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crystallee26 · Mar 26, 2008, 08:16 PM

I know this is the same situation as a few others have posted but I have another question to go along with it. I currently resided in Atlanta, GA. My new roommate, wrote me a bad check for his first half of the rent. So he now owes me last months rent and this months rent which I am not sure he can even afford. My bad for giving him the benefit of the doubt huh? Well, I am thinking that he's going to try to dip out on the lease. If I do what I can to mitigate and find a new roommate but in the end I simply can't afford the entire rent on my own that I need to terminate the lease. What obligations will my roommate have to me to help pay the early lease termination fee? Could I sue him for the entire amount because it's an undue hardship on my part? It's usually 2 months rent to terminate a lease early... and I cannot afford that. Any suggestions? Thank you.

progunr · Mar 27, 2008, 07:49 AM

As long as you have something in writing that will stand up in court, there is no reason you could not sue for the amount of damages. Then the court will agree that he owes you the money but you still have to figure out how to collect it.

Good Luck.

ScottGem · Mar 27, 2008, 07:54 AM

Originally Posted by progunr

you still have to figure out how to collect it.

That's the key to this.

First, while an early termination fee of 2 months is customary, its not required. Unless there is an early termination clause in your lease, then the landlord doesn't not have to offer you a buyout. On the other hand, they can't double dip. So if they can't charge you beyond when they re-rent the unit.

If you have to evict your roommate and/or he leaves owing you money, then you will have to sue to get it. But if he couldn't afford to pay the rent, where is he going to get the money to pay there amount of the judgement you get?