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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    4

    Default Roommate Occupying My Room While I Pay Rent

    Virginia Law for:
    I moved out of my apartment before the end of the lease, but I am still paying rent. My room is empty except for a bookshelf, and I have the keys to my room. Some time ago, the landlord had my room refurbished and the door was left open by the workmen.
    My roommate moved into my room, while using her old room for storage. She did so without informing me. Since I am still paying rent for my room, and she is occupying TWO rooms (and I don't even know when she moved in since I haven't been back to the apartment at all), can I take her to court for compensation? The landlord agrees that it is unfair for me to pay rent since she is occupying my space as well.
    A while ago, my roommates changed the padlock code to the apartment in order to deny me access. They claimed that since I wasn't physically living there, I shouldn't have access to the apartment. However, I was still supposed to pay rent!
    Can I also get compensation for this illegal lock-out? Yes, none of my belongings were in the apartment, but I still had the keys to my room, and had paid the rent for that month. I was locked out for about two and a half weeks until they had to tell me the code since I had grounds for terminating the lease (and not pay my share of the rent).

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

    Default Re: Roommate Occupying My Room While I Pay Rent

    You moved out. So you're not living in the room. So you aren't harmed by somebody else moving into the room. And you didn't say, "I want to move back in, so can I have my room back" to find out what would happen if you tried to regain control of your room. And you similarly don't need keys and didn't ask for keys when you found out the locks had been changed? I'm not seeing how you were harmed by your roommate's not letting the room sit empty. Fill me in.

    You want to move back in? Ask to move back in. If they say, "No, but you need to keep paying rent," then you may be on to something. Until you make even that slight effort, they're simply using empty space where you no longer reside. Similarly, if there are facts you haven't told us, such as "My roommates were supposed to be looking for a replacement roommate for me, and this makes it impossible," it's time to tell us.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Roommate Occupying My Room While I Pay Rent

    The keys still work for my room, but the front door code was changed (you don't need a key). They're occupying two rooms while only paying for one.

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