Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
roommate skipped town
One of my room mates, who is on the lease, skipped out of town. We have two months left on our lease, which we are all on, but can't afford to cover her portion of the rent. How can we hold her liable? Also, she left a lot of her things here. She wants us to pack it up and bring it to her mom's house. Is it legal to sell her things to recoup the cost of the lost portion of rent? How about the $2500 she still owes us?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: roommate skipped town
Welcome to the wonderful world of roommates. When they work out, great!!! When they don't, well, you get the idea.
Legally, you can get a judgment in Small Claims Court, and hope to collect some day in the future.
As far as abandoned property, you can sell it, but only after giving her 15 days notice, but that only applies to landlords, and only when the landlord cannot reach the party who has moved on.
My best suggestion is to have a lawyer write her a strongly worded letter at her parent's house. My experience with these situations is that her Mom and Dad are unaware of what type of child they have raised, and, especially if the family has some money, mom and Dad might pay the $2,500.
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