what did she need the rocks for?

My guess is cranial balast, as she lost her marbles...

[tdn]

Hold the phone -- she thought that the only place you could get rocks is a the store?

There's got to be more to the story than that. Please spill.

And I'd inform your landlord that your roommate, and not you, is going to try to break the lease.

[UKCatGirl]

She wanted the rocks to destroy some jeans, lol.

And yes, she is hot, which is how she's been able to survive this long.

And I had heard many times that nothing destroys a friendship faster than living together. Some backstory I did not include was that we did basically live together (there were other roommates then) for almost a year before we actually got our own apartment. During that time, everything was fine, so I assumed that if there were no problems in the first year, us having our own apartment would be no problem. And like I said in the OP, as a roommate she is ok, as far as typical roommate problems go. In fact we have had no fights at all since moving into this apartment, this plan of hers was completely out of the blue. From what I understand she just wants to live with her boyfriend and his friends, and that there is no specific problem that she has with me. Which I think pisses me off the most, because if we fought all the time or something, I would maybe understand where she was coming from.

[FatBaldGuy]

so, whose name is on the lease? Yours, hers, or both? This could make a big difference in how you are able to deal with this legally.

[Jodi]

Originally Posted by FatBaldGuy

so, whose name is on the lease? Yours, hers, or both? This could make a big difference in how you are able to deal with this legally.

This is my question too. If her name is on the lease and she wants to pay $600 a month for your apartment and live somewhere else -- sounds like a great set-up for you! (Yeah, I know that's not how it will work out.)

[UKCatGirl]

tdn, there's really not more to the rock story than that. She's just completely unaware of the world around her apparently.

[UKCatGirl]

I'm sorry for making all these posts, my connections running slowly and it's taking me a couple minutes for each post to process.

But to answer, both of our names are on the lease. So she can't really do much to screw me, right? That's part of the reason I posted this. This is only my second apartment and second lease, so I really don't know where I stand. I assumed that since she is on the lease too, that should safeguard me in some way.

[FatBaldGuy]

Here is a previous thread about a similar situation. You may want to take a copy of the lease and have a lawyer look at it to find out exactly what your legal options are.

Good luck.

[Scarlett67]

Originally Posted by UKCatGirl

I pit my fucking fairyland-living roommate!

Well, what do you expect when you live in Disney World?

It's a small world after all,
It's a small world after all,
It's a small world after all,
It's a small, small world!

[tdn]

Gotcha on the rock story.

Here is my legal advice. Keep in mind that I have been edumacated by both Judge Judy and Judge Joe Brown. So what follows is the absolute law of the land. (NOT!)

If she skips out, she is beholden to you for the rent. However, you are beholden to your landlord. You are responsible for all $1200 of the rent. If you don't pay it you could face eviction. Yes, you would also have a legal claim against ditzgirl, but by the time that actually gets to court, you may already be out on the street.

Now, can a real lawyer weigh in on this?

[ivylass]

Since your friend is clueless, is it possible she is unaware of the term "breaking the lease" and the legal consequences thereof?

Maybe if you use small words and pictures drawn in crayon it might seep into her thick skull.

[Cheesesteak]

Originally Posted by UKCatGirl

I assumed that since she is on the lease too, that should safeguard me in some way.

Unfortunately, if she doesn't pay, and you don't pay, then the landlord may still try to evict you or sue you. He's not getting the full rent, he may be better off evicting you and renting to someone who can actually pay.

If you suck up the additional cost, you should be able to go after her for the remaining money, but it will be a royal pain, and you may never actually get the money. It depends on how much of a deadbeat she wants to be.

All of this, of course, is dependant on your local laws, and the fine print of your lease. Maybe you should head to the library or bookstore and see if you can bone up on what your rights and responsibilities are.

[tdn]

As an amusing(?) anecdote, I lived in a place with two roomates, and we had an agreement -- If one person moved out, he would have to find a replacement roommate. This was a Very Bad idea. The person moving out had absolutely no stake in finding someone who, say, showered.

