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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Posts
    3

    Question Utilities After Roommate Moves Out

    My question involves a roommate in the State of: Ohio

    5 months into a 12mo. lease, my roommate has informed me that she can no longer "swing it financially" and is going to be moving in with her fiance. She has agreed to continue to pay rent until a sublet is arranged but does not want to pay utilities, all of which are in my name.

    Here is my thinking:

    1. Although we never signed anything agreeing to split bills, we did so verbally, and I can show that up until this point she was writing checks to me every month for her 1/2 of utilies. I believe this establishes an agreement of 50/50 utility payment.
    2. We agreed to a cable package that had a 12mo. contract. As soon as I learned she did not intend to pay utilities anymore, I immediately downgraded to a cable package I can afford to pay alone from here on out (since cable is a luxury), but there was a final payment on the old package + a $90 cancelation fee. It is my opinion that she should pay her half of this last bill and that she should pay the entire cancelation fee since it is a direct result of her decisions/actions that required me to downgrade. I also informed her ahead of time that there would be a fee for breaking our cable contract.
    3. We live in a LARGE old Victorian apartment that gets very cold in the winter. I am careful not to overuse heat, but it is necessary for my to run it if I am going to be here and also as not to allow the pipes to freeze/ become damaged. I would never have signed a lease on such an apartment if I thought I would be paying to heat it alone. (She is the one who found this apartment, and we discussed that the gas bill would probably be high but together splitting it we would be fine)
    4. Even though she will not be in the apartment to use electricity and water, I believe there is still a base monthly charge, which being a signee on the lease I feel she should assist in paying.

    There are a few other issues, but I do not know if they are relevant:
    She and her fiance got a dog together in November. We do not have clearance for a pet on our lease, and I told her I did not want the dog to be in our apartment unless she informed our landlord and paid a pet deposit, which she did not do. I have since on at least 2 occasions found that she left the dog shut in her room while she was at work. I feel that her knowingly choosing to get a pet that was not allowed in our apartment definitely isolated her from our apartment and her ability to stay there, and she also put me in jeopardy as a tenant if the landlord had found out or if a neighbor had complained (the thing barked like crazy!).
    Also, her announcement that she needed to save money came 2 weeks after she got engaged to her fiance, leading me to believe it has more to do with saving for a wedding and wanting to live together than an actual financial emergency.

    I understand that it sounds unfair to want payment for utilities when she is not really around. However, I feel that I am being financially punished for her irresponsible life choices, and I feel that she should be held responsible for some portion of the bills.

    What do you think?

    Thank you in advance - I know there's a lot going on here to try to interpret.

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

    Default Re: Utilities After Roommate Moves Out

    You're both on the lease?

    Even showing an even split through the date of her move-out, you would face a possible response that her understanding was that she would pay for a share of the utilities while in residence.

    I suggest trying to work things out amicably, and trying to get a replacement roommate ASAP. If you push things now, or file a lawsuit, you may find that she is no longer willing to pay rent after vacating.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Utilities After Roommate Moves Out

    Thanks for your response.

    Yes, we are both on the lease. And also even if she moves all of her stuff out, I have already talked to our landlord and until someone is approved both by him and myself to take over her half of the lease, she will remain on the lease and be held accountable for her part of the rent.

    Things right now are still amiable, but she is responding less and less to my attempts to discuss bills and finding a sublet. My fear is that although she initally said she wanted to talk things through, she feels her responsibilities are over and our utility bills/the task of finding a sublet is now my problem.

    I am not worried about rent. I just don't know what my options are if she flat out refuses to continue to assist with utilities.

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