<p>and the 3 of us are a little concerned with what is going to happen with rent. All four of us signed the lease, which splits rent to a total of $400. He is going back to New York to live with his family since he cannot afford to pay for school (or rent, on that note). He signed a 12 month lease, and there are 7 months still left. My landlord briefly mentioned that if he leaves, we are all responsible for his rent, but that made no sense to me. If that's the case, I can always just pack my bags and go stay at my frat house for a few weeks until I find a place, or I can go home and live there. I was just curious if there are certain things I should look for in the lease, or point out to my landlord when he comes over tomorrow? </p>
<p>I thought that my roommate would be responsible for either finding a replacement roommate, or paying the rest of his rent off...?</p>
<p>You’re honestly screwed if you don’t find a replacement room-mate. Your (or your parents’, I’m guessing they were your guarantor for the lease) credit rating can be severely impacted by not honoring this lease. His parents’ too, but that is little consolation. It would be ethical of your current room-mate to pay his share of the rent or find a replacement room-mate, but that’s neither here nor there.</p>
<p>The four of you have a deal with the landlord where the four of you are responsible for the entire rent. If he doesn’t get it, he can evict all of you and you (and any cosigners) can have your credit messed up. He can also sue you if you don’t pay.</p>
<p>But you have a deal with your roommate where he is responsible for 1/4 of the rent. You can sue him to recover what you pay to the landlord. (But you have to try to find a replacement roommate; you can’t just sit back and do nothing and expect him to pay until the lease is up.)</p>
<p>If I were you, I’d start trying to find a new roommate ASAP. Odds are that most college students already have places to live, but there are going to be people not associated with the college who need a room. But I’d also talk to your roommate about how much he can pay.</p>
<p>This sounds like a really tough situation for all four of you. I hope you find a replacement roommate soon and that he is able to return to school quickly.</p>
<p>I did some quick math. If your roommate leaves and you and the other two remaining roommates have to cover rent, you wont be paying that much more. Ya’ll would only be paying 133.33 more than what you are currently paying. That should be doable for a few months while a replacement is fine.</p>
<p>I honestly don’t think this is as big a deal as it is made out to be. I could understand if you had to paying 200,300,400, or 500 more being upset but that is not the case here. I understand being a little ticked at the situation but it is not like he is running to move and live with someone else, he is going home because he can no longer afford college.</p>
<p>have no idea where you are in school, but some off-campus leases are individual; that is you are sharing a common space but the leases are written individually; check it…in that case, HE would be responsible, not the rest of you…</p>
<p>may wanna chat with a lawyer; many will do pro-bono work for college students at your university (or if there is a law school, call them)…</p>
<p>I always make sure I sign a different lease from my roommates. So in your case I would’ve signed a lease for $100 a month. That way if something happens with a roommate then the roommate and the landlord have to figure it out. </p>
<p>Unfortunately it sounds like all four of you signed the same lease so the four of you have to work it out, not the landlord. You’ll have to work out something with the roommate that’s leaving or else the rest of you will be liable for his part of the rent.</p>
<p>This is why I love my arrangement where my roommates and I all have entirely separate leases. If one of them leaves then I don’t get any say in who takes their place (although they would ask me if I knew anyone looking for an apartment first) but I also can’t be stuck with their rent.</p>
<p>Your best bet is to advertise the room on craigslist and try to get it filled as fast as possible. Once you have someone in there you can sue your roommate for whatever you guys lost while replacing him. </p>
<p>What you cannot do is just leave his spot empty and then expect him to pay out the full 7 months remaining on the lease. You’re required to make a reasonable attempt to mitigate any damages. He is also required the same and should be trying to find a replacement before he leaves as well.</p>
<p>yep, we all signed 1 lease, and we are treated as 1 person. Turns out our roommate wasnt forking out rent since November. He’s paying his share off up until Febr 1, and we’re gonna try and find a replacement. sign separate leases…gotta keep that in mind</p>
<p>That just happened to one of my friends, as it turns out her BF hadn’t been paying rent for 6 months, then he broke up with her, told her he was going to find her a roommate and pay rent in the meantime, didn’t do either, she didn’t find out til 8 months had gone by and now her credit is shot and she was evicted.</p>
<p>Most landlords will not allow separate leases; in many jurisdictions, separate leases violate zoning laws. Often, if there are separate leases, the building must be licensed as a boarding or rooming house.</p>
<p>Get on craigslist asap, you do not want to be paying more rent than you already are. Make sure your roommate who is leaving understand that its his responsibility to find a sublet when he leaves. Completely unfair to you and the other housemates. Let us know how it turns out.</p>