When Roommates Attack: How Can I Get Out Of My "Lease Break" Fee?
Reader Steve's little sister has a problem. She keeps getting attacked by her roommate. She called the police and now there are charges against the roommate. The psycho roommate's parents say that they will only pay the "lease break" fee if she finds a way to get the charges against the roommate dropped.
Does anyone know what Steve's little sister should do?
My little sister is at college and recently came across a strange situation. Her roommate (and once friend) has physically attacked her, unprovoked, twice. The second time, the police were called and said roommate was arrested. According to the judge, conditions of her bail require her to not verbally or physically threaten my sister. However, they're still roommates and she has access to the apartment.We'd call the housing department of whatever city your little sister lives in and ask them for advice on this matter. You might also want to talk to a lawyer.My sister, wanting none of this mess (her life in college is complicated enough, aren't they all at that age?) requested to break her lease from the landlord. He could have cared less about the situation and wants his lease break fee. Understandable, but not very compassionate and lame. The roommate's parents worked out an agreement with my sister to pay her lease break fee if she agreed to drop the charges. She is more than happy to do this, but unfortunately, the charges are the state vs. her roommate, so she doesn't have a say. I have suggested explaining the compromise to the prosecutors, but want to know what choices she might have if they do not agree to drop it.
The parents will not pay her break fee unless the charges are dropped. Is there some sort of law/civil case that she can force the roommate to pay these fees regardless of the outcome of the case because her roommate has created this hostile environment? I've been googling roommate law and the like and have come up empty. It seems a murky area and I was hoping the Consumerist could shed some light on the situation. Otherwise I'm going to have to go to jail for kicking the girl's butt myself (definitely kidding, although it gives me great hope karma is real).
Thanks,
-ucdcsteve
Any other ideas?
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Comments:
If the prosecutors won't drop the charges, I'd say pay the fee and file a small-claims suit to get it back. Sure, it's piling on, but I'd say it's warranted and it ought to be fairly open-and-shut since the fee directly resulted from the roommate's criminal behavior.
If she can't afford to be without the fee in the time it would take to recoup it, then I am similarly out of ideas.
Just pack up your $hit and move; forget the apartment and the roommate. What's the worse that can happen, you won't be able to get an apartment there again?
To many options out there to risk personal injury.
Forget about dropping the charges; press away! If this roommate gets away with it, she is bound to do it again to someone else. How are you going to feel when you read some tragic story in the paper, recognize the name and come to the realization that you may have been able to prevent it; heck maybe she will get the help she needs.
Sounds to me like a substance abuse issue or some pent up $exual frustrations.
How big is her watch?
If it were my sister I would pay the "lease break fee" for her just so the charges did not get dropped and the B**** roomate got the punishment she deserved. Especially since she attacked on her two different occasions.
Stopped reading at "but not very compassionate and lame".
Is your sister hot?
Talk to the landlord, tell them the situation, My sister and I ran into this problem. Our roommates started to deal drugs, hard core stuff too like crank, speed as well as pot. Anyhow we found this out later what instigated it is they decided to move to Mississippi and were going to leave us high and dry we discussed it with the apt management and they let us off the lease especially after they found out that our roommates were dealing drugs.
Always discuss it with management if they are informed of the situation they will most likely let you off the lease without any penalties. Unless they are jerks.
@MDSasquatch: In my apartment complex, they have a pretty close relationship with the credit bureaus. A friend of mine who moved away from here and owed money for repairs never paid it, and had to pay a triple deposit on the next complex he tried to move into when they checked his report. As a beneficiary of his parent's wealth, he was able to get it paid, but for someone just trying to scrape by, this could be the kiss of death in terms of getting into a new place.
@MDSasquatch: do NOT just walk out on the apt. You're name is on the lease, so you're liable for whatever damage you're roommate causes. Most leases are joint and several, meaning they can come after you for the entire amount of damages your roommate causes. I would definitely consider small claims court.
Look to see if her college has a student legal aid office. I know the one at my uni doesn't handle major things (anything involving an arrest, for example) but they're quite expert and landlord/tenant relations, leases, and the like. They may have some ideas.
