Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Minnesota

Roommate moved out before end of lease and does not want to pay her half of rent

My wife and I signed a two year lease togeather with a friend of my wife's and her daughter. My wife, me, and the friend all signed the lease. Six months into the lease, the friend decided to move to a different state and now says that she is not going to pay her half of the rent. We can't afford to pay the full rent by ourselves but we also cannot break the lease. We would like to know if and how we can hold the friend responsible for her half so we can avoid an eviction and or a bad rental record.


Asked on 4/01/05, 11:02 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

David Anderson Anderson Business Law LLC

Re: Roommate moved out before end of lease and does not want to pay her half of

A) You need to have the lease reviewed for liability of individual tenants immediately

B) If the friend is "gone" and cannot be contacted to get them to pay, you must deal with the landlord directly

C) If the lease is a "joint and several" lease, you must either pay the full rent, or perhaps do a sublease to cover it.

D) If you pay the full rent, you can sue the departed "friend" for the amount they welched on.

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Answered on 4/01/05, 3:04 pm


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