Roommate is not paying their rent!!!

[spud.livejournal.com]

I live in a house with two other roommates. The three of us were on a lease from Dec '07 through Dec '08, and have simply been tenants-at-will since then. We each pay our share of rent individully to the landlord, but my understanding is that we are responsible together for insuring that rent for the apartment is paid in full.

We received a note on the door yesterday from our landlord saying that he would like a call concerning ROOMMATE #3's rent. My other roommate called him back and learned that ROOMMATE #3 was late on this months rent, AND had not paid last months rent either. ROOMMATE #3 has also been eating our food when we are not around, and has not been paying utilities on time.

The kicker here is that ROOMMATE #3 is the ONLY member of the household with a job, and he makes good money. (Corporate Web Developer) :\

Our landlord would love to see this person go, but mainly, he just wants his money. That means that it becomes the responsibility of the other roommate and myself (the unemployed ones) to cover this gap, which is obviously difficult if not impossible for us to do.

I would like to know if anyone has been through a deadbeat roommate situation like this before, and has any words of wisdom on the legal ramifications involved. We know that we can't just kick the deadbeat out, and we don't want to loose this apartment either! (We like it here, and we have a pretty good report with the landlord since we stopped throwing late night parties a year ago!) We would love to get rid of this deadbeat!

Any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank!

Comments

[ron_newman]

If you arranged to send him (perhaps anonymously) a copy of this post, would that be enough to shame him into catching up on the late rent and utility payments?

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

I would encourage the landlord to talk with Roommate 3 directly.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Were it me, I would put in a call to his boss...but I'm confrontational that way (ok, I might let him know he has 24 hours to pay up, or that I was calling his boss, and I would let him know that if that was not enough to make him cough it up, I would be certain to find something that would. YMMV).

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

i had one more thought - did anyone cosign with him when he signed the lease originally? just curious to whether he has parents or someone like that you could call if this drags on and he continues to hide from you guys. a shitty course of action but maybe someone that could ensure he gets his ass in gear or, legally would be responsible.

[spud.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, I doubt that would shame him enough. He has been, for the most part, easy to deal with until recently. He usually comes home from work, heads into his bedroom, and then smokes-up and drinks until he falls asleep. We only see him on the rare occasion when he's heading from his bedroom to the front door, or when he heads to the fridge to grab another beer. In a typical two-week period, I may see him three times in passing, at the most.

[spud.livejournal.com]

The landlord has tried to reach him, but the roommate is neither answering or returning the calls. He hasn't answered any emails or messages from my roommate either.

[spud.livejournal.com]

Heh... tempting, but that could blow things up far worse. There is a short list of these sorts of items that has already been created, so I'm adding that one to the list! :)

[spud.livejournal.com]

No co-signer. I have met his mother once, albeit briefly, and I don't believe that his family is too far away.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Could you maybe give the landlord a call to let him know when roommate #3 is actually in the apartment?

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Blow up worse than a gainfully employed person stiffing his unemployed roommates for rent? Please explain to me why you are afraid of blowing things up? My sense is that he has already muddied the waters and I am wondering what you fear you will lose? Confront him if you will; then put his stuff out o the street and change the locks. Forgive the brazen, I have no patience for this kind of nonsense. Also? I might feel differently if he were at least communicating about it.

I do hope you get it resolved, peacefully if that be your wish.

[hikermtnbiker.livejournal.com]

As you have already mentioned, you are all 3 responsible for the rent, so as long as #3 does not pay, #1 and 2 have to make up the difference. It is not the landlord's responsibility to chase #3. If the landlord get shorted long enough he will simply ask you all to leave. (I don't know if he can evict a single tenant in a group situation). Probably best if you simply ask #3 to leave. If he is not paying anyway, what have you got to lose? It also sounds as if he has some developing personal issues that could become worse.

[serious-noir.livejournal.com]

Well that sucks - but instead of waiting for a chance meeting in the kitchen or wherever, why not just knock on his bedroom door and ask what gives? (before the nth beer...). Better, you and the 2nd roommate do it together, and ask him what is going on.

He has to have some clue that non-payment of rent results in consequences eventually...

I'd suggest avoiding drama/confrontation as long as possible- cornered people tend to lash out, however iffy their position.

