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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    4

    Question Roommate Leaves With One Week Notice

    My roommate decided to move out.. she informed me yesterday and said she is moving into her new apartment March 1st. She said she is trying to find a sublet but also said that she is moving March 1st regardless if she finds one or not and refuses to pay two rents--so after March 1st it would be "my problem" and not hers---which I know that legally that cannot be correct. We are both on the lease so I know that she will be held liable but my question is--- legally she has to give how much time notice? Also, she is trying to find a roommate but what if I don't like them. The apartment complex I live at said that she cannot sign someone onto the lease in her place until I approve and sign that it is O.K. How picky can I be when choosing a roommate? She said if they pass the credit check that should be all that matters but I think deciding to live with a person for 6 months (the remainder of the lease) should be based on more than if their credit is good.

    She also already put down a deposit to the other complex and said I would be liable if I refuse roommates she finds and she looses the deposit for the other complex because she wouldn't be able to move. What are my rights in Colorado to refuse a roommate and since a roommate cannot move in until I sign that it is O.K.-- is there a time set on this? How long is she legally bound to this agreement until it does become "my problem"?
    (Also, I am helping her out to find a replacement for her.. but to find someone in a week is quite a short time to find a new roommate).

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Toledo, OH
    Posts
    16,307

    Default Re: Roommate Leaves With 1 Week Notice

    How long is she legally bound to this agreement until it does become "my problem"?
    When multiple tenants sign a lease, you have what's called "joint and several liability". That means each tenant is responsible for all conditions of the agreement - everybody is responsible for all of the rent. If your roommate doesn't pay, the landlord may demand the full amount (not just your share) from you.

    HOWEVER...

    She is legally bound to this agreement until it terminates - at the end of the lease term. Whether she likes it or not, it is still her "problem". Typically, notice is 10 days before the expiration of the lease term. Giving you 10 days notice in the middle of the term is not sufficient for her to break the terms of the lease agreement.

    No, you are not responsible if she loses her deposit at the new place.

    You don't have to accept the first roommate to come along, either. She must find one that is acceptable to you before she can be released from her lease obligation - in other words, if you don't like the crack-smoking, vodka-drinking, not-bathing psycho she found on Craigslist, you can say NO and there's nothing she can do about it.

    If she moves out anyway, and a suitable replacement is not found, she is still obligated to pay her share of the rent until you find one. The catch is that you'll have to pay the full amount each month until you find a new roommate, then take her to small claims to collect what she owes.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Roommate Leaves With 1 Week Notice

    Thanks for the information!

    I have another question regarding this situation:

    Because I have to sign to let her off the lease and have someone replace her, what are my rights to denying or accepting a roommate? Can I just deny potential roommates until I find one that I like or am I obligated to accept a roommate that she finds that passes the credit check? She told me that if she finds a person that is nice, clean, and passes the credit check, that will be my roommate. Problem is that there are more things that I'd like in a roommate--like that we get along and things. How picky can I be? If it takes until May to find someone I like then can it take until then or am I obligated to take someone she finds that passes a credit check?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    5,437

    Default Re: Roommate Leaves With 1 Week Notice

    What does your written lease say about your questions?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Roommate Leaves With 1 Week Notice

    On the lease they call it "roommate replacing" or something but it just says that both roommates must agree on the new roommate and we both have to sign to agree... It doesn't discuss time that one roommate has to find a replacement or anything. I'm just not sure if there is a time length that says if the roommate tries for X amount of time to find a new roommate and the other roommate denies all of the potential new roommates then the roommate staying has to find a roommate and the roommate leaving can move out.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Roommate Leaves With 1 Week Notice

    Your roommate signed onto the lease, until the lease expires. If you unreasonably reject a proposed alternate roommate, that could end your roommate's obligation. But if you and the roommate are unable to locate an alternate, or it takes a while, you can seek to recover the rent your roommate owes during that period through small claims court.

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