I moved out of a house 8 months before the lease was up. They had someone moved in right after I had left to replace me. I keep getting threatening phone calls about rent that was due. Threatening to take me to civil court. Am I still responsible for that rent even though there is a girl living there rent free?

Laws vary by state in the US. Where is this?
Second, who is 'they' and how do you know the new person isn't paying rent?

Usually the laws are this: you owe for every month left on a lease, and can be sued for rent due plus legal fees. Many states have laws that you don't owe for months after you have been replaced by a new tenant, but do owe for ones before that, plus expenses such as advertising.

Laws vary by state in the US. Where is this?
Second, who is 'they' and how do you know the new person isn't paying rent?

Usually the laws are this: you owe for every month left on a lease, and can be sued for rent due plus legal fees. Many states have laws that you don't owe for months after you have been replaced by a new tenant, but do owe for ones before that, plus expenses such as advertising.

I live in Michigan, 'They' are my two old roommates. I know she, the third girl that moved in,isn't paying rent because I am friends with her, I talk to her all the time. Now, my two old roommates do not know that I know she moved in, they are trying to keep it a secret. She moved in, in February, the same month I had moved out. I paid February's rent so I was all paid up on everything. She moved in willing to pay her portion of the bills besides rent because they told her I had to pay it. My landlord and his partner say I owe the landlord rent for march and April, this girl was already moved in and very capable of paying the third portion of the rent, but the two roommates told her that she couldn't pay it and that it was my responsibility. My landlords partner called one of my old roommates and asked if a third person had already moved in and she told him no, that she was going to be moving in may 1st. The landlord knew this girl had moved in but his legal partner is still unaware of her. My name was going to be taken of the lease May 1st when the third girl was supposed to move in. So she moved in two months early. It's may 23 and my name still hasn't been taken off the lease. I do not have a Key and I am not allowed on the premises because I called the police and notified them that they had drugs and alcohol in the house. We are all 19, and I am getting pretty sick of being contacted almost everyday saying I owe about 1800 including the late fees. The two other roommates aren't being charged any late fees because they paid their portion on time. No where does it say the rent is split three ways, we decided that on our own. The legal partener calls my phone, messages me on Facebook and when I blocked him he made a new Facebook account and sent me another message. He calls my work, send emails to my work email and calls my boss wanting to know the days I work. He refuses to tell him, thankfully. I feel stalked and I just want it all the be over with.

You are both wrong. The landlord has to proceed in legal ways in court according to the laws where you live. But he still can, and it will be costly for you. You can't use the new roommate as a way out unless you can prove that she has an agreement in writing with the landlord. You also can't stall based on still being on the lease - you have that backwards.
You do (as of now) owe two month's rent. How much is that for your third? Not $1800? $600? If I were you, I would pay it, because if they go to court they can get legal costs in the judgment too, and you will lose. Regardless of the free living until May 1, and regardless of claims of illegal drugs. Were they substantiated?

As I get it you were signed on a lease with 2 roommates. So you were each and all responsible for the rent. The landlord, however, has the option to go after you or just get the full rent from them. You also had no right to move out early, unless there is something you haven't told us. But the landlord has the obligation to mitigate what you owe bu seeking to fill the vacancy asap.

So the whole thing hinges on your friend (the replacement roommate) testifying in court that she moved in before the end of February prepared to start paying rent as of March 1. If she will so testify, then the landlord will lose a suit against you. If she will not, you owe for March and April.If I were you, I would get your friend to sign and notarize a statement to that affect before you do anything else.

If you can get that statement, then tell the landlord to stop bothering you and file suit if he thinks he is right. If you can't get that statement then pay up.

By the way. What happened to your deposit?

.... The two other roommates aren't being charged any late fees because they paid their portion on time. No where does it say the rent is split three ways, we decided that on our own. ....

You and your old roomates are jointly and severally liable to the landord for the entire rent. This means that they could stop paying entirely, and the landlord could still come after you.

The "replacement roomate" isn't liable at all; she hasn't signed a lease. And the landord has no obligation to ask her to do so.

The "replacement roomate" isn't liable at all; she hasn't signed a lease. And the landord has no obligation to ask her to do so.

I disagree with the second part of that. The landlord has an obligation to make a good faith effort to replace the OP on the lease. If it can be shown that the new roommate has occupied the premises then the OP has an argument that they don't owe rent for that period.

As I get it you were signed on a lease with 2 roommates. So you were each and all responsible for the rent. The landlord, however, has the option to go after you or just get the full rent from them. You also had no right to move out early, unless there is something you haven't told us. But the landlord has the obligation to mitigate what you owe bu seeking to fill the vacancy asap.

So the whole thing hinges on your friend (the replacement roommate) testifying in court that she moved in before the end of February prepared to start paying rent as of March 1. If she will so testify, then the landlord will lose a suit against you. If she will not, you owe for March and April.If I were you, I would get your friend to sign and notarize a statement to that affect before you do anything else.

If you can get that statement, then tell the landlord to stop bothering you and file suit if he thinks he is right. If you can't get that statement then pay up.

