Good thing I happened to get home before you did and found the 3-day notice wedged into the crack of the door. I’ve been paying you my half of the rent consistently all this time but on behalf of the two of us you appear to be in arrears since June?
Were you ever going to tell me or was I going to ride up the elevator one evening and find the locks changed and all my shit (minus the stuff that folks wanted) scattered around the sidewalks?
Shit shit shit shit shit. I know I have rights but I’m sufficiently unclear on what they are so it’s off to housing court for me tomorrow. This is the first I’ve heard of this (and I bet the landlord doesn’t officially know of my existence) and yet I think it’s entirely legal to sublet a room and that the person who sublets does get tenants rights etc.
I need time to scramble for new digs. (Hey, anyone in NYC environs who’d like a Straight Doper for a housemate, let me know).
Fuck, man…it was bad enough when you changed the locks 'cuz you decided your key-weilding sister was a thief and just kind of didn’t bother to email or call me so came home that evening to find my key didn’t work. But at least once I got you on your cell phone you let me in and got a key for me. Still, the point is the lack of consideration. And that’s what’s operant here. It just didn’t seem to cross your mind that your failure to get the rent paid was gonna have repercussions for me? Hell, I don’t guess I’m even on your concern-map, am I?
Fuck. I’m paid for October. 'Scuse me, I’ve got some Craig’s List pages to check out.
If North Dakota interests you, you’re welcome to a furnished room and full access to everything else except my wife and my porn. (OK, you can have acces to the porn, but please wipe down the TV screen when finished.)
Think about it. If you can afford to live in NYC, you’ll be a king up here.
Plus we’re coming up on winter. That’ll give you some character. You can sit huddled with us in -40 degree temps with wind chills of -80 and laugh at those “tough-guy” poussied out east that go into shock when the temps go below 30. Builds character, I tells ya!
Seriously, I feel for you. I’ve been in that situation, but always had an out between friends and family. I’ve been lucky.
At some point I’d like to check out North Dakota (beautiful scenery) but I don’t relish the prospect of toting my file cabinet, bed, and bookcase that far.
Besides, I’ve got a fulltime job in NYC and that would be one hell of an ugly daily commute.
At the very least, if he hasn’t been paying the landlord, you need to get the money back that you’ve been paying to him. Have you been giving him cash or check?
If you have a verifyable history of paying half the rent (i.e. cancelled checks), you might also consider approaching the landlord directly. “Hi, I’m AHunter3, Jackoff’s roommate. I just found out today that Jackoff hasn’t been paying the rent. I can show you that I’m fiscally responsible and have been paying my rent on time for years. Would you consider letting me take over the lease? That way I wouldn’t have to move, and you’d get a responsible tenant. Rest assured that Jackoff would not be living here any longer.” It might save you some stress.
Wow. That just sucks. Tenant laws must be significantly different in New York - you get your eviction notice here the day the cheque for the rent bounces (hey, it wasn’t my fault. Honest.) I like the idea of taking over the lease - that would probably be my first step. In the future, can you pay your half of the rent directly to the landlord, and have regular contact with said landlord so that you are more involved in such things?
That sucks. I hope you can contact the landlord to find out what’s going on? And do you have records of what you’d paid for rent, as in cleared cheques?
While you’re checking that, have you checked to see how up to date the power and utilities are? If they’re in your name, fine. If they’re in his name, you may find they haven’t been paid, either. Obviously, if you get evicted - you’re not worrying about that. But if you can get some kind of stay, it’s something you’ll want to check, as well.
I had this happen to me years ago. I lived with a “friend” and his family, lived in the basement and paid him 200 dollars a month for rent/utilities. I paid my rent on time all the time for 6 months. One day I found a letter on the kitchen table saying they have not paid rent for 3 months and we had 1 week to move out. Their rent was 114 dollars a moth. (low rent townhomes, rent based on income)
Now call me crazy, but I was paying them MORE than their rent every month, and they still didn’t bother to pay?
I understand completely. (minus the fact that your part of the rent was probably something like 1500 dollars)
Order to Show Cause obtained and duly sent out to landlord’s attorney and to miserable shithead roomie. I have to be in court Oct 3rd but am in no immediate danger of being locked out or having my stuff thrown into the streets.
