Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Georgia
I have a room mate who pays $200 dollars a month for rent. She decides to pack up her stuff and leave, leaving me with the full balance for the next 7 months. She is not the lease holder, but an occupant there. Also, there was a third party who witnessed her say she would pay $200 until the end of the lease. Can I take her to court and sue her for not paying?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Of course you can take her to court and sue her.
Anyone can take anyone to court and sue them. Isn't America great?
Good luck!
Is it worth it? Does the lease allow subleasing? If not, you have a problem. Does the person have any money and, if so, how much time will you spend trying to collect? It most likely will go down as a lesson learned. It was a choice to have an informal handshake deal, and the risk that the other person would pack up and leave (or you would ask her to leave) is exactly the risk that both of you accepted in the deal. Had you wanted a more formal deal to hold up in court, you could have done so.
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