BTW, since you won’t be able to sent rent with the letter, send the letter as soon as possible (preferably after consulting with a lawyer or tenant’s advocate). No point in waiting for July 1st.
Well … as a simple suggestion if someone has a failed business etc. and needs to break a lease they will sometimes offer an incentive in the form of subsidized rent to a prospective sub-tenant willing to take over their lease. If your roommate is willing to surrender her security deposit you can potentially entice someone to lease the empty room with a reduced rent. You can also vacate the most desirable room and make it the leasable unit. IIRC I think craigslist is big in your area and might be a place to make the room available.
If the rent is 1850 total or 616 month each, you can (both) each kick in 58 per month (total 116) to reduce the remaining rent to 499.99 per month for a prospective roommate, which should be a killer attractive rate for your area. At the end of the year you increase the rate back to 616 for the new tenant (or move). If you move the $ 666. extra paid by the departed roommate comes back to you via the security deposit compensating you for most of the the extra incentive rent you paid.
This is a lot cheaper than litigating.
I didn’t mean to be vindictive w/ the departing roomie. I’ll admit it ticks me off when young people are so cavalier about financial responsibility, but I raised kids so I’ve been there, done that.
Since the roommate has told you she would pay her July rent I wouldn’t make an issue of her leaving, especially since you say she’s going to go anyway. I would tell her, when she leaves, that if you have to break the lease, that your going to hold her responsible for her share of any lost monies. It’s fair and she signed the lease, just like you did.
I think it’s important that you keep the roomie moving out and the utility repairs completely separate, if you tie the two together it’s going to be fairly obvious that your likely using the repair issue as an excuse to break the lease, when the loss of the roommate is the real reason.
Sending a certified letter is always a good idea to document things, but, as a landlord myself, I can tell you that it will be a red flag to your landlady. She will suspect that you’re doing more than just trying to get the repairs made, especially if you haven’t mentioned the problems before. That’s why I suggested that you send the letter w/ the rent check and note in the letter that the rent was enclosed. That would document that, if she cashed the rent check, she must have received the letter and it will be less likely to alert her that you are just trying to establish that she received the letter.
I think PBEAR is right, that you don’t need the landlady’s permission to get a new roomie, but if she doesn’t agree to it the original roomie is still on the lease.
You and the remaining roommate need to sit down and get your ducks in a row. Think it through and come up w/ a plan, then follow through. Good luck and remember, it’s a learning experience.
And therein lies the grounds to break the lease. Air conditioning is optional, but heat is mandatory under the California building code. If there is no working heat, the unit is deemed “uninhabitable” and you can break your lease, even if you agreed to the conditions at the beginning of the lease. Of course, the landlord can sue, and you may have to defend this in court, but you do have grounds to break the lease.
Read the laws on California renting here. My recollection is that while, technically, a clause forbidding subletting may be legal, in order to actually collect damages, the landlord needs to show that (s)he made a reasonable effort to find another tenant, but was unable to do so. Obviously, if you can trot out a person willing to sublet, it’s a hard argument for the landlord to make.
So, for most practical purposes, anti-subletting clauses are not particularly enforceable.
A quick Google search turned up a few agencies you might contact for assistance: Project Sentinel, Pacific Community Services and Housing Rights. I have no personal experience with any of these, so no idea whether they actually can and will help. Were I in your shoes, though, I’d go to the trouble of contacting them to find out. And if they can’t, they may have referrals to another service. Bear in mind that what you’re looking for here isn’t so much someone to take on your landlord. For that, you need a lawyer (contact Tabula Rasa). What tenant’s groups do is advise on your rights, explain what happens in your town if a dispute goes to court and, most usefully, can act as mediators. But, as I said in my first post, you need someone on the ground where you live for advice. There’s very little we can do for you here.
I agree with 'most everything that’s been said since my last post, and think astro’s advice is particularly good.
Just an aside idea on the gas leak - the gas company should have an emergency number to call if you smell gas. Call it. You do not need your landlord’s permission to get someone out to evaluate an emergency gas leak, and if you can smell gas you need to call.
I rented a house in college and we smelled gas coming from the stove, like you. We called the gas co. and they sent a guy right out. He tested and fixed the stove for us, (it was an easy adjustment) but he also found a major carbon monoxide leak coming from the furnace, and condemned it. :eek: He told us to call our landlord and tell them to fix it, and said that under no circumstances were they allowed to turn the furnace back on. He taped it off and labelled it “condemned.”
This was in Michigan, so maybe the laws differ, but you should be able to call the gas company about a leak yourselves. He did not charge us anything, he gave us a card to give to the landlord. They had everything fixed right quick after that.
