Can I ask my roommate to pay a higher share of the rent if he allowed 2 of his family members to move in without informing me?
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Can I ask my roommate to pay a higher share of the rent if he allowed 2 of his family members to move in without informing me?
We live in a small 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment. Last weekend, my roommate’s mother and 3 year old son came over. He then informed me they would actually be moving in. I asked him for how long, and he said, “Indefinitely.” We each have our own separate, monthly agreements with the landlord for a room in the apartment; we pay him separately for our respective rooms. However, I feel I am being taken advantage of, as I was given absolutely no notice beforehand that this may happen. The apartment is very, very small, and they have taken up a great deal of space and are noisy.
Asked on August 22, 2011 California
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
You can ask your roommate to pay a higher share of the monthly rent id his mother and her three year old son are moving into the unit you are sharing with him. Most likely he will refuse to pay a higher amount of the monthly rent for the apartment.
Should this happen, you need to carefully read your lease with the landlord in that its terms and conditions set forth the obligations you owe to your landlord and vice versa in the absence of conflicting California law. Potentially there may be a clause in your lease restricting the number of occupants in the apartment to your advantage.
If there is no mention of an occupant restriction in your lease, you need to call your landlord about the move in situation and follow up with a letter. Possibly your landlord may not want additional occupants long term in your apartment or your roommate's lease might preclude this. If this isn the case, your problems could be solved by the landlord.
Good luck.
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