What are a roommate’s rights regarding a notice to vacate?
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What are a roommate’s rights regarding a notice to vacate?
While falling on hard times, my friends told me I could stay with them. After a month, we decided to get a lease together. We signed it and I paid the $350 deposit in cash. The verbal agreement was that I would only have to pay $150 a month until I got on my feet. After I met a new boyfriend, they told me he couldn’t step foot in the house for 3 months, which I was respected. They had a dispute with a friend of mine and told my friend that they would be taking it out on me. They now claim that the property managment company was a fraud and a new lease had been signed with the owner and they weren’t obligated to give me 30 days notice. They took all of mine and my daughter’s things and threw them in my room. Do I have any rights?
Asked on October 1, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Missouri
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
From what you write, it sounds like you signed a lease with your friends. That means that you are their subtenant under a written lease. If that was the case, you may enforce the lease against them: for example, they could only evict you for nonpayment, other good cause (such as violating terms of the lease), or on 30 days notice IF the lease provided they could do so or was a month to month lease. Whatever issues they may have with the property management company or owner are irrelevant to you--they have to honor their agreement with you, even if they in turn may have some rights or claims against the manager or owner. If they will not honor the terms of their lease with you, you could sue them for monetary compensation or to force them to honor the lease.
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