Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois
I am currently a tenant in Chicago in a 3BD/2BA apartment. My roommate and I live on the top floor, and the landlord lives on the bottom floor. We both signed the lease back in July, and it expires on June 30, 2011. Little did I know at the time that signing a lease with her was the biggest mistake I would ever make. Four months into our lease, my roommate owes me over $1,000. I paid the security deposit in full and long story short, she owed me her half so she wrote me a check for it, I deposited it once, it bounced, I deposited it again, and she stopped payment on it. That accounts for $675 that she owes me, and the remainder of the amount she owes me is for the utilities I have paid for which she has not paid her half. When I approached her and reminded her that she owes me over $1,000, her response was, �And you won�t be seeing any of it. The utilities are in YOUR name. I don�t have to pay for them.� Apart from the financial issues, she has made living there a living hell. Not only has she harassed and been rude to my friends when I�ve had them over (as in telling them to �Get the F--- out of� HER apartment), she has gone as far as calling the cops on one of my friends who was over, claiming �A strange man barged into her apartment.� She constantly leaves her garbage all over the floor including dirty tissues and q-tips, and leaves her dirty laundry lying around �in communal areas such as the living room! She often comes home at 3 am and marches through the apartment loudly while talking on her cell phone, waking me up and waking up the landlord as well. Her latest escapade involved her dumping my garbage (out of the garbage can) all over the floor outside of my bedroom.
My lease allows for me to sublet, so I had two prospective tenants over to look at the apartment the other day. I showed them the apartment, they met my roommate, and after they left, my roommate promptly told me �I refuse to live with some strangers.� I asked her if she had someone in mind to be her new roommate, and she said no. Similarly, she refuses to leave the apartment with me.
My landlord has been rather unhelpful and honestly I think he is unsure of what the best course of action is to take. He told me my roommate must approve of whoever I have take over my half of the lease, and obviously she isn�t going to approve of anyone since she is actually going to have to pay her bills AND she is looking to screw me over in any way possible.
Living with her is no longer bearable as she has a blatant disregard for anyone but herself. We went TWO MONTHS without talking to each other (no words, no text messages, absolutely nothing) up until the other day when she proceeded to scream at me about how apparently I�m a terrible roommate and person. I NEED to get out and I need to do so while causing minimal damages (to both my landlord and myself). I shut off my power today and the gas is scheduled to be shut off on Monday, so she will be forced to either put the utilities in her own name or live in darkness and without heat. (As for me, I�m going to stay with a friend)
The lease contains no clause about early termination, so I�m not sure what my best option is. Obviously I�ve tried subletting, but it�s not going to work if I have to get approval from my roommate. Do I try negotiating with my landlord? I�ve talked to him about it before but I can make a more serious and final effort. I will gladly sacrifice my security deposit (my half of it at least!), and I am more than willing to pay him an extra month or two�s rent and even advertising costs so he can find a replacement tenant. Would/could that be sufficient? I�ve had to pay my own advertising costs for finding someone to sublet, but again since the tenant has to be approved by my roommate, I haven�t had and won�t have any luck.
My other option is to simply leave and discontinue paying. The landlord does not care how he gets the rent, so it can come 50/50 from the two of us, 100/0 from the two of us, etc. If I leave and refuse to pay, and she stays, she will be forced to pay the entire amount (which she cannot afford), and she will be evicted. Then we will both be taken to court.
Does anyone have any advice? I�ve obviously tried talking to my landlord (he is trying to stay detached from the situation) and I�ve tried talking to her (which is very hard to do and ultimately leads to nowhere every time). I have all my belongings packed up, I have a storage unit, and I�m ready to get out. But what can I do to minimize damages or force some sort of negotiation between me and my landlord?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Let me guess; you are a guy. And the gilt is off the rose, so to speak. Actually, I think that you have a good grasp on the situation, and the ramifications. After the no light and gas gig, I bet she'll move. Then you can change the locks and move back in. Dollars to donuts she would not have the $ to get a lawyer to enforce the lease. You are going to have to play this one by ear, but you seem to have a handle on it. By the way, when the gas goes off, does the water stop as well?
Whew. While you didn't make it explicit, it appears she's on the lease and signed it too. That puts the landlord in a difficult position too and based on her behavior he's most likely frightened! The other thing you don't say is whether she can afford the apartment on her own. If you leave she could move in, put the utilities in her name, and the situation could be reversed. These are NO win situations. So how do you minimize damages? Well, if a dozen roses and a box of Fannie Mae are out of the question, my only suggestion would be to try buy your way out of the lease by attempting to compromise "your" 50% and if she then does NOT move back in you can possibly also offer that you would and extend the term to help make up a bit of whatever rent loss there may be. While this might make it possible for her to move back in and afford the place, at least you know you are released for a fixed amount and from the utilities. One day you'll look back at this situation and . . . cringe. BEST OF LUCK.
The response given is not intended to create, nor does it create an ongoing duty to respond to questions. The response does not form an attorney-client relationship, nor is it intended to be anything other than the educated opinion of the author. It should not be relied upon as legal advice. The response given is based upon the limited facts provided by the person asking the question. To the extent additional or different facts exist, the response might possibly change. Attorney is licensed to practice law only in the State of Illinois. Responses are based solely on Illinois law unless stated otherwise.
Your situation is exactly why I have multiple postings re: cohabitation on my blog www.todayslawalert.com. I would be careful about shutting off the heat with winter coming soon. You may be violating your lease and you may find yourself with frozen pipes and damage. You also may find that she trashed the place in your absence.
This is actually a partnership, and you may have to file a suit in court for specific performance among other possible relief. You should see an attorney in person. Good luck.
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