What if roommate refuses to pay rent?

By Tenant

Getting a roommate can be very practical especially if you are renting a two-room apartment. At least you will have someone to share the rent with and the utilities. If you are both on the lease agreement, then that means you will be jointly responsible for the rent payment. This means that if one you decides not to pay the rent, then the other roommate will still need to pay the full rent.

It’s like being tied to each other until the lease agreement is up. The fate of one roommate while renting will be the fate of the other roommate when renting. So when an eviction is filed, it will be on both your records.

The problem is, if your roommate knows about this and just doesn’t care, what should you do?

1. Write a letter to your roommate reminding her of her part of the deal. Maybe your roommate just needs a little reminding. You can also include a copy of your lease agreement.
2. If she no longer wants to be part of the lease agreement, she should inform your landlord about it. Your landlord can either release her from the agreement or keep her until the lease expires.
3. Meanwhile, you can look for a replacement tenant to help you with the rent. If you cannot find a replacement tenant and your rent is up, you will be required to pay for the whole rent.
4. If she hasn’t been paying rent for some time and it seems as if she doesn’t have any plans of paying, you can take her to small claims court. Yes, taking her to court can be a huge hassle and you may not get your money back. The only consolation that you will get is that she would have an eviction on her record.

The decision of whether or not to share the responsibility of rent with someone must only be reached after careful thought. Do not just jump into it because once you sign a lease agreement, the demands to keep your end of the deal will be great. An eviction can become an easy possibility and you don’t want that.

Filing a complaint

Although the responsibility of rent is shared by you and your roommate, your landlord will still need to respect your rights as a tenant. If needed, a 3-day pay or quit notice will still be filed, followed by the formal eviction process if you can’t pay the rent.

He should not just change the locks on you and throw you out. If your landlord does that, you should file a complaint. The RPA has a mediation center that you can access using this link: http://www.rentalprotectionagency.com/complaint_center.php

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