Yes, those were interesting times indeed.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by Cheesesteak

Maybe you should head to the library or bookstore and see if you can bone up on what your rights and responsibilities are.

I just Googled on "florida tenancy laws" and got more hits than I'm willing to link to here. It's all on the web.

[UKCatGirl]

Thank you for the advice everyone. I'm having a talk with her about this when she gets home in a couple of hours, and I'll fully know what I'm dealing with then. I really just needed to scream about this somewhere, because I was in a state of shock last night when she brought this up. I needed to hear feelings about this from sensible people. Living with a dumbass can mess with your head and patience a little bit, y'know?

And I probably could come up with the extra money (but it wouldn't be easy), so I know I most likely won't end up getting sued by the landlord. I will make it absolutely clear to my roommate that if she wants to break the lease I will be reading up on my rights, contacting a lawyer, and if need be I will not hesitate to sue her for the lost money.

As I said, this was out of the blue, which is just adding to my anger. She had always been a really good friend, and we even had a vacation planned for June. Looks like I might have to reevaluate those plans now.

[Iggins]

I did have a roomate in college who decided to live with his girlfriend. He paid his portion of the rent at our place, and was never there. Kinda nice, really! Best of luck to you...

[jjimm]

Unethical advice follows: if she is as stupid as it seems, you could let her "know" (whatever the reality) that she would be liable for the whole of the rest of her lease for the rest of its term, or she'll go to jail.

Just a thought.

[Carol the Impaler]

Are you a University student? I know UT (that's TEXAS, bitch, not Tennessee) they had a legal service for students that you could use for free, set up for situations like this. They wouldn't represent you, exactly, but they'd give you legal advice.

When I was in my 20's I was looking for an apartment. I was looking at one complex, and the gal who was showing them (my age) told me she was looking for a roommate, actually, and she got a break on the rent as part of her job, and would I consider living with her?

We had gotten along so well up to that point, that I took a chance and moved in with her.

Things went perfectly. We got along really well. We became good friends. There was talk of being in each other's weddings.

Now, shortly after she and I moved in together, she introduced me to a friend of hers and said that her friend was also looking for an apartment when she got back from her semester abroad. Would it be ok for her to move in, too? They'd of course share her bedroom and I could keep my own. I'd met this gal. A bit of a diva and kinda stupid, but nice enough. Sure, no problem.

Well, my roomie (the first) was a grad student and working at the complex part time. I was working full time and going to school part time. Diva is a FT undergrad.

Diva returns from her semester abroad, and one night they call a "meeting" and tell me that I will pay more, much more, in rent or else. (Well, Diva says this. Roomie #1 doesn't say much at all.) Why? Because I make more, of course! I'm working full time! Plus, I have my own room!! It's not faaaaaaaiiiiiirrrrrr!!!

Uh, I don't think so.

I work out the math. I say, okay, let's split up the rent differently, then. Based it on square footage, with all of us paying equal amounts for common areas. This gives The Diva and the now re-named Ball-less Wonder an advantage for sharing a room.

Nope. Unacceptable. Oh, and BTW sayeth The Diva, you're a pig and it was always my intention to live just with Roomie #1 and not you and we've been writing letters to each other all last semester about how horrible you are.

Huh. Interesting - especially the pig part since it's ROOMIE #1 who leaves dishes in the sick, beer cans all over the apartment after a party, her clothes all over your bed when you're abroad.

Well, once I discovered that my name wasn't on the lease anywhere (as it had to be only in Roomie #1's name to get the discount on the rent), I quietly made arrangements to get the hell out. They came home one day and I was GONE. No more rent from me, ya bitches.

BTW, this ridiculous situation is how I found out about UT's student legal services... quite handy.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Originally Posted by jjimm

Unethical advice follows: if she is as stupid as it seems, you could let her "know" (whatever the reality) that she would be liable for the whole of the rest of her lease for the rest of its term, or she'll go to jail.

Just a thought.

I was going to suggest something similar to this. You can turn her intellectal disabilities to your own advantage. Let her get the idea that the landlord will come after her for her share of the balance of the lease (which I think he could actually do if he wanted to). At least let her know that she WILL end up in court one way or the other and imply that she could end up having her wages garnisheed or her car taken away (none of which would ever happen but if you say "I'd hate to see you get your car taken away," it really isn't a lie).

