Results 1 to 2 of 2

Hybrid View

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    1

    Question Can A Sublessee Sue A Subtenant For An Illegal Sublease In California

    Hi-

    I currently live in Southern California and have found myself in need of some legal expertise. I'd appreciate any advice that anyone can provide. Thanks!

    The situation I'm experiencing deals with illegal subleasing of an apartment. Two years ago when I moved to California I along with three other roommates signed a lease for a town home. Due to the criteria of the credit check while each of us four roommates were on the original lease my father was the only gaurantor.

    All went well for a while. Eventually though one roommate vacated the apartment due to peronal issues back home. While I was in the process of looking for a replacement roommate one of my other roommates was picked up by the police for a DUI and taken to jail. Thus, my remaining roommate and I had approximately two weeks to come up with two new roommates or be forced to split a $2500 rent payment, something that neither of us could afford. So, I put up a posting for roommates at a local school and luckily within a short amount of time has several people expressing interest. Due to the essence of time I subleased out the two vacant rooms I had available for rent. Rent was paid and everyone was happy.

    I continued subleasing the apartment rooms whenever one become available and never had a problem. I found that although it violated my lease with the apartment it made finding and getting new roommates so much easier. Eventually, it got to the point that I was the only original roommate left on the lease. Therefore, with each new roommate I started raising their rent a little and lowering mine. Eventually, a roommate started questioning the cost of their monthly rent payment and upon investigation discovered that I was subleasing the apartment.

    This particular roommate became angry that they weren't on the lease and soon afterwards moved out. This roommate now is threatening to take me to small court claims for the amount of rent that I over charged them (they didn't like how I divided the rent). Their evidence that I was subleasing is a "Roommate Contract" that I had all my roommates sign in an attempt to promote harmony in the apartment that list a monthly rent amount higher than what was actually being charged. Yet, the amount that was collected each month and paid to the apartment complex was exactly what was required for rent.

    Therefore, my question is while I acknowledge the fact that I did wrong in subleasing the apartment does my old roommate have a legal basis to take me to Small Court Claims since they weren't even on the lease to begin with. The roommate is arguing that I deceived them by giving them a false monthly rent amount.

    However, before they even moved in they came to see the apartment which at that time I stated what the cost of the room was and they verbally agreed to it. Per my internet research, verbal agreements in California are binding. Also, the roommate never once asked me for a copy of the currently executed apartment lease or to even be on the lease.

    In retrospect, since the roommate wasn't on the lease to begin with do they have the basis for a Small Court Claim? I don't see any law that was broken that deals with the two of us and the issue at hand. And, again, they did verbally agree to the amount before moving in.

    Thanks for any advise.


  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Can A Sublessee Sue A Subtenant For An Illegal Sublease In California

    There's no law that says rent splits have to be equal among roommates.

    1. Sponsored Links
       

Similar Threads

  1. Eviction Process: Evicting a Sublessee Who Has Signed a Sublease
    By Geronimo in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 12-13-2009, 12:59 PM
  2. Eviction Process: Evicting an Illegal Sublessee
    By BUZE in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 11-22-2009, 07:46 AM
  3. Subleases: Technically Illegal Sublease
    By PFC18 in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 04-17-2009, 05:31 AM
  4. Rental Agreements: Florida Illegal Sublease
    By verdenole in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 03-10-2009, 06:33 AM
  5. Subleases: Can A Subtenant Enforce A Sublease If Subleasing Is Prohibited
    By emi85 in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 06-15-2006, 01:41 AM
 
 
Sponsored Links

Legal Help, Information and Resources