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  1. #1

    Question What Are Your Remedies After a Subtenant Breaks a Lease

    My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Nebraska

    Hopefully you guys can help answer this question for me. I couldn't find an answer elsewhere on the internet...

    My bum roommate recently broke his lease and moved out with no notice. I was subleasing a room to him, and I am the only name on the actual apartment lease. (He couldn't get on the lease because of a failed background check/credit score check.) I'm pretty sure my lease says that I'm not allowed to sublease. However, my apartment complex Manager was definitely aware that he was living with me. Since I have lived here for many years I think she let it fly "under the radar". She has seen him enter my building many times, among giving me little verbal hints that she knew about it. But in all this time I have never personally discussed my sublease with the Manager. But trust me...she knew about it. The bum roommate had been living with me for over a year and decided to break his newly renewed sublease he had signed with me. Obviously, I am pissed. In all this time, she has never mentioned that I needed to kick him out, etc.

    I want to make absolutely certain I nail this in small claims court and be as prepared as possible.

    1. At one point I provided him a copy of my original lease, simply so he could see how much the apartment actually costs. If he shows up at small claims court, and shows this lease to the judge (which says in it that I can't sublease), is there any chance of me losing the case? If so, what do I need to do to fix this problem?

    2. This guy was a complete slob and my sublease had language in it regarding room inspections "at any time due to history of unsanitary conditions". I believe I still need to provide him 24 hour notice of the inspection even though my sublease says his room can be inspected "at any time". Is this correct?

    3. I did need to enter his room occasionally while he was gone to shut the window in his room. (the apartment was freezing). I believe that would be considered an "emergency" of sorts. I also entered his room occasionally to do checks for food on the carpet, etc. I believe his only possible way of winning (other than my #2 question above), would be to explain to the judge that I was entering his room illegally. How do I help prove my case in that I entered his room for "emergency" purposes? (i.e. shutting the window to prevent the freezing winter air from coming in). Lastly, how can I prove that I was giving him 24 hour notice before I entered his room for "rotten food" inspections? I believe the Nebraska statue is vague about giving notice. It simply says "must provide 24 hour notice". However, it doesn't say whether that notice must be written, verbal, in writing, etc. (Most of the time I would just give him verbal notice.) Will these issues be a problem? How do I help to prove my case in this regard?

    4. Lastly, the real reason he moved is because he found a single bedroom apartment available elsewhere in my town. The guy who is actually on the lease moved out-of-state, and is illegally subleasing the apartment to him. He simply wanted to have his own apartment, but of course he's not going to tell the judge this. It would massively help my case to prove that he moved for this reason, and not for reason #3 above). Is there anyway to prove this portion of my case?

    Thanks in advance and please let me know if you need clarification on any of my questions.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
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    Default Re: Tricky Questions Regarding a Sublease

    What are you trying to recover? I'd get your lease out and start there. If you are not allowed to sub-lease, how will you prove damages?

  3. #3
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    Default Re: What Are Your Remedies After a Subtenant Breaks a Lease

    Quote Quoting jbaxter68124
    View Post
    My bum roommate recently broke his lease and moved out with no notice.
    On a month-to-month tenancy, you are entitled to thirty days notice. So what you would do to calculate the rent he allegedly owes is figure out how many days were left for which he had paid, and use that number to prorate the rent. ([30 - number of days already paid] / 30 * monthly rent]. You will need to consider if that's an amount worth fighting over, particularly if you're concerned about a possible counter-claim.
    Quote Quoting jbaxter68124
    If he shows up at small claims court, and shows this lease to the judge (which says in it that I can't sublease), is there any chance of me losing the case?
    You shouldn't lose the case on that basis, but I've seen some small claims court issue wacky rulings so I make no promises.
    Quote Quoting jbaxter68124
    I believe I still need to provide him 24 hour notice of the inspection even though my sublease says his room can be inspected "at any time". Is this correct?
    You were obligated to follow all applicable landlord-tenant laws, even if you included unlawful or unenforceable provisions in your lease.
    Quote Quoting jbaxter68124
    I did need to enter his room occasionally while he was gone to shut the window in his room. (the apartment was freezing).
    If he makes some sort of counterclaim based upon your intrusions into the room, you can attempt to show that your entries were lawful and, to the extent that they were not, did not cause him any actual damages. Your subsequent comments suggest more -- that you entered so often that you effectively deprived him of privacy or security in his private space. I'm not going to speculate about what he might allege in relation to your entries, or what he might prove. To the extent that you want to prove that you gave notice prior to entries, you can present to the court copies of the dated notices that you served explaining when and why you were going to enter. If you chose not to document anything, you can testify about your entries and see what he says. Obviously, this is not an issue you would want to introduce to the case if he doesn't bring it up.
    Quote Quoting jbaxter68124
    Lastly, the real reason he moved is because he found a single bedroom apartment available elsewhere in my town.
    If you are afraid that he's going to demonstrate to the court that you were so disrespectful of his privacy rights as a tenant that he felt compelled to move, the fact that he found another place to live is not going to help you. Of course he found another place to live.

    Should we infer that prior to his moving out, there were some arguments about your entries and your lack of respect for his privacy?

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