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I need to have a roommate for 4 months but my landlord insists on having him on a lease.
Anonymous8 views2 answers
I am a tenant and I have signed a 1 year lease with my property manager. The apt is a 2 bedroom apt and I would like to have a roommate for 4 months. The landlord insists on a lease for the roommate. As far as I know the lease would make us both equal tenants and I am not sure what I can do in the case he refuses to leave in 4 months as was initially agreed upon. Can we both sign a roommate agreement that describes the amount of stay etc and have a clause that upon the completion of 4 months, the roommate would move out? The landlord said that he would not get involved in matters like this. Should I seek legal advise? What options do I have as far as the roommate agreement document and what would the enforceability of one be like?
I think your question is fraught with a level of complexity and potential expense that do not justify the effort you are about to devote to it. In short, yes, you should seek the advice of local counsel to put an agreement together for the kind of arrangement you propose but, if the landlord doesn't get involved in these types of arrangements, how will you get the landlord to cooperate in putting the tenant on the lease for only 4 months? I'd bewilling to bet he puts him on the lease for the remainder of the term just to cover his bases and you have no power to compel the landlord to agree to a shorter duration. Also, you're going to have to address issues like, if the roommate damages something during moveout in month 4 but it isn't noticed by the landlord until you move out in month 12, how, for all practical intents and purposes, are you going to prove and hold the former roommate accountable for the damage he may have caused 8 months after the fact? Lastly, I think you have to seriously consider the economic value of a 4-month lease. There's a lot of frictional costs associated with moving and other expenses for such a short duration of a tenancy; such that you'd probably have to discount the rent on the space below your break-even point to make it a desirable option to a potential roommate. Good luck.
I agree with the previous, very thorough response. It is quite possible to enter into a 4 month sublease with a roommate, but without the cooperation of the landlord, it would be extremely difficult. You might want to check your current lease and see if it addresses sublease issues. Whatever you do, make sure you have a contract with the roommate. If he only signs a lease with the landlord, it might be more difficult to evict him if he doesn't leave after the 4 months.
