Eatblueshell
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Michigan
Currently, my former room-mates are trying to get me to pay them 800 dollars worth of rent that I shouldn't owe. Let me explain the situation:
A few months ago, I moved out of my old apartment and in with a couple of friends/acquaintances. Upon moving in, I found that aside from the apartment not being in sanitary Condition, that my roommates were not exactly the best of their kind.
Here is a few things that were wrong with the apartment:
1. The Plumbing was not in working order, upon use of the shower AND the toilet, it would leak sizable amounts of water into the basement, as if a shower head was just pouring water onto the floor.
2. There was heavy mold in the basement, we talked to the land lord, he painted over it and said it was fine. Never had anyone out to the house to make sure it was safe, or if it was a harmful type of mold.
3. We did not think to check the toilet when we saw the apartment for the first time, and upon trying to use it for the first time, we found human feces that had been left in the toilet , judging by the looks of things, it had been there from the previous tenant.
I came home on several occasions to find random people sleeping in my bed. This was unacceptable.
And after talking to another friend of mine, i discovered that my landlord was one would be classified a "Slum Lord." And this situation had happened to many other people who have rented apartments from him, in regards the apartment not being what was advertised.
So I decided I wanted out. I spoke to my roommates and told them I planned on breaking the lease and leaving. I told them two months ahead of time. this way they could find a replacement roommate if they wanted to.
A month before I moved out I told the landlord that i wish to break the lease, which he said was ok, as long as the replacement tenant was there on time and rent was paid.
The roommates said that they had a friend that could move in, and all would be ok. I moved out to a new apartment.
A month later they called and said that their friend backed out and would not be moving in and demanded the rent. At this point I was still on the lease at this place. While technically, I am contractually obligated to pay rent, I was furious, I gave them two months warning, and they couldn't get a solid roommate, and when it didn't pan out, they didn't do anything to replace my spot.
I called the landlord and explained the situation and he of course just wanted his money, and he said if I could provide a roommate for them then maybe we could put this behind them. So I put up an add on a Local classified site, and immediately begun to receive emails from people interested in the room, I found one that was of similar age and same gender who seemed responsible and presented her to my roommates.
They never kept in contact with her, and she found another place to live.
After many a conversation and argument about the situation I paid that months rent, which caused me some financial issues, as do I not make that much money.
Before I gave them this 300 dollars i made sure that they said this was all I was to owe them. and they agreed i should never have to pay them anything else.
Now it is three months later and i get a phone call from them saying that they never found another roommate even though they claimed they had really tried. And are demanding that I pay them the lost rent.
I was still on the lease because the landlord said he would have me written off the lease when the new tenant signed it. Regrettably I did not see that process through, however they assured me that what I paid was all I will pay.
Turns out they changed their minds.
They have threatened to go to court over this. Though there has been no legal action to this point.
And I was curious if their case would hold up in Court? and if so, what options do I have.
Currently, my former room-mates are trying to get me to pay them 800 dollars worth of rent that I shouldn't owe. Let me explain the situation:
A few months ago, I moved out of my old apartment and in with a couple of friends/acquaintances. Upon moving in, I found that aside from the apartment not being in sanitary Condition, that my roommates were not exactly the best of their kind.
Here is a few things that were wrong with the apartment:
1. The Plumbing was not in working order, upon use of the shower AND the toilet, it would leak sizable amounts of water into the basement, as if a shower head was just pouring water onto the floor.
2. There was heavy mold in the basement, we talked to the land lord, he painted over it and said it was fine. Never had anyone out to the house to make sure it was safe, or if it was a harmful type of mold.
3. We did not think to check the toilet when we saw the apartment for the first time, and upon trying to use it for the first time, we found human feces that had been left in the toilet , judging by the looks of things, it had been there from the previous tenant.
I came home on several occasions to find random people sleeping in my bed. This was unacceptable.
And after talking to another friend of mine, i discovered that my landlord was one would be classified a "Slum Lord." And this situation had happened to many other people who have rented apartments from him, in regards the apartment not being what was advertised.
So I decided I wanted out. I spoke to my roommates and told them I planned on breaking the lease and leaving. I told them two months ahead of time. this way they could find a replacement roommate if they wanted to.
A month before I moved out I told the landlord that i wish to break the lease, which he said was ok, as long as the replacement tenant was there on time and rent was paid.
The roommates said that they had a friend that could move in, and all would be ok. I moved out to a new apartment.
A month later they called and said that their friend backed out and would not be moving in and demanded the rent. At this point I was still on the lease at this place. While technically, I am contractually obligated to pay rent, I was furious, I gave them two months warning, and they couldn't get a solid roommate, and when it didn't pan out, they didn't do anything to replace my spot.
I called the landlord and explained the situation and he of course just wanted his money, and he said if I could provide a roommate for them then maybe we could put this behind them. So I put up an add on a Local classified site, and immediately begun to receive emails from people interested in the room, I found one that was of similar age and same gender who seemed responsible and presented her to my roommates.
They never kept in contact with her, and she found another place to live.
After many a conversation and argument about the situation I paid that months rent, which caused me some financial issues, as do I not make that much money.
Before I gave them this 300 dollars i made sure that they said this was all I was to owe them. and they agreed i should never have to pay them anything else.
Now it is three months later and i get a phone call from them saying that they never found another roommate even though they claimed they had really tried. And are demanding that I pay them the lost rent.
I was still on the lease because the landlord said he would have me written off the lease when the new tenant signed it. Regrettably I did not see that process through, however they assured me that what I paid was all I will pay.
Turns out they changed their minds.
They have threatened to go to court over this. Though there has been no legal action to this point.
And I was curious if their case would hold up in Court? and if so, what options do I have.