Shared lease?

[hambirg]

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

I have a question about apartment leases. Boy this is a mess. . .BUT my ex lives with his gf in an apartment. The gf has some issues. . .I'm in the process of getting an anti-harassment order against her. Somethings have come to light to my ex that he is angry with her over. He broke up with her Saturday night when she came home from work and asked her to leave. She left (she does have a home to go to. . .her house where her son and a tenant live). But she came back on Sunday. . .yelling and screaming (I was on the other end of the phone at the time). She told him she would just call the police and say he hit her. . .her word against his. This is where it gets messy. . .the ex is on house arrest because of some very stupid choices on his part (nothing related to dv). He can't just leave the apartment. The first thing I asked him was if she was on the lease. . .apparently she is. I told him she has a right to be there then. I guess she locked herself in the bedroom and stayed there the rest of the night. So. . .now he just called me and asked if he could stay here until his house arrest is over. . .of course he's calling whoever to see if that's possible. He is afraid to stay there with her because of her threats. He doesn't want anymore trouble. For better understanding this is how it went:

Ex: She said she'd move out on the 15th.
Me: When is the lease up?
Ex: February
Me: Well how is that going to work? Is she planning to pay her half of the rent through February. What if she doesn't move on the 15th?
Ex: Uh. . idk. . maybe I will just have to find another small apartment somewhere.
Me: But your lease isn't up til February. You would still have to pay that rent.
Ex: What?!
Me: Yeah. . .what did you think a lease meant?
Ex: Idk. . .Well should I pay Octs rent then?
Me: Yeah. . your half. Has she been paying hers?
Ex: No, I pay it all.
Me: Welllllllllll. . .if I were you. . .call your parole officer or whoever and explain the situation. See if you can move. Tell your landlord. . .I'm not going to be staying in the apartment, but here is my half of the rent for Oct. and leave it at that. Try and get some pics before you move in case she decides to trash the place.
Ex: How do I get myself in these messes?
Me in my head: Because you are a stupid idiot!

So I guess I'm wondering what happens if she doesn't pay her portion of the rent? Best case scenario is that she actually does move on the 15th and he moves back in. The apartment is only 2 blocks from my house and we have 3 children together. It works nicely for the kids. If she does move can her name be taken off the lease? I have a lot more questions, but lets just leave it at that for now. TIA






Did I give the right advice?

 

[Gail in Georgia]

A lease typically makes ALL tenants "jointly and severally" responsible for the rent. That means if one roommate doesn't pay their share of the rent, the landlord still expects that the entire rent will show up on the due date.

If the landlord, ex and girlfriend ALL agree (in writing) the girlfriends name can be taken off the lease. The person whose name remains on the lease (the ex) is then responsible for the entire rent unless another tenant (approved by the landlord) is added to the lease.

Gail

 

[hambirg]

A lease typically makes ALL tenants "jointly and severally" responsible for the rent. That means if one roommate doesn't pay their share of the rent, the landlord still expects that the entire rent will show up on the due date.

If the landlord, ex and girlfriend ALL agree (in writing) the girlfriends name can be taken off the lease. The person whose name remains on the lease (the ex) is then responsible for the entire rent unless another tenant (approved by the landlord) is added to the lease.

Gail

Thanks Gail. I did kind of understand the part where he would still be responsible for all the rent if she didn't pay. I know the landlord will require that it be paid, but can't the ex take her to small claims for her portion? Not that that's what I want to happen here. I would prefer she just ride off into the night. . .lol. My train of thought was that if he only pay his half for the month of Oct., it would be likely that the landlord would ask her for the remainder, since she will still be the occupant. I'm hoping that would facilitate her move, since she can't afford her mortgage and the rent.

And thanks for the info about removing her from the lease. I can't imagine she would want to remain on it. So hopefully, they could come to that agreement. I did know that he would then be responsible for all the rent. . .he's been paying it anyway.

Thanks

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Yes, he could sue her for her share of the rent that he paid. These types of cases are typically heard in Small Claims court since they involve relatively small amounts of money.

Gail