The actual circumstances of a conflict between you will not change this fact. Even if you are right and your roommate is wrong, you will still have to pay his or her share of the rent if your roommate does not pay.
From the landlord's point of view, the house or apartment is rented to one household. Its up to you, the members of the household, to work out the details of dividing bills.
If one of you fails to pay the rent, the landlord can -- and usually will -- sue all of you. If the person who did not pay leaves, the roommates who paid their rent will face a lawsuit for eviction. All of the roommates, including the one who left, will be sued for the total rent due on the lease.
This may not sound fair, but that's the way it is, so you must choose roommates wisely. Do not just consider how well you get along -- although this is very important. You must also evaluate a roommate's financial responsibility.
If illness forces your roommate to leave school, will your roommate accept responsibility for his/her share of the rent until the lease is up? Do your roommate's parents understand the obligation to continue paying rent? If you must leave town for a new job before the lease ends, will your roommate be reasonable in considering replacement tenants? Questions of this nature should be considered when choosing to share a lease with a friend.
Go back to the home page and download a Roommate Agreement. This contract will not protect you from joint liability to the landlord, but it can be helpful for deciding in advance what you'll do if one person leaves before the lease is up, and for reminding each other what you agreed to if the situation were to arise.
A few places offer individual leases for one person's share of the apartment. This will protect you against liability for your roommate's rent, but it doesn't solve all roommate problems. The trade-off for not having to worry about your roommate's rent is that if s/he leaves, the landlord can replace your roommate with a stranger, whether you like that person or not. Also, in some of these situations you still share joint liability with your roommate for utility payments. In most of these situations, you share joint liability for any damage to the property -- even if it was caused by your roommate. Discuss any such arrangement with the Tenant Union before you make a commitment. We hear from many people, every year, who have financial and legal problems with roommates, even when they are on separate leases.
Roommates do not have standing to evict other roommates, even for non-payment of rent or violating the lease. If you want to have the authority to go to court to evict a roommate, you need to get authorization from the landlord. Including this clause in your lease would help:
Lessor agrees that a non-defaulting co-lessee may act as the landlord's agent for purposes of seeking eviction of the defaulting co-tenant(s).
Be sure to have the landlord initial this statement in your lease.
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The Tenant Union does not provide legal services of any kind. All information provided in this publication is intended to help the average person prevent problems and deal with common concerns of renting. When legal help is needed, always consult with an attorney at law.
The URL for these pages is http:// www.tenantunion.uiuc.edu
This page was last updated on 12/6/06.
