Hello , I need some advice so I don't get myself in trouble.

I signed a 1 year lease with a co-worker and moved in together. everything great but bigproblem ! , he decides to not pay his share of rent.

so after 3 months of his I get fed up and take matters in my own hands when after i went down to talk to the Apartment Mananger to no avail.

He came back saw the bolt on his door and the letter I attached to the door and took out his digital camera and started taking pictures !

Can I be counter-sued ?

This jerk stuck me with a full 1 year of financial headache and mental trouble.

IN NEED OF ADVICE

excon

Hello Deadbolt:

You aren't his landlord, so YOU can't evict him. You are BOTH on the lease. So either you pay his share or you BOTH get evicted. He could sue you for illegal eviction. He'd win because you locked him out. You had other remedies and didn't take them.

Should he sue you, you can counter sue for his half of the expenses. If he doesn't sue you, you can still sue him, and of course, he can counter sue for your illegal eviction.

If it were me, I'd just let it go. He's gone.

excon

froggy7

And of course the landlord doesn't care that your roommate isn't paying his part of the rent. If he was smart, he had you sign a lease saying you are jointly and severally liable for the rent, which means that he gets the full amount from whoever will pay it. So your roomie can skip out on paying for the full lease, and it doesn't alter the landlord's ability to demand the full rent from you.