Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Georgia

1. Move out of leased apartment due to hostile living situation with a roommate. No longer could tolerate her craziness.

2. I am still pay my rent to the landlord because I have a lease which is not up until August 1, 2012.

3. Utilities are separate and they were all in my roommates name.

4. After moving out, I paid my last month's utilities and told her since I was no longer residing in the apartment, I would no longer pay for utilities I was not consuming or benefitting from.

5. I receive a demand later, saying if I do not pay the future utilties every month, she will sue me in small claims court.

6. There was no written roommate agreement, no discussion as to what would happen if one of use moved out, and would implied consent be applicable to the situation.

7. Would a judge rule in her favor, should I just go ahead and pay the utilities


Asked on 1/08/12, 10:41 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Glenn M. Lyon, Esq. MacGREGOR LYON, LLC, Business Attorneys

Impossible to say with certainly what a judge would decide, but based solely on the facts presented, I do not think you would be responsible for the utilities after you moved out since there was no agreement, written or verbal, that you would.

If you would like to discuss any issues further, please feel free to contact my office. The link to my contact information is below. Thank you.

The foregoing is general information only, not specific legal advice. No attorney/client relation has been created or should be implied.

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Answered on 1/09/12, 11:34 am
Scott Riddle Law Office of Scott B. Riddle, LLC

You may find you have a larger issue than just utilities. Assuming (we don't know) that you and your former roommate are both on the lease, you might be at the mercy of her as far as your liability to the landlord. What if she does not pay rent? What if she moves out? You are stuck, perhaps for every penny of the lease, plus late charges, etc. You get sued, and you get an eviction notice. Do you have a written agreement with her to cover this (not your lease - that is your agreement with the landlord)? If she is not on the lease, you have even bigger problems. You can focus just on utilities and claim you don't have a contract, but that may be a very shortsighted way to handle the situation.

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Answered on 1/10/12, 7:51 am


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