[spud.livejournal.com]

As pointed out further down in the thread, the landlord knows that it's not his job to hunt down our roommate since the three of us are responsible together for rent. :(

[spud.livejournal.com]

I'm attempting to resolve it peacefully at first. If things blow up of their own accord, we can certainly deal with this situation in another manner, but I'd rather that things are handled within the guidelines of the law.

[spud.livejournal.com]

I guess what I would like to know is if anyone has any info on how my roommate and I would legally go about kicking our roommate out if he doesn't resolve this issue fast. That is the biggest concern right now.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Fair enough. I don't actually know the legal options here; I know it would be illegal for the landlord to do this; evictions are a whole long process. I am curious what the laws are for roommates who are getting stiffed and who may become homeless because of it (I hope this is not the case here). If you find out, perhaps you could post?

Good luck.

[spud.livejournal.com]

The problem there is figuring out when he is actually home. Sometimes he comes home after work... sometimes he shuffles in around 1am. Right now, he's not here, and we usually don't hear him when he comes in.

I've propped his bedroom door open though, so if it closed at some point, we'll know he's home.

[spud.livejournal.com]

If I find out, I will definitely add it to the thread. I'm actually living in Central Square now, but this group has always been the most well-put-together community, so I knew I could turn here for some answers. (I miss living in Davis Square!)

[tamalinn.livejournal.com]

Your landlord could evict only your roommate. Last year two of my roommates and myself had an issue with our fourth. It wasn't that she wasn't paying rent, though. But she was engaging in behaviors that could've put us, the apartment, and the building at risk. We called our landlord and told him what was going on. He issued her an eviction notice the next day.

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

the thing is,
a.) this landlord has, in the past, evicted an entire apartment for one (and maybe 2) person's screwups.
b.) if he does evict just the one guy, the other two are still on the hook for the rent which, on unemployment wages isn't the most feasible.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

You will have to take him to housing court. I know someone who occasionally posts on this forum and is a member of the Davis Sq. community. He went through a very similar process. He was successful in evicting the tenant, but he never recovered his money.

In short, your roommate is doing something really bad. Aside from the boorishness of consuming your food and not paying you on time for utilities, he is essentially making you pay for his rent.

I understand the difficulty in not wanting to escalate the manner. After all, you have to live with the guy.

I would sit him down and explain to him that this is simply unacceptable behavior, and that he is legally responsible for the difference. If you want, have a third party do this for you (a friend, someone who is good at these sorts of things). Tell him that the situation cannot continue, and the longer he goes down this path, the worse it is going to get for him. Inform him that you have the right to take him to housing court under Massachusetts Law to recover what he is legally obligated to give you under your contract, and that he will be served with process at his place of work, and that his boss and coworkers will be involved.

Of course, the only time I ever had to deal with a non vacating tenant, I basically did an illegal eviction. So...

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

I am not an attorney, but from what I've read online, MA tenant-landlord law allows the landlord to consider you all as having joint and several liability - meaning, yes, he can hang on you all one person's failure to pay.

Time to start selling your roommate's shite.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

far worse than you all being served with a notice to evict?

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

I know it would be illegal for the landlord to do this

Illegal for the landlord to do what - evict them for non-payment of rent?

Probably is NOT illegal for the landlord to do so, but I'm not a lawyer, so check someone else's opinion:

Co-tenants: Both roommates have their names/signatures on the lease issued by the landlord, and the landlord has accepted the presence of both in his dwelling. In this case, joint and several liability exists, which means that the two tenants are considered to be “one unit” by the landlord. In cases of “joint and several liability”, the landlord can look to either tenant for resolution, should a problem arise. For example, if one co-tenant fails to pay rent one month, the landlord can hold the other roommate responsible for the delinquent tenant’s portion. And if one roommate breaks a condition of the lease or rental agreement, the landlord may evict both tenants for the infraction. A co-tenant may not evict another co-tenant – this right is only granted to the landlord. For these reasons, it is crucial that those entering into a lease as co-tenants trust each other greatly, as “even innocent co-tenants will suffer the consequences of one co-tenant’s misdeeds.”

http://masmallclaims.org/website/en/topics/landlordtenant-law/

My bet: He lost his job.

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

And has not told any of you.