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Miyou · Sep 13, 2012, 08:20 PM

I have a question about early termination of sublet. I live with 3 roommates and One of my roommates is subleasing the apartment. My contract expires in May 2013 but she has been giving me so much troubles so I plan to move out. My concern is whether my roommate (the one subleasing from the owner) gives me back the deposit. On the contract, there is no mention about the deposit role. In this case, can I ask her to return my deposit?

ScottGem · Sep 14, 2012, 03:29 AM

This is very unclear. There are four roommates. One of those is on the lease with the landlord? Or is one of them subletting from the leasee? Is your lease with the roommate or with whom?

But the bottom line, whoever signed your lease as the landlord is your landlord. If you decide to leave early, you will still owe until the lease expires or the landlord can find a new tenant. Therefore, the landlord can withhold the deposit to pay for damages or unpaid rental.

ANY question on law needs to include your general locale as laws vary by area.

Miyou · Sep 14, 2012, 09:03 AM

Hi ScotGem, thank you very much for the prompt answer and I apologize my unclear explanation because of my language skill(I'm a Japanese). The situation is one of my roommates is on the lease with the landlord so there are just 3 roommates. I have never seen what kind of contract she has with the landlord but the contract between my roommate and I is very simple. Probably she wrote it by herself so there is no mention about the early termination and deposit back. Thus, I thought I can ask her to give me back the deposit. Forgot to mention that I live in Brooklyn, New York.

ScottGem · Sep 14, 2012, 09:21 AM

So the only thing that matters is your lease with her. If the lease has a term (a future expiration date), then you are responsible for the rental until that date or until she finds a replacement.

If she finds a replacement (and Brooklyn has a pretty low vacancy rate) then she is required to return your deposit within a reasonable amount of time after you vacate. This time limit is not specifically defined, but 30-60 days is considered reasonable.

joypulv · Sep 14, 2012, 09:30 AM

As someone who lived with roommates from age 18 to 33, I've had a lot of experience with roommates breaking leases. Aside from the legalities covered above, there is the often generally accepted notion of saying you want out, and doing a lot of the work finding a replacement, such as paying for ads and arranging interview times. Of course who they decide on will be their choice.

Miyou · Sep 14, 2012, 10:18 AM

Thank you ScottGem and joypulv. So, if I want out, I have to find the replacement. Then, I can ask her to return the deposit. She does a lot of things that were not mentioned on the contract. For example, she lives with her boyfriend in her room so practically, there are 4 people here. She also never shows bills for internet and commodities we share and just ask me to pay some amount. Anyway, it was very helpful and I learned from this experience. Hope I can find the best solution!

joypulv · Sep 15, 2012, 04:44 AM

Time to fight fire with fire. Tell her you will speak to the owner about the illegal extra person, her boyfriend. Tell her that if she won't make all shared bills public, then you will simply move out and she will never find out where, and her boyfriend can take over your expenses. And then leave anyway.