Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Louisiana

ok i have a roomate that fails to pay his rent on time and instead of constantly argueing im going to move out. i paid the entire deposit myself how do i get it back?


Asked on 4/26/10, 7:49 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Adam Lambert The Law Office of Adam S. Lambert

Your agreements and problems with your roommate have nothing to do with your lease with your landlord. If you signed the lease, you are responsible to complete it and you can be held responsible for any breach of it (regardless of whether the breach was your fault or your roommate's fault). The landlord does not have to release your deposit until 30 days after the termination of the lease, as required by law. Moreover, if the roommate has damaged anything, it will come out of that deposit, even if it was not your fault. Also, the landlord likely will make the check for any deposit returned then out jointly to everyone who signed the lease. He will not give the entire deposit to one roommate.

You have another problem which you have not considered, it appears. If your lease is not expired yet, you are still responsible for the rent whether you live there or not. So, if your roommate fails to pay the rent after you leave, you can be held liable for that too.

All of that being said, you may want to talk to your landlord and tell him the problems you are having. If you can convince the landlord to let you out of the lease, you are fine. If not, you are stuck. I suspect that even if the landlord lets you out, he will not release the deposit until your roommate moves out.

Read more
Answered on 5/01/10, 6:03 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Landlord & Tenants questions and answers in Louisiana