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A room mate moved in this month (August) and today (17th) says oh by the way I was accepted into a program to study abroad.
Is this weird or what? The person hasn't occupied the place more than 3 weeks and is moving?
There is no lease agreement. We went through a lot of trouble to move this person in...co-signer....parents calling me constantly to accept their child for the room ......and now this?
Did this person want my place temporarily? Did they have an idea before hand? I really don't get it.
Should I give the deposit back considering the situation?
Sounds like you just had a verbal lease, you probably need to look up state law for verbal leases, in my state, 30 day notice is required, so they would have to pay you for 30 days after when they told you they would be moving. If your state is similar, and they don't pay you, you could probably deduct that from their deposit.
I have to ask though, why jump through the hoops of getting a cosigner and then not actually SIGN anything? Had you just not gotten to it yet?
And a word of advice from experience. Whenever someone is desparate enough that they will call you repeatedly to try to talk you into something, it is not something you want to get involved in. We nearly always turn away those who are "over-eager", as they nearly always turn into problems later.
I have a philosophy, "If you have to help someone move into a place and it's alot of trouble to get them into the place...it will be the same to get them out of the place."
give back the deposit and do it right the next time. Signed lease with stipulations about rent and deposit. And no move in until deposits and rent paid in full.
Sorry for the confusion. They signed an agreement regarding paying the rent. It's technically not a lease and doesn't mention anything about giving a 30 day notice.
But get this - they just left a message on my phone saying they were moving immediately and that they know they probably should have given a 30 day notice.
....and yeah your right. They were tooooo desperate. I've learned my lesson.
Sorry for the confusion. They signed an agreement regarding paying the rent. It's technically not a lease and doesn't mention anything about giving a 30 day notice.
But get this - they just left a message on my phone saying they were moving immediately and that they know they probably should have given a 30 day notice.
....and yeah your right. They were tooooo desperate. I've learned my lesson.
Perfect. Write them a nice little note explaining that of course you would have expected a 30 day notice and, under the circumstances, will retain the security deposit to cover the default. If they baulk you can always be a nice guy and give them a little back based on pro-rated rent from the day they told you they were going to quit. Good to have learned a lesson as it could have been a LOT messier than this!
Was this person a friend or someone who answered an ad looking for a roommate?
Suddenly going to study abroad sounds fishy. With all the visa/passport rules to do something like that, it isn't like they suddenly decided to go to college in another state.
I'm changing my mind based on the new information. Keep the deposit. They know they did wrong. Keep it for your troubles. But do get it right the next time. Signed lease with cash in hand before move-in.
How do you have a co-signer if there is no signed lease?
This is true.^^^^The OP needs to use a month to month written lease agreement
for a co-signer.
To the OP...month to month can terminate at any time with the state law termination notice, it leaves the LLs and the tenants options open. I wouldn't return the security deposit without the proper notice time.
The tenant made application to the program they were approved for long ago and had to know it was pending, yet hadn't been officially accepted and had to plan as though it may not happen until the acceptance.
In most states even if a notice period is not stated on a lease or rental agreement there is a minimum notice requirement of one full rental term plus one day. You definitely should keep the deposit. You need to find a new roommate and it will take some time and that needs to be on her expense.
Are you just a roommate or actually a landlord? Is she on the rental agreement with the landlord?
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