[Contrapuntal]

Originally Posted by UKCatGirl

She had always been a really good friend, and we even had a vacation planned for June. Looks like I might have to reevaluate those plans now.

Ya think?

[E-Sabbath]

Have you contacted her parents about this? Get legal advice, but you may want to add the parents into the situation. It may help... or not.

[Vinyl Turnip]

Huh. There are no squirrels in north Florida? Did they migrate?

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Go Big Blue!

[Ins&Outs&What-have-yous]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Chitwood

Go Big Blue!

ditto

[UKCatGirl]

Niblet_head, I go to the University of Central Florida, so I will definitely look into what kind of legal help the school has to offer.

jjimm and Diogenes, that thought actually crossed my mind too. The only problem is that although she's dumber than a box of rocks, her boyfriend, parents, and other people she would go to for help aren't. When I had my talk with her tonight I was very tempted to try that angle, but thought that might not look good for me if it goes to court and she says that I tried to make her believe she was responsible for all of the rent.

Our conversation tonight was very interesting though. Many times I had to try to contain my urge to scream at her at the top of my lungs so she wouldn't be able to say that she was afraid to live with a crazy person. When I made the point to her that I would be willing to let her boyfriend move in here so her rent would be less she made up a list of other reasons she wanted to move. First she said that if she stayed my cat would have to leave. Her reason for this is that in the past two weeks she's been sniffly and woken up coughing at night because of my cat. Fine, except all the problems with her logic: 1) the cat is never in her room, and rarely in the common area; 2) she's been fine the rest of the time, and absolutely nothing has changed; and 3) I knew her before we moved to Orlando for college and she had a cat and a dog at home that I know for a fact regularly slept in her room. I replied that if that was truly the problem why didn't she tell me when it first started happening? her answer:"I don't like confrontation." I told her that I would be willing to vacuum every single day to keep cat hair at an absolute minimum. Then she had to come up with another "problem."

She said that since I don't have a job, and she works full time and takes a few classes, that I'm "not a good influence" on her. Supposedly when she knows I'm at home she is tempted to not go to her night classes. I called bullshit by pointing out that when she skips her classes, it's not to hang out with me, but so she can fuck her boyfriend, who gets off work at 3:30! And also, I'm not her babysitter. If she doesn't have the fucking self control to make herself go to school and work, I certainly am not the one to blame. Then I reminded her what I had told her and everyone else--after I healed from my getting my wisdom teeth extracted, I HAD to get a job. In fact, I'm going to a job fair at Disney tomorrow, so that logic doesn't stick either.

The biggest problem is the cat thing though. She knows that I most likely won't get rid of it, and I'm damn well not getting rid of it when I think she's lying about her allergies in the first place. And, correct me if I'm wrong, don't people with minor pet allergies become more immune the more they're exposed to the source anyway? If she's truly allergic, I know it's not a severe issue, because of the history that's stated above. But I'm not completely stubborn, if there were steps I could take to help a minor allergy, I would be more than willing. I just doubt my ability to lessen an allergy that doesn't exist.

I'll have to see how all of this unfolds in the next few days, but right now her choices are to deal with her "allergy," move out and find me a suitable roommate to replace her, or move out and continue to pay the rent that she owes. I'm trying not to sound like a "crazy cat lady" here, but that cat is a much better roommate than she is, so tough shit if she thinks I'm getting rid of it.

[UKCatGirl]

E-Sabbath, I will bring her parents into this if need be, I wanted a chance to talk to her first. They seem reasonable, and I really don't think her dad would think highly of her breaking a contract.

Vinyl Turnip, you may be whooshing me here, or maybe I didn't state that part well in the OP. Her position was that squirrels do not live in Florida, that they only live up north. I educated her otherwise.

Jimmy and Architect: Learn it, Live it, Love it!!

[MrDantastic]

First of all, I'm sorry you have an idiot for a roommate. My roommates are very similar. They think someone just comes in and magically does all the dishes and takes out the trash when they are done making a mess.