Just a small update. Seems like I’m getting doubly screwed on this. I told my other roomie we need to sit down and figure out what we’re doing when roomie B leaves. She’s at work and she just emailed me back saying she’s found another place to live and will be moving out. Thus dumping the entire house on me.
I won’t apologise for harping on about the gas: this is a potentially lethal situation. I used to look after my local fire brigade and have seen pictures of the after-effects of gas explosions. Either turn off the gas at the mains or get out and stay out until it’s sorted. I have no wish to read a report of your demise.
You need legal help, start w/ the links offered you above, but get legal assistance, you can’t afford not to. Both your roomies are acting immaturely and you should look out for yourself, it time to stop being “nice”.
I think that you and the other girl need to sit down and have a chat. She is just as much on the hook as you are. You need to call one of the above organizations. For that matter, Girl C is also on the hook as well since she signed the lease.
Can you talk to landlord about her letting you guys out of the lease?
Wherever you get it, Aunt Flow, get your legal information/advice before you take any actions in this situation. A lot of what lanlord/tenant attorneys get paid to do is to try to undo the unnecessary tangles people create in a panic when they think there’s going to be trouble.
I can’t find contact info. for you, and - -quite frankly – I’m not sure that I have my contact information set up so that you can reach me. I’m not sure that I’d be breaking any board rules to mention the attorney’s name. James A. Michel. His office is on Market Street. Call him up. Tell him your story. He’ll tell you if you need him or an advocacy group.
Tabby
Tabby
I’ll strongly second that. Don’t argue or try to work this out w/ the roomies, don’t talk to the landlady, don’t just walk away like your roommates, don’t do anything until you’ve gotten some legal advice from a lawyer or advocate. You’re in over your head and if you don’t deal w/ this properly you will likely pay dearly for it. GET HELP NOW!
They are right. You need to speak with a lawyer who can tell you what your rights are. Explain your financial situation. You might get a free initial consult.
Walking away from the lease is a really bad idea that can burn you for years to come.
I’ve never called or dealt with a lawyer before. Do I just ask for him when I call the office? I’m really stressing over not only this now, but finding a new place to live. A few friends even advised that I move out over the 4th of July weekend while both roomies are down in SoCal for a convention but I have a feeling that might not be the best course of action.
Yeah. Just call his office – tomorrow if you can. Tonight if you want to leave a message. In the daytime, he may even answer the phone himself. If not, you will speak either to another person or to a machine. If it’s a person, ask for him. If it’s a machine, leave a message. I guess we’re not supposed to drop real names here, but you can tell him you were referred by his freshman roommate’s wife. He had two freshman roommates, but the other one grew up to be a priest, so he’ll know who I am. He has expanded his practice into other areas lately, but he got his start with landlord/tenant issues in the Haight Ashbury area, so he knows his way around weird situations. If he’s on his way out the door to a court appearance or something, he’ll let you know and he’ll call you back. If he has a moment right then, he’ll talk to you and get the details. Just let him know you’re in a tough situation and you’re trying not to make it worse, then tell your story. I don’t know what he’ll say next because I’m not a lawyer. But he’s a good guy and I’m sure it will be something helpful.
Tabby (not, by the way, my real name)
Aww, hell. No harm in it. My first name is Angela.
Aunt Flow, you need to call the gas company about that leak NOW .
There is no mystery to calling an attorney. Call the office and tell them that you think that you need to speak with an attorney. Give them a brief overview of the matter. They may have to run a conflicts check. That way you can come in. I would try the resources that others have given you above first since most likely your matter isn’t that complicated for someone who handles landlord tenant in your jurisdiction.
I don’t think that moving out without giving anyone notice is the smartest thing to do in this matter. Remember all three of you are on the lease. If landlord decides to sue for breach of contract, all three of you get named in the suit.
Yes. The entire thing less what you’ve already paid.
Here’s what you need to do (also not a lawyer but I’ve dealt with enough lawyers and landords). You need to talk to your roomates first. They need to know that they are financially liable and can be sued, have their credit fucked up and maybe even have trouble renting again.
Second, you need to find out from your landlord if she will allow you to sublet the other roomates shares. You might even consider an illegal sublet (as long as nothing gets damaged and she gets her rent, she may not even care). She might allow you to break the lease with say 30 or 60 days notice. A landlords objective is to get paid. She may be more willing to have other tenants who will pay promptly than to deal with your bullshit and risk having to take you to court, go through eviction proceedings and all that.
Talking to a lawyer is not a magic cure-all. They can just tell you what the laws are and defend you in court. All that is expensive. There’s no reason you can’t go to the library and learn the relevant laws yourself.
Just because you hire a lawyer does not mean that you will get off Scot-free. You may in fact still end up liable for the entire lease PLUS lawyer fees.