Roommate moved out and stopped paying rent without warning... What can we do?

So here’s the deal. I’m on a lease with roommate ‘A,’ and we have another roommate, ‘B,’ who was living with us on a month-to-month basis. The lease doesn’t officially hold her responsible for the rent, but she had been paying and agreed verbally to keep paying until she found a replacement. She’s been slowly moving her stuff out over the last few months, but now less than two weeks before rent is due, she tells us she’s not paying anymore and won’t be finding anyone to take her spot. A and I don’t have enough to cover the full rent, and we haven’t been able to find anyone fast enough to fill the room. Does anyone know if she has to give us more notice, or if we can get her to keep paying? She’s been living here for 3 years, way before A and I moved in, and we haven’t even heard anything from the landlord. What can we do in this situation??

If she’s not on the lease, she’s probably not legally required to pay anything. That said, if she verbally agreed to keep paying, you might have some leverage, but it’d be tricky to enforce. Did you get anything in writing?

@Cortland
Unfortunately, nothing in writing. It was more of a casual agreement that she’d keep paying until someone took her spot, but now she’s backing out.

Vale said:
@Cortland
Unfortunately, nothing in writing. It was more of a casual agreement that she’d keep paying until someone took her spot, but now she’s backing out.

That’s tough. Without anything in writing, it’s going to be hard to hold her to that. You might want to reach out to your landlord and see if they can help find a replacement quickly.

Legally, she’s not obligated to keep paying if she’s not on the lease. It’s a bummer, but if she’s month-to-month and not locked into the lease, she can stop paying as long as she’s out of the apartment. Maybe talk to the landlord about adjusting the rent or helping with a sublease?

@Drake
We haven’t talked to the landlord yet because we thought she would keep paying and finding a replacement. It’s just so sudden, and now we’re scrambling. We’ll probably have to reach out though.

Vale said:
@Drake
We haven’t talked to the landlord yet because we thought she would keep paying and finding a replacement. It’s just so sudden, and now we’re scrambling. We’ll probably have to reach out though.

Definitely reach out! They might have some solutions or at least give you some extra time to figure things out.

Since she’s not on the lease, she’s technically free to leave anytime, but that doesn’t mean it’s cool for her to leave you high and dry without any notice. Maybe you can talk to her and ask for at least a little more time or help finding a new roommate?

@Bay
We tried talking to her, but she’s already moved most of her stuff out and just doesn’t seem to care. She basically said it’s not her problem anymore.

Vale said:
@Bay
We tried talking to her, but she’s already moved most of her stuff out and just doesn’t seem to care. She basically said it’s not her problem anymore.

Wow, that’s rough. Sorry to hear that. Sounds like you’re better off without her, but that doesn’t help with rent… :confused:

Does your lease allow for subletting? You might be able to sublet the room and find someone temporary while you search for a more permanent replacement.

Oren said:
Does your lease allow for subletting? You might be able to sublet the room and find someone temporary while you search for a more permanent replacement.

Yeah, we can sublet, but finding someone that fast seems hard. We’ve been looking but no luck yet.

@Vale
Maybe try posting in local groups or on rental apps like SpareRoom? Sometimes you can find people who need a short-term place and are willing to move in quickly.

If she’s not on the lease, she doesn’t have any legal obligations, but the fact that she was living there for so long and agreed to pay should count for something. Maybe you can use that to convince her to at least chip in for the next month while you find someone else.

@Campbell
We tried, but she’s totally checked out. Doesn’t seem interested in helping at all. :pensive:

Vale said:
@Campbell
We tried, but she’s totally checked out. Doesn’t seem interested in helping at all. :pensive:

That’s frustrating. Sorry you’re dealing with this. Definitely reach out to your landlord and see if they can help with the situation.