I think calling her parents would be a hit below the belt, but completely necessary if she still wants to move out. Her parents might not even know she wants to move in with her boyfriend, maybe she has told them she is moving in with some of her girl friends.

Good luck, and keep us updated and let us know what happens.

[zagloba]

And, correct me if I'm wrong, don't people with minor pet allergies become more immune the more they're exposed to the source anyway?

IANAMD, butmy own cat allergies didn't develop significant symptoms until a few years after I'd got my cats. From what you've said though, I think your roomie is probably faking or mistaken.

[Nava]

Originally Posted by UKCatGirl

And, correct me if I'm wrong, don't people with minor pet allergies become more immune the more they're exposed to the source anyway? If she's truly allergic, I know it's not a severe issue, because of the history that's stated above. But I'm not completely stubborn, if there were steps I could take to help a minor allergy, I would be more than willing. I just doubt my ability to lessen an allergy that doesn't exist.

Not AFAIK; I'm not a doctor but several friends are mega-allergic and they keep developing new allergies on top of the old ones. Real fun, for example for that one who's a vet and became allergic to cats (he went into a second career as an air traffic controller after having to be taken into the ER twice because of terrible reactions).

But in any case, if she suspects she's got an allergy she should see a doctor. The doctor may give her some antihistamines and/or get her checked (hereabouts, if a specific allergen is suspect, they get you checked, under the notion that if you can avoid the allergen it's better than taking antihistamines every day "just in case").

Check out the legal situation and give a second thought to getting another roomie. The only case where one of my roomies was someone I knew beforehand turned out to be one of my Roomies From Hell and I've had both real bad and real good roomies. In some cases we didn't become friends or anything, but there was also no problems re. cleaning, sharing food, buying some stuff for the roomie since anyway you were going to the supermarket for yourself etc.; we just lived separate lives which happened to include the same kitchen, bathroom and living room.

[MrFantsyPants]

I agree with the others who suggest the the cat-allergies thing is just an excuse. If you find a way to eliminate that reason, she will come up with another. Perhaps tell her that you are looking for another home for the cat, and see what her reaction is. This should show if she is lying or not.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by MrFantsyPants

This should show if she is lying or not.

It's pretty obvious. She wants out of there, and there's really nothing that's going to stop her. If she's made aware of her financial liability, then if she's smart (huh?) she'll find a way to make it work.

[Count Blucher]

I third the idea of approaching the 'rentals. Odds are they're paying for some part of her education, and while they might not be thrilled by her majoring in basket weaving, they'll go out of their minds if they think they are supporting her new major of "modern matress-dance".

Of course she'll hate you and the rest of your lease will be less than pleasant (I'd get a lock for your room; a Nice Strong one). And yes, I also agree that you need to start canvassing for a replacement roommate via flyers, student center bulletin boards, and the school newspaper.

[UKCatGirl]

My information about allergies possibly diminishing with more exposure came from my friend who at first couldn't be in a room with dogs or cats, but now lives with them. He said he's gotten to a point where he can pet them for a short time and be okay. Could be an isolated incident, that's not the same for everyone though.

As I was laying in bed last night though, I thought of another little tidbit of information, and now I'm almost 100% certain she's lying about this. Her boyfriend has a dog that he brings over to visit sometimes, and the dog sleeps in her room. She pets the dog and plays with it, and is certainly not concerned about his hair floating around her room. Except she said she's allergic to dog and cat hair, so that definitely does not sound right. Oh, and I did suggest taking something for her allergies. She replied that she didn't want to take a pill everyday.

I know she's does doing all of this so she can move out with her boyfriend, and she's going to come up with excuse after excuse until she gets what she wants, or until it gets really messy. I really appreciate all of the advice, and I know that it's essentially common knowledge that living together ruins friendships, but it worked for the year before, although admittedly it wasn't just the two of us. I figured our only problems would be minor, typical roommate stuff like someone leaving a dirty dish out, or who was supposed to take the trash out that week. I decided I wouldn't let small problems escalate and ruin our friendship, because in the long run it wouldn't be worth it. This is different though. The best way to piss me off is to lie about things.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

Originally Posted by Scarlett67

Well, what do you expect when you live in Disney World?

