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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
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    Default Rent Obligations After Moving Out Due To Crazy Roommates

    My question involves a roommate in the State of: Georgia

    I recently moved out of an apartment I shared with two other people. I did not give them written notice that I was moving out on the exact date I did, we had a verbal agreement that I would be out by the end of the first week of May.

    Over the period that I lived there, we had numerous disagreements and both roommates acted in a manner that inhibited me from living in a comfortable manner: both had animals they would not clean up after, both would leave dishes/trash around the house and yell at me for not cleaning up after myself if I left even a glass in the sink (I have pictures of their mess, as well), both of them ate my food and yelled at me if I had any of their's, and both of them were so rude to my guests that my friends would refuse to come over. When I decided to break up with my boyfriend who is on a study-abroad trip to Japan, apparently I didn't do it fast enough for one roommate, who decided to take the matter into her own hands and tell him I had cheated on him with two different people. This was not true, and when she told me what she had done, she lied to me about what she had said. She told me that she had told him that I didn't want to be in the relationship anymore and wanted to see other people. Of course, we talked to each other afterwards and pieced together what had happened. This is just an example of their behavior.

    I decided that I needed to move out asap on an occurance when I was informed by one roommate that I wasn't allowed to talk on the phone in any common area. I refused to leave the living room (I was on the phone, which prompted the "conversation"), and told her that her request was ridiculous. This prompted a verbal attack that was so violent my mother (whom I was talking to) asked if she needed to call the police, because she could hear everything, even her verbal threat to "correct me" physically. Instead, I decided to leave for the night and stay at my boyfriend's. From then on, I stayed most nights at my boyfriend's, and was unable until recently to actually move out.

    Their stressful behavior has actually caused physical damage to me--I woke up one morning with blood in my ears, and after a visit to my doctor, was told that the stress in my life has caused me to start grinding my teeth at night. I was prescribed a medicine for the migraines I have developed as a result from this teeth grinding, which has been so violent that on the occasion I had blood in my ears, I has burst some of the capillaries on my ear canal.

    Initially, I had agreed to pay for May's rent and they would pay for the rest of the summer. We also agreed that I would try to find a roommate for the rest of the summer. They decided after I had put in ads for another roommate that I was "stupid and being unsafe" for putting in the ads and that they would try to find someone they knew for a roommate, and they had discussed this and agreed upon it without consulting me, and only informed me of this decision after I told them of the ads. Several months after we all returned from winter break, we all mutually agreed that things we not working out and agreed to break our lease early. I told them that I didn't have enough money to break the lease and pay the rent, so they agreed that one roommate would cover my part of the lease break if I payed May's rent.

    Upon leaving, I left a check for the lease break, since I would not even be living there during May, which was an amount more than May's rent. They told me that I needed to pay May's rent as well, because that was "our agreement."

    All agreements besides our lease were verbal.

    Am I responsible for May's rent since due to their behavior, I could not live there, and I payed for the lease break? Also, I am technically a resident of a different county than the one the apartment is in (this apartment was my residence during school), will they have to file in the court of the county I live in or the one of the apartment? The rent is 188--would it be worth their time to file a claim for that amount of money (would the costs exceed the potential reward)?

    I know this is long and a bit convoluted, thank you to anyone who takes their time to read it.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Rent Obligations After Moving Out Due To Crazy Roommates

    Got a short version of that question?

    If you're on the lease, your poor choice of roommates doesn't free you of your liability to your landlord.

    If you had an agreement for a move-out date with your roommates, your obligations to them should end as of that date.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Rent Obligations After Moving Out Due To Crazy Roommates

    According to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs,
    Quote Quoting Is my landlord allowed to enter the apartment without notifying me first? Can my apartment be shown to prospective tenants during the last month of my occupancy without my permission?
    A lease gives the tenant a right to the exclusive use of the lease premises. Unless the lease otherwise allows, the landlord can only enter the property, if such entry is necessary to cure a dangerous condition, prevent destruction or respond to a bona fide emergency on the premises. There is no legal requirement that a landlord notify a tenant prior to making entry under the above circumstances.

    You should check your lease to see if there are any provisions related to the landlord's right to show the apartment. If the lease does not state that the landlord can enter the apartment, a tenant could legally refuse the landlord access. However, it is best for the landlord and tenant to discuss the matter and reach a mutually acceptable accommodation. Notification requirements and entry provisions should be included in each lease. A reasonable accommodation might be for the landlord to provide advance notice, such as twenty-four (24) hours before entering the apartment.

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