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Does housemate leaving require a new lease with landlord?

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sethmachine01

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Massachusetts

I live in a 2 bedroom apartment with a single housemate.

Our rental agreement with the land lord is an at will agreement. Either party can terminate the lease at any time, with a month's notice.

This means if we want to leave for July 1st 2016, we would have to give notice to our landlord before or on the end of May 31st. We would then stay in the rental through June. The same is true if the landlord decides he wants new tenants or otherwise doesn't like our tenancy--he gives us written notice in the same time frame.

Since we signed together a single rental agreement (both I and my roommate), if either of us leaves, what I believe would happen is that the rental agreement is no longer valid, and that whoever stays will need to sign a new rental agreement with the landlord.

If that is the case, then does that make it possible for either myself or my roommate to attempt to dislodge the other? Once the agreement is cancelled, the landlord has no obligation to rent the property to either of us, so there's a risk he could decide to put in on the market instead and/or increase the price.

My goal is to become the sole tenant of the property. I have more than enough demonstrable income to pay the rent individually, and my roommate can barely afford his half of the rent.

Am I advised just to send a letter to the landlord explaining my circumstances, and then he can decide what he would do if the agreement is cancelled (i.e. decide to make a new rental agreement with just me).
 


FarmerJ

Senior Member
Absolutely speak to the LL about staying on ( if the LL has been happy with you as a tenant then there is no reason that you cannot stay as long as you can afford it. Has your roommate given notice to the LL that he wishes to vacate ? BTW when you said >
This means if we want to leave for July 1st 2016, we would have to give notice to our landlord before or on the end of May 31st.< that's not totally true if you want to be out before July first (as in your last day being last day of June then having the notice sent out so it is post marked say the 28th today so it arrives on tue 31 unless for some reason it takes longer to actually get thru the postal system. ( to give a notice so you leave on the first makes you still in occupancy into another rental period and would give some LLs reason to argue that you would owe more rent.
 

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