It's a small world after all,
It's a small world after all,
It's a small world after all,
It's a small, small world!

<SLAPS Scarlett67 with a Wet Trout in a FRENZY>

DO!
NOT!
SING!
THAT!
HERE!
EVER!
AGAIN!

[Damuri Ajashi]

Originally Posted by UKCatGirl

In short, whether you know it or not, you live in the real world and have to act accordingly. Grow the fuck up, bitch!

If she really wants to move out, there isn't really much you can do about it.
You just need to make sure that she understands that she is still liable on the lease.

Check your lease (and any addendums), it may forbid things like subleasing, boarding or rooming in which case she can move out but noone else can move in (unless you feel like you should risk eviction to accomodate her).

If your lease allows for subleasing, a sublease usually requires both of your signatures, she can't just dump someone on you. Basically, if she wants to move out, she will have to pay two rents unless she can find someone you are happy with.

[UKCatGirl]

I know others in this complex who have taken someone off the lease and put another on, however I don't know how much trouble they went through to accomplish that. Obviously I plan on researching that. I have let her know that she will still be liable for her portion, but I'm going to continue reminding her of this daily. She often forgets things people tell her and denies that she was ever told in the first place. Much in the same way she decided we have a ghost because a jacket was hung up in her room and she didn't remember doing it--even though I did see her do it and told her so. Anyway, I know the landlord probably won't get into this and hold her liable, because he doesn't care who his money comes from. I will make sure she is held liable by someone, even if it has to be a court.


*As a side-note here, on the off chance anyone happens to recall my thread about being attacked by a cat, I just wanted to clarify that the cat she may or may not be allergic to is not the cat in that thread. That cat lives at my mother's house two hours away from here. Just making sure everyone knows I'm not fighting to keep a homicidal cat here against my roommate's wishes!

[E-Sabbath]

I think that her parents are probably the people you should deal with, after getting local advice. Do they know about her plan to move in with her boyfriend? Do they subsidize her at all?

[The Weird One]

It sounds to me like this has already soured your relationship to the point where you probably don't want to live together anyway; what about asking her to stay just until you find a replacement roomie?

I had the opposite problem happen to me when I was in college. There were four of us living in a three-bedroom apartment, and after nearly a year, it was feeling pretty crowded. I let my roommates know that I would be moving out when the lease was up, and why. Then one of my roommates (who was also really annoying and part of the reason I was moving out) said that she was planning on moving in with some different friends, so I said, in that case, I'd stay. A couple weeks before we had to renew the lease for another year, I hadn't heard her say anything about her new place in a while, so I asked her about it. "Oh," she said lightly, "I decided not to move out after all." Well, gee, do you think you could have MENTIONED THIS at some point?!? Fortunately, I was able to quickly find a good apartment and let my old landlord know that I wouldn't be renewing my part of the lease.

[FairyChatMom]

Man, what is it about UCF and roomies?? My daughter and her best-friend-since-kindergarten roomed together down there. Then best-friend got a boyfriend who moved in. Then one thing led to another, and my daughter is now living alone again. Frankly, it's worth it to me to subsidize her rent to keep her out of that mess.

Good luck with your whacko-roomie. Some day, you'll look back on this and laugh. Maybe.

[Shayna]

First of all, just a little ignorance fighting here; animal allergies aren't related to the fur, but to a protein found in the dander and saliva. When microscopic particles of this protein become airborne, symptoms will occur.

Originally Posted by UKCatGirl

But to answer, both of our names are on the lease. So she can't really do much to screw me, right? That's part of the reason I posted this. This is only my second apartment and second lease, so I really don't know where I stand. I assumed that since she is on the lease too, that should safeguard me in some way.

Originally Posted by UKCatGirl

And I probably could come up with the extra money (but it wouldn't be easy), so I know I most likely won't end up getting sued by the landlord. I will make it absolutely clear to my roommate that if she wants to break the lease I will be reading up on my rights, contacting a lawyer, and if need be I will not hesitate to sue her for the lost money.