On Oct 3rd they’ll probably give me the rest of October to seek new housing. I suspect the court will be less happy with me if I turn up again later to explain why I can’t be out of the place by Nov 1st, but it’s not very likely that they won’t give me that long readily enough.
Yeah, it sounds like it needs to be his shit on the sidewalk and his pocket holding a useless key. What a jackass. I trust this ‘friendship’ won’t be lasting much longer?
As it usually goes, lessees are specifically not allowed to sublet unless formally authorized, and such sub-lessees need to be documented. The safest approach is to be on the lease.
I’ll never understand people that put themselves in this situationt. There are two rules I’ve always been sure to follow when renting, because I’m a control freak, anal, and can’t stand to not be in as much control of my own destiny as humanly possible.
Under no circumstances would I ever rent any place without being on the lease (or without having a lease.)
(Not related to your situation but just my second general rule)Under no circumstances would I ever be ON a lease with another person without the lease being one that clearly each tenant is only responsible for THEIR share of each month’s rent i.e. if two tennants each tennant is responsible for 50% of each month’s rent… as opposed to leases where X amount is due each month and the land lord is going to go after both of you if he doesn’t get the full amount.
Way to go, AHunter3. You see enough threads around here whining and moaning about a situation, but not actually, you know, doing anything about it. Good job.
I lived in a house without a lease for two years. I collected rent from my roommates and made a monthly payment to the landlords. It worked out smashingly.
Virtually all leases have legal boilerplate to the effect that tenants have “joint and several liability,” i.e., both you and your roommate are liable for the full amount of the rent and the landlord can go after either one of you (or both) for non-payment.
I can’t believe you actually find landlords willing to make that kind of a deal with you. It makes no sense from their perspective: if one of the tenants flake out, the landlord gets 1/2 or 1/3 rent for the remainder of the lease? That is just bad business.
And I’m glad it did. I just wouldn’t be comfortable living like that, that’s just how I am. That’s why these two are my “personal” rules, not rules I’m saying you absolutely must follow.
Well, I’ve only rented with other roommates twice. I’ve rented many different places but after the age of 25 or so I learned I really don’t like having roommates.
Anyways, both times were from the same land lord and his lease clearly stated I was responsible for X amount of rent money each month and my roommate was responsible for X amount of rent money each month. From the land lord’s perspective, if one tennant flaked out he wouldn’t be left hanging. I don’t even see how that would make any sense.
I mean, if the lease is joint, then if one tennant refuses to pay rent, the land lord will sue both tennants (or have a collections agency go after them.) If the lease isn’t joint, then the land lord will sue the tennant that wasn’t paying rent (or have a collections agency go after him) either way he’s still going to be using the same methods to try and get the money owed to him via the lease. I mean, just because a tennant decides to “flake out” doesn’t mean the land lord doesn’t have the legal right to go after said tennant to get the rent money owed. One way the land lord is just indiscriminately going after anyone who signed the lease, the other the land lord is going after the person who is not paying their share.
First, I agree with the poster who said that few (if any) landlords would agree to
this. Also, joint and several liability has been a term in every preprinted lease form that I’ve ever seen.
Second, you’re missing the main point. The landlord’s main remedy against a deadbeat tenant is eviction. Under your scenario, he’d be giving that up. (Or if he still could evict one of two tenants, what then? Would you be okay with a new co-tenant/roommate who’s a stranger to you?) Also, you seem to be over-estimating the likelihood of collecting a judgment against an evicted tenant. Most landlords end up eating the back rent, and settle for being able to get the deadbeat tenant(s) out and rerenting.
This doesn’t make any sense. Co-tenants are almost always joint and severably liable for 100% of the rent. If one roommate is flaking out, why would a landlord put themself in a position where they would be unable to get the other half of the rent? You’re renting one apartment. Not a half of an apartment or a third of an apartment. However you and your roommates decide to split the rent is up to you, but I have serious doubts any landlord with an ounce of business sense would be willing to be a part of those negotiations. They’re renting out a unit. They want to be paid for that unit. Period. By your lease terms, if Roomie A flakes out the landlord can’t kick out Roomie B. Now, instead of kicking out Roomie A and B, re-renting the unit and getting 100% of the rent, the landlord is stuck with recieving half the rent for the apartment by Roomie B.
Who would do that?
The whole point of co-signers is that if one doesn’t pay, the other is liable.
