₪₪₪ Breaking Lease from Roommate?
I moved into an apartment with someone I found on craigslist. It’s her name on the lease. I apparently was never added to the lease, nor did I ever sign an actual lease with the apartment complex/landlord; it looks I had submitted an application, but the leasing office never asked me to sign an official lease. However, when I moved in, my roommate had typed up her own lease, which is very poorly written and riddled with spelling errors, and I signed it. The terms of that excuse of a lease were basically stating that my lease would begin February 1, 2010 and ran until October 1, 2010.
However, I want to move out by September 30. I absolutely despise my roommate as during my time here, her check was being garnished for delinquent taxes, her car got repossessed, she filed for bankruptcy to get her car back and stop the garnishing and during this entire time, she would randomly ask me for money to help pay bills. I’ve seen the electricity get cut off, had to loan her something like $300 so she could talk to a bankruptcy lawyer and give her rent early a few times. It’s been absolutely ridiculous and now she’s even asked to borrow my cell phone to take pictures of things she wants to sell on craigslist since she’s so damn poor.
Anyway, I have a friend I want to move in with by September 30 or October 1. However, when I notified her that I wanted to leave, she said the lease states I have to be here until October 30, as in, I am responsible for October’s rent. The lease does stipulate that if I break the lease early, she can collect the rent for the remaining term (ie, if I left three months into the lease and the lease is six months, I’m liable to pay for the remaining 3 months). I really want to leave, but I don’t think I could afford to pay her that last month. Plus, I also find the lease term somewhat ambiguous, so I’d want to dispute it.
She’s stated she will take me to court if I tried to get out of it unless I find her a roommate, but because she’s so damn poor, she’s actually increased the rent and wants the next roommate to pay $500 rather than the $400 I am currently paying. I doubt I’ll be able to find someone who’ll want to stay here by Sept. 30, so I’d like to just tell her to screw off and fight it out in court (I suspect it’ll take place in a small claims court). Also, I live in North Carolina, if that helps.
Actually, no, the lease actually says from Feb 1, 2010 to Oct. 1, 2010, not Oct 30.
Also, I forgot to mention, I do NOT pay for utilities. The only thing I pay is my rent and that is it. And she has paid me back, but it has been a nightmare in waiting for whatever catastrophe has happened every week to see if she’ll ask me for more money.
Category: IRS Problems
