Do I have any options

[kusiman17]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TX

Last year I signed a 12month lease for an apartment for my cousin because she could not get the place. My name is the only one on the lease but I did not live there at all. I got a call from a collections agency last week saying I now owe $8500. That was a complete shock to me. Last September I knew she moved out and I spoke to the complex and to my knowledge rent owed was paid and I wouldn't get charged future months. The complex knew that she lived there and not me. There is a little more to the story but that is the thick of it. Do I have any options here to sue her or anything like that? It's a sticky situation and it feels i'm at a major loss. I am currently unemployed and in school getting my MBA. I cannot pay this and now I have a broken lease record and a credit problem. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[Antigone*]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TX

Last year I signed a 12month lease for an apartment for my cousin because she could not get the place. My name is the only one on the lease but I did not live there at all. I got a call from a collections agency last week saying I now owe $8500. That was a complete shock to me. Last September I knew she moved out and I spoke to the complex and to my knowledge rent owed was paid and I wouldn't get charged future months. The complex knew that she lived there and not me. There is a little more to the story but that is the thick of it. Do I have any options here to sue her or anything like that? It's a sticky situation and it feels i'm at a major loss. I am currently unemployed and in school getting my MBA. I cannot pay this and now I have a broken lease record and a credit problem. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thank you in advance.

I suggest you get a job to pay what you owe.

 

[kusiman17]

I am definitely working on getting employment right now and once I secure a position that gives me suitable income to cover more than my needs I will pay what I can to the collections periodically. And I do have a little savings I can give to them to make a small dent. But I just wanted to know if I have a leg to stand on to try to get the responsibility off of me or share responsibility. I understand my decision to help my cousin was not a smart one financially.

 

[LeeHarveyBlotto]

You could sue the cousin, but since she has no money...

 

[wrongsometimes]

Not enough information. Look into mitigation defense to lower the $$ owed.

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TX

Last year I signed a 12month lease for an apartment for my cousin because she could not get the place. My name is the only one on the lease but I did not live there at all. I got a call from a collections agency last week saying I now owe $8500. That was a complete shock to me. Last September I knew she moved out and I spoke to the complex and to my knowledge rent owed was paid and I wouldn't get charged future months. The complex knew that she lived there and not me. There is a little more to the story but that is the thick of it. Do I have any options here to sue her or anything like that? It's a sticky situation and it feels i'm at a major loss. I am currently unemployed and in school getting my MBA. I cannot pay this and now I have a broken lease record and a credit problem. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thank you in advance.

So you basically became a guarantor for a lease on an apartment where you never lived. When did the lease begin, and when had your cousin moved out?

As you say, the lease was broken by your cousin moving out early. That means you can only be held liable for unpaid rent from the point where the cousin moved out until the apartment was re-rented, or until the lease expired, whichever occurred sooner. Texas requires LLs to mitigate their damages, so they would have to make reasonable efforts to re-rent the apartment. The apartment complex cannot just automatically make you liable for the FULL remaining rent on the lease without having made reasonable efforts to replace your cousin.

Ask the collection agency for validation of the debt and proof of the months for which they are demanding the unpaid rent balance of $8500.