One roommate decides
to move out before the end of the leasing period, leaving
their roommate stuck with five months of full rent to
pay.
If one
roommate moves out on the other, the remaining roommate
is responsible for the full rent unless he/she and the
management come up with some alternate agreement to
relieve the tenant of the full rent. If the roommates
signed a roommate contract that stated what portion of the rent each roommate would pay,
then the remaining roommate can file a claim with the
small claims court.
Two people are sharing an apartment
- one roommate is very neat and the other roommate is
just the opposite - a slob. The neat roommate decides
that he/she just can't take it anymore and wants the junk
monster out.
The first step would be for
you to talk to your roommate and try to come up with a
solution that would benefit the both of you. Seeking the
services of mediation may also
help in reaching this solution. If, however, it is
necessary that he/she move out, it is not advised that
the lease be broken unless the manager is willing to let
the tenant out without charging them for remaining rent
damages. A better solution to this type of problem would
be subleasing. The roommate who decides to move out can
find someone to replace him/her with the manager's
consent.
Sally subleases her half of her
apartment to a new incoming student. Upon arriving, the
new student finds out that she is responsible for paying
half of the utilities. This is an unexpected financial
obligation, and she refuses to pay because her name is
not on the bill.
The roommates have to come up
with some agreement about the utility bills. The utility
company must receive the full balance each month to keep
utilities connected. One two week extension can be made
for tenants who are expecting financial problems,
however, there are no extensions for tenants who are
having roommate problems. If services are disconnected, a
re-connection fee plus the entire balance will be
necessary to reconnect services. If one roommate is
refusing to pay their half of the phone bill, the other
roommate can call the billing department and make
arrangements to pay installments until the unpaid balance
is paid. If only half of the bill is paid each month, the
remainder of the bill will be forwarded to the next
month's bill along with the late fee for the previous
unpaid balance.
Nathan's roommate gets a CO-OP job
that he can't afford to pass up, so he convinces a mutual
friend who needs a place to stay to take over his share
of the rent and bills. After two months, Nathan realizes
that his new roommate is a freak, so Nathan decides to
move out. In their haste to get things settled, the new
roommate never bothered to sign the lease.
The TAA lease states that
anyone who is not on the lease is not allowed to stay in
the residence for more than seven consecutive days.
Therefore, there should not be anyone living in the
apartment who is not on the lease. The roommate in this
situation would not have any recourse. He could try to
get his name put on the lease. However, if this
fails they have no choice but to move out of the
apartment. Signing a roommate contract can be just as
effective as signing the original lease and can protect
someone who moves in during the middle of the semester.
If one roommate tries to seek payment
for damages through small claims court, he/she must first
pick-up a petition and pay $62 for filing and citation
fees. The person who is being filed against (the
defendant) must respond within 10 days. If they fail to
respond, a court date will be set four to six weeks
later. After which, they have one more chance to respond
or show up for their trial. If they still fail to respond
or fail to show up for the set court date, the trial will
proceed without them. The claimant will present his/her
evidence and the judgment will be based on that
evidence. There is no guarantee for payment of damages or
the cost of filing the claim. If the former roommate
doesn't pay the claimant ten days after the judgment has
been made, the claimant can file an Abstract of Judgment. This will put a credit lien on that person's
record for up to ten years. A credit lien prevents that
person from taking out loans or buying or selling
anything in that county. These judgments can be filed in
whatever county the person resides.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT THE
OFFICES OF:
Judge Boyett
100 Anderson
College Station, TX 77840
(979) 693-2695 |
Brazos County
Court House
300 E 26th St Suite 308
Bryan, TX 77820
(979) 361-4375 |
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