Originally Posted by UKCatGirl

Niblet_head, I go to the University of Central Florida, so I will definitely look into what kind of legal help the school has to offer.

Originally Posted by UKCatGirl

I know others in this complex who have taken someone off the lease and put another on, however I don't know how much trouble they went through to accomplish that. Obviously I plan on researching that. I have let her know that she will still be liable for her portion, but I'm going to continue reminding her of this daily.

Stop guessing and assuming and planning on researching and pull the lease out and read it! See exactly what it says about subletting and your rights and responsibilities should she leave you holding the bag. Contact Student Legal Services. [They're] located in the Ferrell Commons, Room 155 right across from the counseling and Testing center, and open Monday - Friday from 8am - 5pm. You can call them at 407-823-2538, or email them at stulegal@mail.ucf.edu. They can and will help you. The very first bullet point on their "What We Do" page says:

The purpose of this program is to encourage students to seek the advice of an attorney when they anticipate or encounter legal difficulties. The on-campus attorneys will advise students on any type of legal problem, with the exception of those situations listed under Restrictions.

In addition, legal representation up to and including all stages of trial will be provided in certain types of cases, of which the following are representative:

* Landlord/tenant problems affecting students living arrangements in the community.

It's all fine and good to rant and release your frustration here. But be very careful what kind of legal repercussions you threaten her with, because you may very well turn out to be wrong. If she moves out, doesn't find you a new roommate and doesn't pay her share of the rent, you might think you can get away with holding her liable for her half of the rent for the full term of the lease, but you might very well be wrong. It's possible that in your jurisdiction you might be legally bound to mitigate your damages by finding a new roommate as soon as possible, even if that means letting her off the hook. It sucks that she may not end up having to suffer the consequences of her bad act, but don't go off half-cocked threatening legal action that could end up biting you in the ass in the long run.

Good luck! I hope you can get rid of this twit with a minimal of headache and heartache.

[hajario]

Calm down, peeps. Roomie is a flighty air head and will probably change her mind again or never get up the gumption to actually pack her crap and move in the first place. Before you get in her face, call the 'rents and get all legal on her which will just make the situation worse, make sure that she actually intends to follow through which is doubtful.

I'd just inform her calmly that she whether she lives there or not she is responsible for the rent. Don't even bother to argue with her about cats and dishes in the sink. It deflects from the main issue.

"The cat bothers me"..."That's irrelevant, you are still responsible for half of the rent."

"You are a bad influence."..."That's irrelevant, you are still responsible for half of the rent."

"But I'm in looooove."..."That's irrelevant....."

[Mama Tiger]

Since you say she claims she doesn't remember things people tell here when it's inconvenient, you might want to give it to her in writing, and copy someone else, like maybe your landlord, on the letter; that way she can't claim she didn't know she's liable for her share of the lease. A letter with confirmation of receipt -- make her sign for it -- almost always trumps an oral "Nobody told me!"

And I fourteenth the instructions to go talk to student legal services ASAP! Good luck; she sounds like a total flake.

[Martin Hyde]

My question to you is, do you want to continue living at the current residence, even at the price of $1200 per month (and possibly whatever additional utilities you will have to pay for because you are not splitting those bills any more--but that may be included in your rent.)?

If the answer is no, then you need to start looking for another place ASAP if you really do not wish to live with someone you don't know (although lifelong friends can be made that way, it is a risk you end up with a loser.) If you're okay finding a replacement roommate, you probably have other options.

First, I suggest you do talk to your land lord. My brother owns a property management company, so I'm somewhat anectdotally familiar with situations like this. In general most land lords have you sign a joint and several lease, meaning that the tenants who have signed their name to the lease are going to be responsible for X amount of rent each month.

In general, most of his multi-bedroom units he receives checks each month in equal amounts from each tenant. Legally speaking, however, tenant A isn't responsible for $600 in rent, nor is tenant B, tenant A+B are responsible for $1200 in rent.

