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Landlord/rental issues

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W

Whisper

Diamond Member
Ok, so I'll do my best to be brief:

My girlfriend has been renting a three-bedroom house in Baton Rouge for the past year, give or take. The two roommates who initially moved in with her and were on the lease have since moved out, and two new roommates moved in approximately five months ago.

Both roommates have now moved out or are in the process of moving out, and my girlfriend is planning on moving out at the end of June. The issues are this:

One of the roommates is not agreeing to pay the last month's rent, and is instead only agreeing to pay 1/3, rather than 1/2 which was apparently agreed on (as the third roommate moved out at the end of May). This same roommate has been late with rent multiple times, with the late fee being deducted from the house's rental deposit.

It turns out that despite the landlord saying this roommate was on the lease the whole time, she actually is not (which he just revealed to my girlfriend). Thus, the landlord is now saying that my girlfriend is the only person on the lease, and as such is responsible for any unpaid rent, utilities, cleaning fees, etc.

He sent her an email tonight saying that the rent needs to be deposited, in full, by noon tomorrow or he's filing papers to sue her for the missing rent and whatever else.

He's said that if she deposits the rent, he won't file the court papers.

At this point, what exactly might be some options I can offer her other than finding a real-estate lawyer? Is the third roommate still legally bound to pay anything, despite not being on the lease? And is the fact that the landlord has been saying she's on the lease this whole time some type of negligence?

Edit:

Also, it looks as though she just found a lease "amendment," signed by the flaky roommate and the landlord, saying that this roommate was to be added to the lease in place of someone (unnamed) moving out. He apparently has a copy of this, but still says the roommate is not on the lease. Thus, it would seem to me that there are now three people on the lease--my girlfriend, the flaky roommate, and the roommate who moved out five months ago and was never officially removed from the lease.

Thoughts?

I apologize for the long post, and will provide any additional information as needed. Thanks all.
 
He's a douche, ignore him. It doesn't sound like he has his shit together enough to even rent, let alone sue.

He's calling your bluff. Besides, if you have a piece of paper signed by him that says this other roommate is on the lease, you should be in the clear as far as court goes.

She should pay her share and walk away.
 
Just have her pay her share by tomorrow and let the roommate(s) take care of the rest.
If every landlord sues the tenant when they don't get the rent by the 5th we would have decade long waits in the court system. LOL
 
The GF should tell the landlord she has a copy of the lease and that in fact there is more than one person on there, and that he signed it. Then she should tell him that she will pay her portion of the rent, as per the lease agreement, and that he can take her to court if he chooses. He's just blowing hot air, it simply isn't worth while to file suits like that willy-nilly, and courts tend to get annoyed when people sue immediately without even having tried to resolve the issue.
 
Send him an email telling him that you're sending him legal documents in the mail. Be vague and let him sweat. Send the guy a copy of the amendment by registered mail and say that it's his fault and he needs to get everything together. Say that you've got the lease and the amendment which were both signed by him and that you're sticking to that.

Also look up the laws dealing with security deposits and make certain that you you know what those laws are. This guy is being shady so I would take lots of pictures and make sure your ass is covered when he tries to pull the excessive damage B.S.
 
I'm not sure that paying part of the rent would get her off the hook unless it was written in the lease that each person is responsible for x amount. I doubt it does, meaning that if the other 2 bailed out, she's responsible for the entire amount and would need to sue the others to get their share. Does it really matter who is on the lease anymore? Looks like they are long gone and have no intention of paying anything. I guess it would all depend on the judge, but without a previous written agreement between the roomates that they would pay X percentage, I think the judge will say "You're the only one that showed up to court, pay up"
 
