Roommate liablility question

[aubrey]

I reside in Oshkosh, Wisconsin (Winnebago County). Yesterday I was notified via mail by the Circuit Court that my ex-roommate has filed a small claims court suit against me for final bills and unpaid rent. I am responsible for the final bills, unfortunately I did not realize she had sent them to my parents' house at my request and I have not been there in over a month to check my mail. I will happily pay my portion of the phone and water bill. However, I am wondering if I am truly responsible for the rent. I moved in with the roommate, she had a lease with the landlord which had expired; therefore, she was month to month. I never spoke to or met the landlord, I simply sent checks to him for half of the rent from July through September, 2000. In addition, my ex-roommate and I had no agreement as to me having to give any sort of notice. I moved into the apartment knowing I could move out at anytime, which was important to me since she was a stranger. The situation between us became intolerable due to a pending lawsuit between her and a friend of mine, she did a lot of spiteful things, including banning my friend from our home (denying me normal use)and disconnecting our phone with no notice to me.

My bottomline question is, am I responsible to pay her the rent for October 2000, since I did move out on September 29, 2000 with no notice?

Respectfully, Aubrey

 

[David J. Miller]

I am not an attorney but I'd like to take a stab at this anyway. If I am wrong which occassionally I am, the attorneys on this site will be quick to correct me.

I believe that you would be considered a month-to-month renter with your ex-roommate being your landlord. There are laws concerning month-to-month tenancy which require a 30-day notice to vacate.

See when you don't have a lease outlining all of the specifics then the state mandates those specifics. So, you may be held responsible for rent in October.

You should check back for a response from on of the attorneys since as I said, I am not an attorney and am not real familiar with L/T laws in WI.

Can't waite for the next Vikings/GB game. They are my favorites to watch.

 

[HomeGuru]

You owe the rent.

 

[David J. Miller]

Ah, hah...so I was right. I was sweaten that one.

Can you tell nobody needs mortgage financing around the holidays. It's been so slow, I need something to pass the time and thank god for this site. Otherwise no telling where I'd be hanging out.

I'm kinda glad, I could use a break. It's been a busy year. Ususally picks right back up January 1.

 

[HomeGuru]

Alright brother David, enjoy your vacation on these here Boards.

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[Jack Mevorach, Esq.]

I don't think you're responsible for any rent past September 30, 2000.

 

[HomeGuru]

I respectfully disagree based on the fact that the writer was a direct tenant of L on a m/m lease basis. Even though her name was not on the written lease, the fact that she paid her half of the rent to L directly and L accepted, created a legal L/T relationship.
Pursuant to State law, a m/m tenant must give L 30 days or ___ days written notice to vacate. ( I did not research the exact Wisconsin law) Since writer did not give written notice to vacate then she is still responsible for the rent.

 

[Jack Mevorach, Esq.]

I respectfully disagree based on the fact that the writer was a direct tenant of L on a m/m lease basis. Even though her name was not on the written lease, the fact that she paid her half of the rent to L directly and L accepted, created a legal L/T relationship.
Pursuant to State law, a m/m tenant must give L 30 days or ___ days written notice to vacate. ( I did not research the exact Wisconsin law) Since writer did not give written notice to vacate then she is still responsible for the rent.

You may be correct.

In New York State, in this situation, writer is not required to give any notice. I understand that in other states, notice may be required. Part of reason for difference may be that in New York City and Nassau County, at least, housing market is tight and there are plenty of tenants to be found. Interesting difference.

 

[HomeGuru]

Pursuant to the Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 704 Landlord/Tenant, Section 704.19 Notice necessary to terminate periodic tenancies, T must give L 28 days notice to vacate.

Thus the writer does owe rent for October, but to L and not to the roommate, unless the roommate paid the rent for October directly to L on the writer's behalf.

[Edited by HomeGuru on 11-24-2000 at 11:30 AM]

 

[aubrey]

More info on roommate liablility inquiry

Thank you very much to those who shared their expertise with my on my previous questions. I truly appreciate it.

Since then I have done some research on the Landlord and Tenant Laws here in WI. I found that I could be declared a "periodic tenant," which means I was a tenant who holds possession without a valid lease and pays rent on a periodic basis. It includes a tenant from day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month, etc., the period being determined by the intent of the parties under the circumstances. My periodic tenancy was evidenced by the fact that I did not pay any security deposit nor did my name appear on any phone or utility bills.

Since I did not previously know my roommate, I wanted the ability to move at once if there was a problem. My ex-roommate's hostility toward my boyfriend and her ensuing orders banning him from the premises deprived me of full and normal use of the premises. (which is another statute enforced in landlord-tenant law).

What do you think? Would these statutes in my defense be enforceable in a small claims courtroom?

I would like to thank you in advance for any information or opinions you may have.
Aubrey

 

[HomeGuru]

I already established that you were considered a periodic or m/m tenant.

You have no claim with respect to full an normal use of the premises because your boyfriend was banned from the property and not you so you were not directly deprived of the use of the premises. Only your boyfriend was and since he is not a legal tenant, he has no rights as a tenant.

In summary, you have not shown or proven any damages, thus you are responsible for the Oct. rent since you failed to give L proper notice to vacate. You have attempted to discuss irrelavent issues (roommate's lawsuit against a friend, boyfriend banned etc.) that have no bearing on the case and does not change the fact that you did not give 28 days notice to L as required by State Statutes.