When he has cases of one tenant breaking a lease, he will typically keep that tenant's deposit, tell the other tenant to begin looking for a new roommate, and then he will also place advertisements for a bedroom in a 2 bedroom apartment.

Not every land lord will assist you in this way, my brother does it because he knows most people who live in a 2-bedroom split rent, and one tenant usually cannot afford to pay the entire monthly rent, he knows it is highly difficult to get blood from a stone, and it is in his interests to get another paying tenant in that spot ASAP.

In the meantime he will put pressure on the tenant who is moving out to continue paying rent, sometimes they agree to do so until a new tenant is found, sometimes they don't. He'll use the deposit as a bargaining tool in this, making the general offer that if the tenant who is moving out continues to pay rent until they find a replacement, he will refund them their deposit when a new tenant moves in.

If it's a situation where a lease has been broken by a tenant 1-2 months in a 12 month lease, and he can't quickly find a new tenant, he will usually offer to move the remaining tenant into a 1 bedroom unit, and will at that point draw up a new lease and etc for the remaining tenant, confiscate the tenant who moved out's deposit, and also typically work through a collection's agency to get the rent that the tenant who moved out is legally liable for (in general if you break a lease you do not become liable for all 12 months of the lease, but most states make you liable for some period of rent, and you are always liable for back-rent.)

[ShelliBean]

You are an undergrad student with no job and you can swing $1200 rent if you have to?
Please tell me how you do that, because I would really like to get in on that.

[appleciders]

I'm gonna fifteenth the "go talk to Student Legal Services or even an actual lawyer." Figure out the exact wording of the lease, and exactly who's responsible. Most of the advice in here suggests that she's responsible for $600 per month until you've approved a new tenant, and if that's the case, just let your roommate know that you're fine with her moving out, but she's responsible for the rent on the lease she signed, period. Talk to your landlord, too, since he's going to wind up intricately involved here at some point, and it's best if he hears it first from you, especially if roomie's likely to distort facts.

[UKCatGirl]

The Weird One, this has soured the relationship, but we haven't actually had a knock-down, drag-out fight about this. I've tried to be firm, but level headed when talking to her. If it stays like that, and she drops this, I could still live with her. How? Well, we aren't home a lot at the same time, I know she won't steal from me, she doesn't have shady people over, so really I think I could deal with tension.

Shayna, I honestly don't know all that much about allergies, I knew dander had something to do with it, but thanks for teaching me something. And to clarify, normally I wouldn't doubt any sort of illness, it just seems very suspect to me that her allergies started acting up right after her boyfriend and their friends came up with this plan. I did read the lease, thouroughly, and it said nothing forbidding subleases. In fact, it said nothing about subleases at all, just that "Renter" is responsible for payment of rent the first of every month. Thanks for doing that research for me about the school law office, I will be going there tomorrow after a job interview that I have. And I'm not threatening her, or using a threatening tone at all. Those are mainly things I'm saying in my head, at least until I speak with legal counsel. I'm just stating to her that she is part of a legal document, in case she's forgotten.

As for her parents, her mother would most likely be fine with this, as she loves the boyfriend. Her father would not like it, but she's not concerned with his opinion. Her parents do like me, so that's one point on my side. I'm holding off on that part of it until I have no other option, because things will definitely escalate around here after I make that move.

Martin Hyde, I like this complex, and if there are no other options, I will deal with having a roommate I don't know. It may take until the end of this semester, but I should be able to find someone. I'll just suck it up and get locks for my door.

ShelliBean, no big secret there. My parents didn't want me to work the first year. I wanted to, but they said they would pay the first year, so I didn't fight it. As I mentioned I am getting a job, so I could take over $600, and then my mom would continue to pay the other $600. My mom actually suggested it, but this is really a last resort, and I hope it would only be temporary. I worked nearly full time in high school, and I'm sick of not supporting myself now. Not to mention the fact that it's not fair to my mom.

Thank you to everyone for the continued advice, this was my first Pit thread and I was nervous I'd get no responses. I'll update if she spews anymore nonsense on me tonight, and of course tomorrow after I get legal advice.