seperate leases/ single payment

[dmyokum]

separate leases/ single payment

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NC
Hello,
My daughter in college recently moved from one apartment to another. In both cases, the apartments had 4 bedrooms and each girl signed a separate lease. In the previous apartment, each girl paid their rent independently. Now, in the new apartment, the landlord requires a single payment, or those paying after the first check must pay an additional 10.00 processing fee. Here is my question: Can the LL legally require this when separate leases are signed.

To comply with this, the three other girls give my daughter cash (415.00 each) which my daughter then deposits into her account before writing a single check for the rent. I am worried about the liability my daughter is exposed to when some misunderstanding happens. And I don't want her responsible for this amount of money handling. What should she do protect herself from money disputes?

If the girls pay separately, I feel this is just a money-making scam on the LL's behalf. The LLs are then collecting an additional 30.00 per unit to perform their job. I don't care if it takes them longer to process 4 checks instead of one, it's their responsibility.

I believe the lease states they want the rent payment in a single check, and unfortunately I didn't see this before I agreed to sign the lease. I was assuming it would be the same as the previous apartment contract. Am I stuck with this?

 

[Mrs. D]

You're probably stuck with the arrangement, but if each girl has a separate lease, your daughter can be protected if one roommate chooses not to pay. It does seem odd, however, and sounds to me like the LL is trying to have it both ways: offer separate leases as "peace of mind" for students & their parents and be able to sue them all like under a joint and several liability lease. However, with a little bookkeeping, your daughter can protect herself. It also doesn't cost a LL any more to take 4 checks than one so long as he deposits them all on the same day (one trip to the bank, one deposit slip, one time entering items into the ledger, etc.). The only case where LL should have to make more than one trip is if someone's rent is late, and that's what late fees are for.

Please advise your daughter to start issuing receipts, signed by both her and the roommate, every time she is paid by them for the rent. One receipt to each girl with two signatures. She can either use a carbon-copy receipt book (these are available in most office supply and general stores, like Wal-Mart or Target) or make a copy of the receipt at the time of issuance (does she have an all-in-one printer/scanner/copier? If not, go with the receipt book). That way, she has a signed document noting who paid rent and when. Also, she should keep copies of all her canceled checks she writes for rent (I know, most banks don't send canceled checks anymore, but they are available on the bank's online system and can be printed out for free). That will cover her if anyone claims she took their money and didn't pay the rent.

If one roommate doesn't pay or pays late, she'll have to do a little leg work to take advantage of the protection afforded by separate leases. The first check (which would be the check of the paying roommates, issued by your daughter) incurs no processing fee, so she won't be subject to that. I don't think the LL can come after your daughter in the case of non-payment of one or more roommates (so long as she paid). I say this because of the separate leases. She can prove she paid very easily...she wrote a check to the LL. Now, who of the other 3 didn't pay would be the question, and LL could likely sue all of the remaining tenants. She should afford her roommates protection from this by keeping the good records mentioned above. She should also start noting whose rent she is paying on the check, and, if possible, pay her rent to the office in person and ask them to note, right then and there, who the rent is for via a signed receipt listing the names of the tenants for whom rent was received.

Or they could always try to pay the rent with 4 separate checks, delivered in the same envelope, then argue with the LL about who is subject to the "processing fee." I mean, who was REALLY first? I think that would be really clever and frustrate the LL.