Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia

Re: Roommate rights and procedures

Better get the agreement in writing. Better yet, get her half of the rent for the remaining months before she moves out.

Re: Roommate rights and procedures

I don't think it would accomplish anything to tell the leasing office, for the following reason:

If both of you signed the lease, then both of you will remain liable on the lease regardless, until it ends. (Make sure you READ the lease to see if you have to do anything to terminate it on August 31. Do you have to give notice that you are moving out? Probably. Otherwise the lease could go on BEYOND August 31.)

The landlord is entitled to collect the money from EITHER of you... whichever one he can get to first and whoever has money that is easy to get at.

So your verbal agreement with your roommate moving out does not change anything with regard to the landlord.

If you had to collect the money from your roommate, her verbal word might not be very helpful. Although an oral agreement is legally binding (with some exceptions), the problem is proving that she made that agreement. In the future, if you say yes and she says no, then you can't prove there ever was an agreement.

So either get a witness to hear it or else get it in writing.