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I have been living in an apartment for the past year, but my previous roommate relocated. I found a new roommate that passed background checks, and everything seemed to be in order. We signed a lease and he moved in. Unfortunately, the pleasantness of the situation did not last long. A month into the rental period, my new roommate informed me that because his room is slightly smaller, more awkwardly shaped, and his (private) bathroom isn't connected to the room, he thinks he should be paying less rent; A substantially smaller amount. Alternatively, he proposed that we switch rooms halfway through the rental period.
As background, he and I were previously clear on the fact that the rent and utilities would be split 50/50. This is the way that it was done with my previous roommate, and no problems ever arose then. In hindsight, I should have also gotten this in writing, but hindsight is 20/20. He also had knowledge of the apartment layout. Although we co-signed the lease, and it stipulates the amount of rent due each month, it does not have any mention of splitting or division. I'm stuck here, because I don't want to create an uncomfortable environment, but I also don't want to pay out the nose for something that was never previously an issue.
Am I in the wrong for being upset by this? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
It's a tricky situation but the bottom line is that this is the deal you negotiated and is the deal you have for the remainder of the lease. It matters not that the agreement you had was verbal - he presumably paid the first month's rent and only now has decided that it doesn't suit him. All I can suggest is that you nicely tell him exactly that. If it doesn't suit him then maybe the LL will agree to take him off the lease if the roommate can find a suitable person to replace him - one who's acceptable to both you and to the LL. If he's not prepared to work it out intelligently and decides to leave then you'll have to find another roommate and then take him to Small Claims court for whatever money you're out due to his leaving. He'll nonetheless remain on the lease until both you and he and the LL agree otherwise.
You may want to compromise on the rent but I wouldn't - he should have thought about it before he agreed to the terms and before he cosigned the lease. Good luck!
Thank you for the guidance. It's a tough situation, and it has made me extremely uncomfortable. I plan on being very clear with the fact that we had an agreement and it can't simply be altered on a whim. Hopefully this won't come down to legal action, because I know that would be unpleasant for all involved. I suppose the moral of the story is to always get monetary agreements in writing.
...my new roommate informed me that because his room is slightly smaller,
more awkwardly shaped, and his (private) bathroom isn't connected to the room,
he thinks he should be paying less rent
He's right.
A bit late to bring up but still fundamentally right.
Quote:
...he proposed that we switch rooms halfway through the rental period.
Sounds Fair.
Quote:
Am I in the wrong for being upset by this?
Yes
Quote:
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Charge him $X less ...or have a furniture moving party over Holiday break
^^^ I completely disagree. The roommate saw the place and agreed to the split. If he had doubts he should have raised them from the beginning and the matter should have been discussed before he signed the lease. He didn't and now wants to change the deal.
^^^ I completely disagree. The roommate saw the place and agreed to the split. If he had doubts he should have raised them from the beginning and the matter should have been discussed before he signed the lease. He didn't and now wants to change the deal.
I absolutely agree. He should have brought it up before he agreed to the arrangement. That is not playing fair--nobody forced him to agree.
To clarify a bit more, my previous roommate and I split the rent 50/50 (this was set by him), and he even had the opportunity to take the larger room and have me move into the other one. Ultimately he didn't, because he enjoyed having a small balcony and a window facing a quieter street. More space and an ensuite vs. small balcony and quieter street is a relatively subjective argument, so that's not where my issue lies. And I don't fundamentally disagree with the premise of splitting rent by square footage, but my current roommate wants over 10x that. Again, this was not mentioned once in the months before we signed a lease together - not even in passing.
Thank you for the guidance. It's a tough situation, and it has made me extremely uncomfortable. I plan on being very clear with the fact that we had an agreement and it can't simply be altered on a whim. Hopefully this won't come down to legal action, because I know that would be unpleasant for all involved. I suppose the moral of the story is to always get monetary agreements in writing.
So, how about trading rooms half way through the lease. So you each benefit form the nicer room for part of the lease.
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That is not playing fair--nobody forced him to agree.
