Landlord not part of roommate agreement
Q. Last fall, I was living with two other guys in a condo we rented. After a few months, I got a job transfer and had to leave the state. I was leaving on the 15th of the month and the guys were pretty sure they could find someone to replace me, so we agreed I would pay rent through the next month and we would all be good. I even got our agreement in writing.
I was just served with a lawsuit. The other guys moved out with about six months left on the lease. The landlord is asking us to pay him $7,200 because he says he lost three months rent at $2,400 per month.
I contacted the landlord's attorney and told him about our agreement but he said that didn't matter. He said I was on the lease, we didn't do what we were supposed to do under the lease and we are all liable. Is this true?
A. The quick answer is yes. You and your two fellow renters entered into a contract with the landlord, which was breached. Your agreement with your roommates has no impact on your obligations to the landlord under the lease.
The landlord has three names on a contract and he has the right to pursue a claim for damages against any or all of you.
Now, what you could do is file a cross-claim or counterclaim against your two ex-roommates, pursuant to your agreement with them. Although the landlord may very well obtain a judgment against all of you for the lost rent, you may also obtain a judgment against your ex-roommates.
Another issue to consider is that the landlord has a duty to mitigate damages. This means he must actively attempt to rent the condo once the property was vacated. You should force him to prove he actively attempted to rent the unit those three months, presuming you find yourself in court in this matter.
Q. I entered into an installment contract about three years ago to purchase the single-family home my wife and I are now living in. I believe I owe about $95,000 and I think I can get a loan to pay off the seller.
I tried contacting the seller about a month ago to tell him my plan. He didn't respond. Eventually the only way I was able to talk to him was by going to his house. He didn't seem very happy about me getting a loan and paying him off, but he said he would look at the numbers and tell me what I needed to close this out.
A couple days ago I got an email from him stating I would need about $115,000 to pay him off. There is no way I need that much. I had my dad look over the numbers and he agrees with me. I think the seller just wants to make it impossible for me to pay him off. What do I do now?
A. First, review your installment agreement. Make sure you have complied with the terms of the agreement and further make sure you have the right to pay him off. Sometimes agreements require you to make payments for a certain period of time before you can pay the balance.
If you believe you are on solid legal ground, ask him to provide an accounting to support his position. If you have been making identical monthly payments for the past three years, it should be easy to calculate how much of the original balance has been paid down. You were also likely responsible for real estate taxes and insurance, so whether those items have been paid in full by you must also be taken into consideration. As long as you can document your payments, this is just math and it should not be very difficult to figure out where you two stand.
If you continue to disagree, you might suggest submitting your positions to a third party (accountant? real estate professional?) for his or her opinion, agreeing to split the cost. Of course, the last resort would be to file a lawsuit. However, you would both end up spending money that could have been saved if you both agreed to work together in figuring this out. Also, pay attention to the terms of the installment contract. There may very well be a provision addressing the issues of attorneys fees and court costs.
• Send your questions to attorney Tom Resnick, 345 N. Quentin Road, Palatine, IL 60067, by email to tom@thomasresnicklaw.com or call (847) 359-8983.