If I moved in with a friend but was never on the lease, doI still have to split the bills?
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If I moved in with a friend but was never on the lease, doI still have to split the bills?
Going 50/50 on the bills was per a verbal agreement. Being a verbal agreement would a judge still order me to pay him even though I was never on the lease?
Asked on October 31, 2010 under Real Estate Law, Texas
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
You have technically created a sub-tenancy - which may or may not be legal under the lease agreement. As for the contract, it is a verbal contract and verbal contracts are legal as long as they do not violate what is known as the statute of frauds, which is a statute that says that certain agreements must be in writing to be valid. The sale of real property is one of those agreements that must be in writing. In Texas, leases for more than a year must be in writing and a contract to pay of someone else's debts, as well as others. You, though, are paying your own debt here and I think that if the sub-tenancy can be proven you will be held liable for the money.
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