So, you signed the lease but you are not giving the check directly to the landlord. Are you getting a receipt for the check you are giving to #5? Did you sign a contract with #5 to give him a check every month? No?
It sounds like #5 and the landlord have an implied contract about how rent is paid - that #5 is paying the full amount? Hmmmm, I see an opportunity here…
A - keep 3 renters, lose two
2 - keep 1 renter, lose 4, get 4
which option gives the renter the most money per month
<jeopardy music plays>
That’s right, option 2! Your landlord really doesn’t care if you want to stay there or not, he cares about whether he’s collecting full rent each month.
I had a roommate that was a total pothead once. Let me tell you, you are the only one that cares in this situation. My landlord didn’t care. The cops did not care. His parents did not care. The only time the landlord cared was when his pothead buddies broke stuff and got the cops called to our house. And even then, I think she only cared because the other 5 of us wanted to move out rather than deal with pothead roommate. If pothead roommate’s new friends want to pay rent, he could care less how you two feel about each other.
From the landlord’s perspective, it honestly doesn’t matter. 3 people, 5 people, 1 person…the rent’s still the same. Hell, the landlord probably doesn’t care if getting a check from #5 means #5 is paying for everything all by himself. As long as he gets his money, it’s all good.
But from your perspective finnishpenguin it does matter. You’re concerned about cheap rent. If there are only 3 people living there instead of 5, your rent just increased by 66%. Is that worth it to you, or can you find something cheaper than that going someplace else?
Go - find another cheap place to live. If you’re one person, living in one room, moving is not that big a hassle. Take roommate #3 with you if you can stand living with her, and she is also keen on finding another cheap place to live.
ETA: I forgot to say, yes, it is shitty what Roommate #5 is doing, but as others have said, staying won’t make anything better.
Move. Now if possible. You do not want another year with this drug dealer. You want to be off his idiot radar as soon as possible. You also want a clear record of having paid the drug dealer for the rent. After you are gone for several months, then write an anonymous letter to the police (not in handwriting) describing how 5 is a drug dealer and where exactly he keeps his drugs. Put no identifying information in the letter. Do not indicate to 5 that you are irritated any more than you already have. Move.
Moving is stressful, tedious and sometimes its expensive. I definitely understand why you would be happier working something out that allows you to stay. However, based on what you are saying you should just move out. At best, you get #5 adding two of his buddies with the rest of you staying but realistically you and #3 are likely going to get pushed out by the four friends. Staying in the house and being outnumbered by #5 is not worth it. Especially since pettiness can really mess up the entire household dynamic.
In the long run, moving out will save you a giant headache. If you and #3 are good living with each other, then at least the two of you can save some money by going in on a new place together. Good luck!
Nth-ing the consensus: just move. It’s not hard to find a room-share with a fellow singleton on craigslist. And then you only have to worry about keeping one person happy, instead of 4.
Sometimes a very large house gets subdivided and/or added on to in order to allow more tenants. My girlfriend lives with three other grad students in such a house, with a small family right below them in a separate unit in the same building. In college, I lived in a house with 6 bedrooms, divided up into two rental units, each with its own kitchen, bathroom, and entrance. We rented both units with 6 people. The largest rental I’m aware of in that town had 10 bedrooms, nominally split into three rental units. Practically speaking, it was always rented by one group of 10.
Well, maybe. In college in a 6 bedroom house, our landlord asked us to pay with a single check just for their convenience, and the straitlaced girl who was handling the money most certainly was not paying in weed in our case. The OP’s case, well, it could be. That’s a hell of a lot of weed, though; could be thousands a month. And if #5 was paying in weed only for his own share, then why does it matter if he’s handling everyone else’s money?
I’d say at best#5 moves out to be with (all of) his friends somewhere else, and the OP finds some other people to move in. That part doesn’t have to happen instantly as long as the rent is paid.
It’s going to be some size of headache in any case. Moving is a headache.
As you pointed out, it’s not your roommate’s house. Talk to the guy who actually will make the decision - the landlord. He’s the only one who can’t actually decide who gets to live there.
Don’t try the blackmail route. It’ll only blow up in your face. If you accuse the roommate, he’ll probably accuse you of something right back. The landlord either won’t care what any of you are doing (in which case, you’re now living with an angry roommate) or he’ll figure all of you are problems and throw the lot of you out.
Just go to the landlord and say you’d like to live there next year and ask him if he’s okay with that.
But don’t be surprised if he says no. Roommate 5 does apparently have a better connection with the landlord than you do and he’s got four other renters ready which you don’t. If the landlord decides in 5’s favor, just walk away and look for a new place.
You have a chance to stop something bad from happening. Take it. Don’t be a baby and not do what’s right just because it’s easier. If it blows up in your face, you’re no worse off than you would have been if you’d moved out right away.
Guy #5 is a bully, and you should stand up against bullies, not let them run over you. Doing that is why so many otherwise good people have such crappy lives. They never stand up for themselves, even when the cost is small.
It’s time to move. It sucks, but it’s what you need to do. With your lease expiring, you have no right to stay there unless you come to a new agreement with the landlord. That’s not likely, based on #5’s existing relationships with landlord and the fact that he’s got a full house of tenants already lined up.
It’s not about bullying or fairness. Contact the landlord directly if you want, but I wouldn’t expect much from that corner. Start looking for another place, and quit worrying about things you can’t change.
I don’t see this as being about bullying, either. RM#5 is a dick, doing dick things, and continuing to live with a dick just to prove a point isn’t a win against bullies - it just means that you’ll be living with a dick. I think it’s likely to escalate at that point, and then we’ll have a thread like, “My roommate is being a complete dick - what can I do about it?”
If the OP had more ties or it was more difficult for him to get out of the situation, I’d say fight harder for it, but he can (fairly easily) just walk away and not have to deal with it. That sounds like a win to me.
WTF? Location and off-street parking are right up at the top of my list when considering rental property. Cost of rent is somewhat flexible, within a range. On-site laundry is an absolute deal-breaker requirement.
Off-street parking is almost an absolute requirement. Location is a huge factor. I don’t consider either matter trivial, much less petty. How can you possibly say that they’re non-issues? Did you really mean that?
In response to finnishpenguin, I think you’re beaten here. Your chance of a successful coup d’état is minimal and a peaceful resolution seems impossible, based on what you’ve told us. Playing the “but he’s a pothead” gambit is chickenshit. Your housemate is a douchebag, but the fact of the matter is that you had a promise for the length of your lease, and that time is ending. Sorry dude, the band is breaking up.
If you want to try to beat your housemate in your own negotiation with the landlord, fine. I think your odds are low, but don’t snitch on him to gain advantage or out of spite. That’s a bitch move. Don’t be a bitch.
This. Confront roommate #5 with all your other roommates surrounding the two of you. Make sure you have a bag of his weed to shake in front of his face as you lecture him on how we are a family, dammit, and we’re not letting you split us up so you can bring in your weed-smoking cohorts!. When he tries to grab the weed from you, you must grab him by the shirt and shove him up against the wall and say, “Did you hear me? Family!!”
The room will get quiet for a moment, and then the bully will look around and meet the gaze of everyone in the room, then stare pensively at the floor before he breaks into tears. Then you and the others will rush in for a group hug and all will be well. You’ll know you did the right thing when you hear the maudlin music swelling up in the background.
Trust me on this. I saw the same After School Special BigT did.