What to do if my roommate refuses to pay his rent?
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What to do if my roommate refuses to pay his rent?
I moved in with my roommate and signed the lease at the same time and the landlord told us that he did not care where and who gave him the money; only that it was paid for. My roommate has not paid rent or utilities and the landlord is pressuring me and him for the money and says we will both get evicted from the apt. if he doesn’t get the money. I have repeatedly asked my roommate for money with no luck. He has two jobs so I know he has money. Is there anything I can do to resolve this without me getting evicted as well?
Asked on October 12, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you have a written lease with your landlord for the rental that you have with your roommate, you need to carefully read it in that its terms and conditions control the obligations owed to you by the landlord, you to him and you and your roommate to each other in the absence of conflicting state law. Under the law of your state, your roommate has an implied in fact agreement with you to pay his share of the monthly costs for the rental that you have with your landlord.
Your option if you do not want to get evicted from the premises is to have your roommate pay his share of the monthly rent to the landlord, you need to do so and then ask your roommate to reimburse you for what you paid for him.
If he fails to do so, then your option is to sue him in small claims court and begin thinking about getting another roommate.
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