2 of 5 joint tenants want to break lease.

[LJOre]

What is the name of your state? Hello everyone, I am a new member and am seeking advice on how to address this problem. I have a single house that is being leased to 5 joint tenants. During the third month of the lease, two tenants wanted to move out because of the differences. How do I handle in this situation?
Your response is greatly appreciated.

 

[LJOre]

What is the name of your state? Hello everyone, I am a new member and am seeking advice on how to address this problem. I have a single house that is being leased to 5 joint tenants. During the third month of the lease, two tenants wanted to move out because of the differences. How do I handle in this situation?
Your response is greatly appreciated.

I’m in Oregon

 

[LJOre]

I’m in Oregon

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? Hello everyone, I am a new member and am seeking advice on how to address this problem. I have a single house that is being leased to 5 joint tenants. During the third month of the lease, two tenants wanted to move out because of the differences. How do I handle in this situation?
Your response is greatly appreciated.

You have many different potential options.

-You can stick to the lease and hold all of them responsible for the rent through the lease period...subject of course to any provisions in your lease addressing the issue.

-You can let them off the hook and hold only the other tenants responsible (not the best idea).

-You can allow the tenants to find sublessors to take their place.

-If the remaining tenants don't want new roommates and are willing and qualify on their own you could sign new leases with just them.

Basically, you pretty much hold all of the power here as the party to a signed lease. You cannot physically force the tenants to stay, but you can force them to remain financially responsible. Collecting from them may be another story, but you can hold them financially responsible.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? Hello everyone, I am a new member and am seeking advice on how to address this problem. I have a single house that is being leased to 5 joint tenants. During the third month of the lease, two tenants wanted to move out because of the differences. How do I handle in this situation?
Your response is greatly appreciated.

All five tenants were responsible, as joint tenants, for the full amount of the rent. The remaining three tenants should refigure their share of the rent to accommodate the loss of the two vacating tenants. They can sue their two roommates for their share of the rent until replacement tenants can be found, through a sublease approved by you.

Your role as landlord/owner is to insist that the terms of the lease are met and that the full amount of rent is paid each month.

 

[LJOre]

You have many different potential options.

-You can stick to the lease and hold all of them responsible for the rent through the lease period...subject of course to any provisions in your lease addressing the issue.

-You can let them off the hook and hold only the other tenants responsible (not the best idea).

-You can allow the tenants to find sublessors to take their place.

-If the remaining tenants don't want new roommates and are willing and qualify on their own you could sign new leases with just them.

Basically, you pretty much hold all of the power here as the party to a signed lease. You cannot physically force the tenants to stay, but you can force them to remain financially responsible. Collecting from them may be another story, but you can hold them financially responsible.

 

[LJOre]

Great! Thank you for your prompt response. Your advice means a lot to me.

 

[LJOre]

All five tenants were responsible, as joint tenants, for the full amount of the rent. The remaining three tenants should refigure their share of the rent to accommodate the loss of the two vacating tenants. They can sue their two roommates for their share of the rent until replacement tenants can be found, through a sublease approved by you.

Your role as landlord/owner is to insist that the terms of the lease are met and that the full amount of rent is paid each month.

 

[LJOre]

Great! Thank you for your prompt response. Your advice means a lot to me.

 

[zddoodah]

I have a single house that is being leased to 5 joint tenants.

Do you have a written lease, and, if so, does the lease provide that each of the tenants is jointly and severally liable for all the rent? I'll assume until told otherwise that the answer to both parts of that question is yes.

What are the start and end dates of the lease term?

During the third month of the lease, two tenants wanted to move out because of the differences. How do I handle in this situation?

As this is phrased, there is no "situation" to be handled. For starters, you used the past tense "wanted." That tells me that the desire to move out existed at some point in the past but no longer exists. Is that what you intended?

Even if the desire to move out exists in the present, it makes no difference. Imagine if your tenants wanted only to pay $100 per month in rent. How is wanting to move out any different?

How is it that you became aware that these two tenants wanted (or want) to move out? For example, did one of the two say to you, while sitting around the pool, "gosh, Dave and I would like to move out?" Or did the two of them give you a written notice that "Dave and Susan will be moving out by the end of the day on September 30, 2024"? Something else?

I don't disagree with anything in the prior responses, but facts matter, and you haven't really provided many.

 

[AlmostThere]

Are you the landlord or a lessee? If you are the lessee, what does the lease say about subletting?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? Hello everyone, I am a new member and am seeking advice on how to address this problem. I have a single house that is being leased to 5 joint tenants. During the third month of the lease, two tenants wanted to move out because of the differences. How do I handle in this situation?
Your response is greatly appreciated.

“I have a single house” indicates LJOre is the owner/landlord.

“5 joint tenants” indicates the tenants are each responsible for the terms of rental.

“During the third month of the lease” indicates there is a lease.

A typical lease is for 12 months, indicating that two tenants want to leave with 9 months remaining on the lease. These two tenants can be held responsible for rent covering these 9 months.

 

[Litigator22]

What is the name of your state? Hello everyone, I am a new member and am seeking advice on how to address this problem. I have a single house that is being leased to 5 joint tenants. During the third month of the lease, two tenants wanted to move out because of the differences. How do I handle in this situation?
Your response is greatly appreciated.

Joint and several liability explained. (maybe)

Unless the signed instrument expressly states otherwise, each individual that have signed as lessee are "jointly and severally" responsible for the performance of each and every covenant and obligation incumbent upon them to be kept and performed.

Meaning, as the lessor you can seek performance from one, all or any number. But not so in the absence of the modifier "several".

That is to say, if the agreement listing the names of the lessees were to specifically state that that they are to be held "jointly liable" rather than "jointly and severally liable". one or more might reasonably argue that their individual liability is proportionate of the whole and not total.

Nevertheless, and again, it is my understanding that where there are multiple obligors listed without mention of any variation in their individual responsibility it is presumed to be joint and several. (Others may differ)

WARNING!

Beware that if you were to release any named lessee from their obligations under the lease (and without the clear understanding of the legal consequence and written consent of the remaining lessees THEN by operation of law (suretyship) you would thereby release all of the named lessees!

The reason for that rule of law is because otherwise you would directly and adversely affect the remaining obligor's rights of contribution from those purportedly released of any further obligation.

 

[quincy]

… it is my understanding that where there are multiple obligors listed without mention of any variation in their individual responsibility it is presumed to be joint and several. …

That would be my understanding. This is presumed when all tenants are named on a single lease rather than each occupant having their own separate lease with their own monthly rent amount (which sometimes is the case when a landlord rents out rooms in a house rather than renting the house as a whole).

As a note, typically when individuals choose to rent a house together as roommates, they are called co-tenants rather than joint tenants. The roommates could decide to split the monthly rent in equal parts or based on size of bedrooms or on other factors - their option - but they each become responsible for the entire amount of rent due each month. If one roommate fails to pay, the others must make up the difference. This is absent anything in the lease to the contrary.

 

[LdiJ]

That would be my understanding. This is presumed when all tenants are named on a single lease rather than each occupant having their own separate lease with their own monthly rent amount (which sometimes is the case when a landlord rents out rooms in a house rather than renting the house as a whole).

As a note, typically when individuals choose to rent a house together as roommates, they are called co-tenants rather than joint tenants. The roommates could decide to split the monthly rent in equal parts or based on size of bedrooms or on other factors - their option - but they each become responsible for the entire amount of rent due each month. If one roommate fails to pay, the others must make up the difference. This is absent anything in the lease to the contrary.

The whole renting rooms with common area access scenario is very common in college towns. It certainly does kind of hint at students when one place has 5 roommates.