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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    1

    Default Roommate Refuses to Allow a Replacement Tenant

    My question involves a roommate in the State of: California

    The second week of June, I gave my roommates notice that I would be moving. I am in a lease with two others until the end of August. Though my roommate refused to allow me to sublease or assign the rest of my portion of a lease to someone, I ran an ad anyway. I was contacted by several people. One was a Harvard Graduate student on an internship who needed a short-term rental for July & August. She refused to meet him or anyone else. She said that it didn't give her enough time (this was 3 weeks before I was moving out or anyone would be in), she didn't want to live with a stranger (I was a stranger before I moved in) and she was afraid a short-term lessee would steal her things or be disrespectful. She said I had no right to ask her and that I was selfish.

    I paid the double rent in July and moved. I went back on July 15th to retrieve the last of my things and returned the keys. She demanded that I leave the rent check (made payable to the landlord, not her). I complied, but felt harrassed and later decided to attempt to find another short-term renter. I stopped payment on the postdated rent check for August and ran another ad. I called her to let her know what I was doing and she went ballistic. She threatened to take me to court.

    She called my current landlord to tell her I was bailing on rent. She emailed my mother (I am 29 years old, inappropriate) asking for her to pay my rent. She sent me a formal demand letter via email and said if I did not pay she would sue.

    So should I pay or should I let her take me to court? I feel as though she forced me into this situation by not allowing me to find a suitable replacement, but I also don't want to take it to court if that is not a reasonable defense.

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

    Default Re: Roommate Refuses to Allow a Replacement Tenant

    If you want to pay and get things resolved that way, pay. If you don't want to pay and believe you can show an unreasonable refusal of your proposed replacement tenants, and your lease permits the replacement tenants, you're free to see what happens in court.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    California
    Posts
    666

    Default Re: Roommate Refuses to Allow a Replacement Tenant

    I would hope that your agreement gives the holder of the "master lease" approval over "subleasing" or "substitutions", but probably many are silent on the subject. That being said, I believe it is unreasonable for a departing roommate to be able to pick a person as a substitute -- it is the people remaining who have to live with that person. If this is allowed, a disgruntled roommate could find as a "substitute" a real problem person just to cause problems. I also feel that your roommate is correct, that a short term renter is a potential problem -- that is actually one of the reasons to have a lease to begin with.

    Also, from a legal perspective, if you are permitted to sublease the remainder of your lease, you are, in part, liable for damages caused by your replacement. How strong the "in part" is, would depend on the wording in the actual written agreements. I recommend that you pay her.

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