Well, getting the hell out should definitely be her first priority. Money is money, but her safety is priceless.
Suing might be the only way to get the money, sadly. Otherwise, she might have to suck it up and pay before the landlord ruins her credit.
Break the lease yourself move somewhere else then take the roomate to court for the money owed to the landlord.
I could be wrong, but perhaps obtain a restraining order against the other girl. If the other girl is on the lease, she is still obligated to pay rent.
Any lawyers out there? Is what the parent's asked "drop the charges and we'll give you $$" illegal?
I don't think it's extortion but it bloody well should be.
Start with talking to the prosecutor. Sure, it is "State v Doe", but if the victim refuses/doesn't wish to cooperate, 90% of the time the prosecutor will drop the charges.
Why? Well, if the only witnesses are you and the roommate and you refuse to cooperate, what are the chances of winning? Slim to none.
If that doesn't work it is time to talk to a lawyer. Some of the larger universities with law schools will have a free/cheap advocacy clinic where students can get advice from upper level law students.
Also, talk to whomever controls the occupancy laws in town...likely the city. They might be able to get the landlord to cooperate a little more.
And read the lease! Look for "loopholes" that might let your sister out scott-free. For example, if the lease is a joint lease, and she moves out, the roommate is still on the hook for the remaining rent. Remind her of that, and her parents *might* be more flexible about paying the breakage fee.
Last, but not least, she can always sue in small-claims court for battery and the resulting losses (she attacked me, I wasn't safe in apartment because of, had to move out, it cost me X, etc etc).
Good luck!
Is there a way to break the lease first, i.e. saddle the roommate with the cost? One thing, she needs to get out of there ASAP because the roommate has access to the apartment. Two, she needs to figure out the rules on moving out - if she moves out, does she have to pay the rest of the rent, does the roommate have to, etc. The ideal situation is to get out with little to no ramification on your credit, but if all it is is paying the break fee, I'd just pay it and get out.
@MDSasquatch: The worst that could happen if you just "pack up and move", I imagine, is that the landlord could sue for unpaid rent and/or send you to collections and kill your credit score. It's not a particularly good idea to just leave with no notice. Some landlords might decide it's not worth pursuing, but then again it's not exactly expensive for them to just sell your account to a collections agency.
That sounds like extortion on the part of the psycho roommate's parents. "We'll pay the fee if you get the charges dropped." At the very least, the psycho roommate is bound to paying half of the lease's ETF.
The psycho roommate is responsible for any fees incurred by her actions. Steve's sister should win easily in small claims court.
A restraining order would probably make this whole situation much, much easier.
2 words: Judge. Judy.
Would a restraining order against the roommate work? If that's doable, I would think it would get the roommate out of the apartment but leave her on the hook for paying rent. At that point, paying the lease break fee would be the financially smarter move for her (or her parents).
If a restraining order isn't an option, it might help to point out to the roommate's parents that paying the lease break fee is in their daughter's own best interest -- having the two girls living under the same roof greatly increases the chances that the roommate will do something stupid that violates her bail conditions.
Why would you want to drop the charges for ANY reason??
Chick Fight yeah
Seems that the apple didn't fall too far away from the tree, in the roommate's case...
My advice would be to look into student legal aid at her school. If possible have a lawyer draft a letter explaining the situation and asking to break the lease. People take lawyer requests more seriously than personal requests.
Many cities have a housing aid department that handles issues like this. That, or like qitaana said, check your university's legal aid. Good luck, I have a friend who's going through a very similar situation, but she had an individual lease, and the apartment complex is setting up a new place for her.
My first thought is to get the promise in writing. I could see the little sis working her butt off to get the charges dropped by the state only to have the parents break their promise.
But before little sis does that she should locate a nonprofit tenant right's group in her area. She could start at her school to see if there's free help there. If not, about all major cities have tenant's rights group. She'll need to pull out the local phone book and start searching the internet. They would be the best at finding a way out for little sis; that is if there is one.
Laws vary from state to state and city to city. Without more details it would be hard for someone to come up with a strategy in the comment section.
