Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Washington

Roommate unable to pay rent

In July, my current roommate and I entered a one year lease on our apartment. Both of our names are on the lease and we have a verbal agreement she is responsible for half of the rent. Additionaly, we have a verbal agreement she is responsible for half the power and cable (both in my name only). In September, she was layed off from her job. She is recieving unemployment benefits while looking for another job, but it is not enough to cover her living expenses (roughly $500 a month). For October, she gave me only $100 and I had to cover the rest. My question is in two parts - firstly, if she continues to be unable to pay for rent, can I legally ''evict'' her since her name is also on the lease? If so, how do I go about it? Secondly, if I do evict her OR she skips out on her own, can I hold her liable for her originally agreed upon portion of the rent through the end of the lease? I am not trying to ''kick her while she's down'', just protect my own interests. If she finds employment in a reasonable time frame and pays me back for fronting her rent and her portion of the bills, I'll be happy. If not, this is my plan B.


Asked on 10/10/04, 9:06 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Elizabeth Powell ELizabeth Powell PS Inc

Re: Roommate unable to pay rent

To answer your first question: No, you don't have standing to evict her,and it's not because her name is on the lease, it's because you are not the landlord. Your second question: you can hold her responsible for her share of the rent through the end of your lease, but that's not going to help you get the rent paid now. Both of you could face eviction if the rent doesn't get paid, and your landlord doesn't care who pays it - just that it gets paid. You and your roommate are jointly and severally liable for the rent; if you can cover the bills while she's unemployed, you are OK. If not, you may have a problem. As a suggestion, you'll want to keep track of what you are paying so you know what to ask her to reimburse you. Your verbal agreement regarding utilities is going to be practically impossible to enforce. Look at your lease to see what it says about new roommates, as you may be prohibited from bringing in a new roommate without permission from your landlord. This probably seems unfair, but the law respects the rights of property owners to receive rents above the rights of people to jointly agree to pay that rent, even if the income of one party is interrupted. Good luck. Powell

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Answered on 10/11/04, 10:48 am


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