Daedalus214
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Rhode Island.
I was sharing an apartment with a friend. She left on no notice. Because of a complication while we were moving in, she never signed the lease, and for the sake of expediency I always paid the rent by check. However, she paid me, by check, her half of the rent every month. Furthermore, it's easy to establish she was living at the apartment and that she filed an application for the apartment at the same time I did, and the real estate agency has acknowledged that there was irregularities in signing the lease.
She had previously offered, if she had moved out, to pay me a portion of her share of the rent. However, since she moved out she now claims that our agreement was simply that she would pay me as long as she was living there.
Since I can demonstrate that she was paying me monthly, and living in the apartment; and had filed an application for the apartment which was subsequently approved, does this seem sufficient to prove that we had an oral contract stipulating equal payment/lesseeship of the apartment?
Would witnesses to our agreement help? Would they have to appear in court themselves, or would a notarized and signed statement work?
Furthermore, how much can I sue for? Since we have 5 months left on the lease, can I sue her for what she would end up owing (or, rather, up to the $1,500 cap in RI)? Simply for the month she's missed so far? etc. etc.
I was sharing an apartment with a friend. She left on no notice. Because of a complication while we were moving in, she never signed the lease, and for the sake of expediency I always paid the rent by check. However, she paid me, by check, her half of the rent every month. Furthermore, it's easy to establish she was living at the apartment and that she filed an application for the apartment at the same time I did, and the real estate agency has acknowledged that there was irregularities in signing the lease.
She had previously offered, if she had moved out, to pay me a portion of her share of the rent. However, since she moved out she now claims that our agreement was simply that she would pay me as long as she was living there.
Since I can demonstrate that she was paying me monthly, and living in the apartment; and had filed an application for the apartment which was subsequently approved, does this seem sufficient to prove that we had an oral contract stipulating equal payment/lesseeship of the apartment?
Would witnesses to our agreement help? Would they have to appear in court themselves, or would a notarized and signed statement work?
Furthermore, how much can I sue for? Since we have 5 months left on the lease, can I sue her for what she would end up owing (or, rather, up to the $1,500 cap in RI)? Simply for the month she's missed so far? etc. etc.