Her contract with the landlord can be enforced by the landlord. She should pay the breakup fee and then seek to recoup the cost from the roommate. Because the roommate forced her to move from the apartment, the roommate is liable for any fees and charges incurred as a result (within reason). She should also mention it to the prosecutors, since if the roommate is found guilty, restitution will likely be ordered, and the cost of moving out can be ordered without having to take the case to small claims court.
If she is speaking with the roommate's parents about resolving this, is there any way one of them could get a different roommate and stay in the apartment? Landlords are usually willing to put a different person on the lease, or start the lease over if a different person moves in. Sometimes they will even let completely different people take over the lease. (My husband and I took over someone's lease once because they unexpectedly had to move out of state.)
Doesn't criminal activity break the lease? Check local laws, and the lease agreement. Very likely, the person responsible for the criminal acts is the party breaking the lease, and therefore, the party that must pay the related penalties.
She should have the psycho roommate's parents charged with extortion, then the whole family can reconnect in jail. As a bonus, she'll have the whole apartment to herself.
I would just break the lease and then goto small claims to recover the money from the room mate if the parents are still unwilling to pay it.
@Erasmus Darwin: Spot on -- the restraining order would force the psycho roommate out of the apartment while still keeping her bound to the lease (which I'm assuming she's a party of directly and not as part of a subletting agreement).
Steve's sister will have no difficulty at all obtaining the order of restraint -- she's been physically assaulted without provocation or fault and charges have been raised against the roommate. To get a PFA (or whatever it's called in your state), it only takes one hit to validate your claim.
Agree with small claims advice.
Another idea would be to get a lawyer to write a nastygram to the other girl and her parents saying that if they DON'T pay the leasebreak fee, which is a direct result of the roommate's criminal behavior, you will be taking them to small claims court. This may be cheaper than small claims (depending on filing fees & local attorney costs) and a nastygram on letterhead makes lots of people sit up and deal with it. Don't drop the charges.
Housing authority is a good idea too. Another option could be local community arbitration/community court if you have something like that. (Potentially even through the school.) Finally, sitting down with the landlord with an attorney or an official from student housing and going through the situation with him may help. (I do note you said the landlord didn't care when she initially approached him.) If a lot of students rent from this landlord, he probably has a relationship with the university, and having student housing/student services in on the conversation will apply some pressure and help him see it's in his best interest to help your sister resolve this issue and maintain a good relationship with the university. Similarly, simply sitting down with someone in suit with a yellow legal pad may bring enough pressure (shows your sister is "taking it seriously" ;) ) for the landlord to give in or at least compromise. If she ends up going to court, his chance of collecting the lease break fee gets much smaller and the whole situation gets a lot more complicated for him. I have taken a few of these kinds of cases where the client really just wants you to sit there and be official and lawyerly so the other side will take the client seriously and not blow them off, and to help broker an agreement. They're easy work and typically can be resolved happily once everyone is taking everyone else seriously and willing to deal.
Whatever you do, don't drop the charges. It's not worth the price of the fee. If something happens in the future, you'll be glad you didn't drop them.
If her parents are going to play hardball, throw it right back at them. "Steve's little sister" is the one holding all of the cards here, not "roomate's parents."
Since she can't get the charges dropped, SLS needn't worry about that anymore. Simply pay the lease break fee, and then take the roommate to small claims court to collect the roommate's portion of it. If the other charges stick, it will probably help your small claims case.
@NameGoesHere: No crap. I'd go all out on making sure the roomate is charged with the assault, especially considering it has happened twice.
Get your parents to front the lease-break fee and worry about the rest later. Just don't give in to the roomate's parent's request.
IANAL, but filing for that restraining order FIRST is important. With no questions asked, the crazy chick could do the same to the OP's sister, then she would be the one kicked to the curb.
Do it RIGHT NOW.
That will force her out of the apartment, forcing her (her parents) to pay the lease-break fee. OP's sister gets to stay in her place, as she rightfully should. BTW, show the landlord the police reports and the RO, and have him/her change the locks as soon as she is out. Tell her to be there (with some beefy friends and/or the sheriff if necessary) when the Single White Female packs up her stuff and leaves. Maybe even videotape the whole thing.
good luck.