Originally posted by: drnickriviera
I'm not sure that paying part of the rent would get her off the hook unless it was written in the lease that each person is responsible for x amount. I doubt it does, meaning that if the other 2 bailed out, she's responsible for the entire amount and would need to sue the others to get their share. Does it really matter who is on the lease anymore? Looks like they are long gone and have no intention of paying anything. I guess it would all depend on the judge, but without a previous written agreement between the roomates that they would pay X percentage, I think the judge will say "You're the only one that showed up to court, pay up"
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yeap. odds are even though all 3 signed the lease it only says rent has the full amount and not split between the 3.

if so he can sue whoever he wants to and win. then the GF would be able to sue the other 2 over it.

alsow hy should the "flaky" roomate pay 1/2 when there was 3 people on the lease? yeah its one month and the one moved out. well to bad she still should have paid her 1/3
 
Originally posted by: drnickriviera
I'm not sure that paying part of the rent would get her off the hook unless it was written in the lease that each person is responsible for x amount. I doubt it does, meaning that if the other 2 bailed out, she's responsible for the entire amount and would need to sue the others to get their share. Does it really matter who is on the lease anymore? Looks like they are long gone and have no intention of paying anything. I guess it would all depend on the judge, but without a previous written agreement between the roomates that they would pay X percentage, I think the judge will say "You're the only one that showed up to court, pay up"
Click to expand...

agreed - unless the lease specifically states the rent is to be divided evenly amoung tenants then whomever is on the lease he can sue and the judge will say your gf has to pay up as she signed on the papers. Only thing she can do is pay up and sue the "flaky" one for back-rent that she paid because his name was on the lease.
 
Originally posted by: Drakkon
Originally posted by: drnickriviera
I'm not sure that paying part of the rent would get her off the hook unless it was written in the lease that each person is responsible for x amount. I doubt it does, meaning that if the other 2 bailed out, she's responsible for the entire amount and would need to sue the others to get their share. Does it really matter who is on the lease anymore? Looks like they are long gone and have no intention of paying anything. I guess it would all depend on the judge, but without a previous written agreement between the roomates that they would pay X percentage, I think the judge will say "You're the only one that showed up to court, pay up"
Click to expand...

agreed - unless the lease specifically states the rent is to be divided evenly amoung tenants then whomever is on the lease he can sue and the judge will say your gf has to pay up as she signed on the papers. Only thing she can do is pay up and sue the "flaky" one for back-rent that she paid because his name was on the lease.
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That is one interpretation, but you can't say for sure what a judge will say.
 
Originally posted by: robphelan
he's awful fast to sue.. when was the money due? 06/01?
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Its most likely a scare tactic in most cases the law is on the side of the renter. You could move in and not pay a cent in rent for a few months before the landlord could go thought the proper channels to get you evicted.

The land lord is going after whoever he can and thats you GF. Id say pay what she owes and have her give the land lord contact info for the other individuals responsible. He could still have the right to take her to court which if it happens she could likely take the other roommates to court and sue them.

Best advice start documenting EVERYTHING. Start corresponding in writing be prepared for the worst though it might not get that bad.

 
Originally posted by: waggy
Originally posted by: drnickriviera
I'm not sure that paying part of the rent would get her off the hook unless it was written in the lease that each person is responsible for x amount. I doubt it does, meaning that if the other 2 bailed out, she's responsible for the entire amount and would need to sue the others to get their share. Does it really matter who is on the lease anymore? Looks like they are long gone and have no intention of paying anything. I guess it would all depend on the judge, but without a previous written agreement between the roomates that they would pay X percentage, I think the judge will say "You're the only one that showed up to court, pay up"
Click to expand...

yeap. odds are even though all 3 signed the lease it only says rent has the full amount and not split between the 3.

if so he can sue whoever he wants to and win. then the GF would be able to sue the other 2 over it.

alsow hy should the "flaky" roomate pay 1/2 when there was 3 people on the lease? yeah its one month and the one moved out. well to bad she still should have paid her 1/3
Click to expand...

QFT in any lease (or mortgage) all parties are 100% responsible. If things go south the landlord/lender will go after the easiest one to get money from.
 
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