Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia

Back Story:

My fiance and I had been planning on moving to the West coast for a year (work for him, grad school for me) and my roommate was well aware that I would not be renewing our lease.

What you need to know:

My roommate and I had a signed lease with our landlord from May 31, 2010 through May 31, 2011.

All utilities (water, power, gas, cable) are under her name.

We had a typical verbal agreement that we would split utility bills in half.

Her boyfriend did his laundry at our house on a weekly basis and used our other utilities on a regular basis. She also has a large garden that uses a lot of water (not upset about this at all - just thought it was worth mentioning).

So what's the problem?:

As it turns out, we ended up moving 2 months early (April 1st rather than May 31st) due to my fiance's new work schedule (he had some days off due to a change in his training schedule). I paid April rent to my landlord, who agreed to keep my security deposit in exchange for May's rent so we would be square at the end of my lease.

I informed my roommate in March that I would be leaving in April and told her I would send her some money for utilities since I thought it was the right thing to do. However, I did not have a job set up yet in my new town, so obviously I would send money as soon as I got a paycheck. She seemed fine with this.

Luckily, I landed a job within two weeks - not a great job, but it is flexible for school. Barely pays my bills, so I am lucky to have a supportive fiance I have sent her 3 checks about once a month when I have been able to afford it. The other day, she sent me a nasty e-mail regarding the "balance" I "owe" her, which is the remaining bills for April and May - the two months during which I was NOT receiving benefits from the utilities. She accused me of taking advantage of her (what??) and threatened to take legal action.

My argument is that I have been paying her out of the goodness of my heart for services I did not use. After that accusation, I no longer feel obligated to help her out any longer. What are my actual legal obligations to her and what "action" can she realistically take?

Thank you!!!


Asked on 8/11/11, 7:14 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

if you promised to pay for your share of these utilities, unconditionally, i.e., whether you used them or not, then you're legally and morally obligated to follow through on your promise (in my opinion).

However, as for any legal action that your former roommate might take against you, if the two of you are now separated by a distance of thousands of miles, the likelihood of that happening would be miniscule.(again, my opinion).

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Answered on 8/12/11, 7:02 am


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