I would talk to the apartment complex and see if they would wave the lease breaking fee if she signs a new lease with them. Basically she moves into a 1 bedroom or finds another roommate for a 2 bed room. I've had a few friends get out of lease break fees by doing this. The aparment would rather have you in another apt for a whole extra year than to just have a few hundred in lease break fees. This would still be less than ideal since I'm sure she wants to move across town to get away from this other girl, but it does have a chance of saving her credit.
It's called a RESTRAINING ORDER (also called a protective order) and it's a must if you're living with someone (spouse, family member, roommate, housemate, etc) that physically attacks you!!! It's free, quite easy to do, and can be done 24 hours a day and will kick the roommate out of the apartment for probably a year once a final order is in place. She can go now and get a temporary order which will be served to the roommate immediately who then has to vacate. This is a domestic situation where violence is involved; she needs to get a restraining order.
Good info on restraining orders: [www.larcc.org]
If I knew what state this was taking place in I could give more specific instructions, but I would call the victim's right office (usually apart of the prosecutor's office) and inquire about how to obtain a restraining order. It's really the best way to go in this situation.
Oh, and FUCK the roommate's parents!!!!!!!! Their child committed a violent act REPEATEDLY against another person and they think it's ok???? They and their screwed-up offspring need help and they're not going to get it unless their are consequences.
@samurailynn: But it doesn't change that she is physically in the same location. The worst roommate I ever had was one who didn't believe in personal hygiene and who was supposedly in a gang..she threatened to bring her gang friends and actually did bring in a guy into the all-girls dorm. That made us really mad because we didn't know he was going to be there, and neither did the rest of the hall, and you're supposed to clear those things first.
She had her friends call and make lewd comments and leave us threatening voicemails, and it took us four months to get her out and we were in a dorm. There were RAs, and other people who witnessed all of this, and it took us four months. And even when they moved her out, they moved her down the hall. That didn't make us feel a ton better, because we still got the phone calls for a little while afterwards, while she cooled her jets about being booted.
Make sure a lease break fee is even legal. In NJ your legally allowed to break your lease if you give 30 days notice.
@MDSasquatch: "Just pack up your $hit and move; forget the apartment and the roommate. What's the worse that can happen, you won't be able to get an apartment there again?"
No, the worst that can happen is that you become liable for whatever unpaid lease fees/damage/etc. the roommate leaves in your wake. Then when it shows up on your credit report, you're screwed.
Pay the fee, get out fast. Then tell the Parents they have two choices - pay you back for the lease-break fee, or meet you in small claims court. Your sis shouldn't be expected to drop criminal charges (even if she could) against someone who physically assaulted her just to recover a lease break fee that she's only paying because of said assault!
It would be much easier to get a restraining order if the roommate was a man. She could just make something up. However with a pending court case, it should still be simple.
While your at it, little sister can probably threaten to file a lawsuit for damages incurred in the attack against her, above and beyond the lease fee. If a lawyer were to threaten this, the family might pay up a lot quicker.
Oh, and what the parents are doing is essentially witness intimidation which is illegal, and I would report them to the prosecutor's office as well. This is not something to play around with; if your roommate has done this twice she will do it again and it will escalate. Get the protective order and let the prosecutor's office know what's up.
Sad truth about restraining orders...they may force the SISTER out, NOT the roommate. Be prepared for that possibility.
Just packing up and moving, without squaring it away with the landlord, could make it very difficult for her to be approved for another rental apartment. Back in the day, I used to screen rental apps for a property management company, and I can say that at word one from a landlord stating that someone walked out on a lease, or owes money, or a similarly negative reference, they'd be denied the apartment. Also, if she leaves without properly removing herself from the lease, she can be held liable for any money owed by the roommate, or any damages.
I agree that she might break the lease fee, then sue the roomate in small claims court to recoup. I think that would be my first choice. Also, maybe she can speak to the prosecutor and alert him to what the parents are doing, perhaps the prosecutor's office has suggestions.
Might want to read this before skipping out on the lease as some have suggested:
Sounds like a case for small claims court