Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New Jersey

Re: Two people signed a year lease for an apartment and half way through, one de

You do not indicate who was originally intended to be the primary tenant - you or your roommate?

This is a matter, unfortunately, that could go either way - because you have no separate agreement with your roommate as to what would occur if one of you decided to leave before the lease was over. On one hand, the lease, with two signatures, does not split the responsibility between you - the landlord can collect the entire rent from either of you, even if both signed, since you probably did not sign for only responsibility limited to 1/2 of the rent. This leaves you exposed for the entire rent to the end of the term. On the other hand, there was no formal notice to the landlord by your roomamte, so she could also be responsible if you failed to pay the balance of the rent. The 60-day notice does not create an agreement between both of you, so you can also hold her for her share of the balance of the rent - or at least for a full 60 days from the time she notified you that she was leaving. However, agreements regarding real estate (which includes leases) for a term of 1 year or longer need to be in writing. Since there is no written agreement between you and the roommate, this could also cause a problem. Finally, if you accepted her payment for the month and 1/2, you may be considered to have given her a release for any additional payments.

Sorry there is no black/white answer to this question.

Walter