By the way. What happened to your deposit?


She is in process of writing down everything she would like to tell the court if I am served papers, I used work with a women who can notarize documents so that's a good idea. I also have voice mails from the third girl explaining to me that she moved in, will that help? I paid the whole security deposit, the day we moved in the two girls didn't have their full part for the first months rent. So I paid the whole security deposit and they paid the rent about two weeks later. I have a copy of the check I wrote but my old roommates proceed to say that they paid me for half of the security deposit. Which is untrue. I moved out because of the drug use, the smoking in the house which is said in the lease that we are not allowed to smoke on the premises, the underage drinking and being treated like crap for no reason. They also told the landlord I'm lying about them doing drugs and smoking in the house exc.

See now you missed a bet. Had you complained to the landlord about these items, you might have been able to get out of the lease. If you can show you complained and nothing was done, that can bolster your decision to move.

You said "She is in process of writing down everything she would like to tell the court if I am served papers, " Who is "she", the girl who moved in in your place or the landlord? Its unclear. The voice mails may help, especially if they identify the girl.

See now you missed a bet. Had you complained to the landlord about these items, you might have been able to get out of the lease. If you can show you complained and nothing was done, that can bolster your decision to move.

You said "She is in process of writing down everything she would like to tell the court if I am served papers, " Who is "she", the girl who moved in in your place or the landlord? its unclear. The voice mails may help, especially if they identify the girl.

I verbally complained but nothing was done about it. He told me I had to deal with it because I was apparently lying about it. She, the third girl that moved in, I just talked to her and she has written down that she moved in, in February. In the voice mail she says her full name and when she moved in.

Ok, I would ask her to take what she wrote and get it notarized then send it to you. I think that will provide sufficient protection if they try to sue you for March and April.

Ok, I would ask her to take what she wrote and get it notarized then send it to you. I think that will provide sufficient protection if they try to sue you for March and April.


Okay, thank you so much!

This happened to me years ago when I was in college though I had not moved out - I just had not moved in. We signed a lease for a college apartment in the end of May but I was going home for the summer, so was leaving my belongings in my room in the new apartment, but was not staying for the summer. It was at a University in Milwaukee, and I decided to use the apartment to visit for the weekend for Summerfest. I called and left a message for my roomates to let them know I would be coming up so they wouldn't be scared to hear someone else in the place, but they didn't check the messages and didn't realize I was coming. When I entered the apartment and then my room, I found some dude sleeping in my bed, on my sheets, with my towels stained and thrown on the floor and beer cans and cigarettes piled up and overflowing onto my antique end table, which was ruined to the point that I had to refinish it.

I waited in the apartment for the slug to wake up and the other girls to get home and just let them try to explain how it was that they thought it was ethical to collect my rent every month and also charge rent to this dude. I made them give me all the rent he was paying for the summer since he was occupying my share of the apartment - "my room", plus I insisted that they replace my mattresses, sheets, blanket, bedspread and towels which I had bought new and which this guy had been using for weeks, plus pay the professionally quoted price to refinish the two dressers this slug had ruined. They agreed to pay for it all and wrote checks on the spot, which fortunately cleared the bank. I then forgave them and told them we'd forget about it but that if they tried to cheat me like that again or disrespected my space again, or my personal things or trust, our friendship would be over. We were all young and they realized how self-serving they had been and fortunately we were able to remain friends, but I don't know what recourse I'd have had if they didn't make things right on my request.

As my son heads to college my lesson to him is simple - not to sign a lease with other parties. I want him to stay in the dorms or campus apartments all four years, then move home until he can afford to buy a condo or house after graduation. If he has a renter, I want him to be the landlord so he doesn't get into these messy situations - I had many roomates who didn't pay their share of utilities, didn't pay rent or didn't respect the rules of the house that we all agreed to upon signing the lease - sometimes I didn't get my share of the deposit back because of actions by roomates. I also had to pay bills that weren't mine because my name was on them, and the roommate refused to pay their share - I had to in order to preserve my credit and avoid being sued.

So, I guess that's my advice - don't comingle financial obligations with anyone to whom you are not married.

I disagree with the second part of that. The landlord has an obligation to make a good faith effort to replace the OP on the lease. If it can be shown that the new roommate has occupied the premises then the OP has an argument that they don't owe rent for that period.

Assuming there is no language in the lease to the contrary, the landlord has not duty to mitigate unless all three tenants have reneged on the lease. In the eyes of the law, the new tenant is a guest of the remaining roommates.

She is in process of writing down everything she would like to tell the court if I am served papers, I used work with a women who can notarize documents so that's a good idea. ...

Such an affidavit is probably inadmissable. It's hearsay, unless it's used to establish what a party to a lawsuit said, and it's against that party's interest.

Such an affidavit is probably inadmissable. It's hearsay, unless it's used to establish what a party to a lawsuit said, and it's against that party's interest.

I disagree on both counts. Since the lease was with all three roommates, I believe the landlord is required to mitigate. As to the statement is is more for the OP's protection if the new roommate declines to testify.