Roommate from HELL!!!!!

from JoeUser Forums
Hi bloggers! Well, I have had a very intense week. Sometimes, I just wish I was not me. OK here is my problem. I live in a 3 bedroom apt. I usually have 2 roommates (for a total of 3 people). Well, one of my roommates moved out Jan 1. By Jan 15 Mia was moved in as the new 3rd roommate. Then Feb 1 the other roommate moved out and me and Mia have not been able to get another person in the apt. So there are only the 2 of us living there. When Mia moved in, it was explained to her that the other roommate would be moving out soon and we would have to find a 3rd person to share the cost of rent. With 3 people living there we each only pay 1/3 of the rent. Well, since there are only 2 of us we have been each paying 1/2. Makes sense right?

Well, starting April 1, Mia has written me several letters explaining that she moved in on the condition of only paying 1/3 rent and she has overpaid for the last 2 months. So, she wants me to take the overpayment and apply it to April's rent. So, she did not actually turn in any rent money for this month. I tried to explain to her that with only 2 people we need to each pay 1/2. She refuses and plans to move out May 1 (that part is fine with me, cuz we don't really get along anyway). However, she expects me to pay her another 100.00 that she 'thinks' she has overpaid on. I had to pay the entire rent myself. I asked her to move out on April 4th and she refused, stating again that due to the overpayments from Feb and March, she has already paid for April, and she is going to stay until April 30.

I spoke with the building management and they stated that due to fair housing rules they cannot discriminate between roommates. As long as her name is on the lease and the rent is paid, they can do nothing to force just her out. So, I have to take her to small claims court. Which I am doing. I have already filed the papers and am just waiting to hear back from the court on a date.

So, as I said I have had a very intense week. I have been sick to my stomach all week, I have been living in my room rather then the whole apt cuz I don't want to interact with Mia. I do not feel comfortable in my own home. This SUCKS!!! Is there anyone out there with a similar story? Any advice for me?

Nikki
Dragonlove
blogging
2,672 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
I had a similar problem to this while I was in college. Here is the easy and simple solution to avoid problems like this in the future...

Individual Leases.

Most realitors will never mention this option, and some will actively discourage it, but most will in fact allow it if you push for it. What this does is says you're responsible for X amount of the rent every month (in your case under the original arrangement, 1/3rd). Each renter in the apartment is obligated to pay that amount. If one moves out, your rent stays the same (or it may proportionally shift to whatever the new balance is, like now for 1/2) and you are typically forced to find a roommate within a certain amount of time or the apartment renter will do it for you, giving you little choice.

The point is to get it all in writing with the landlord as to how the division works. In my experience we had individual leases, 1/3rd of rent each way, when I moved out the terms of the other leases changed so they were individually responsible for 1/2 of the rent until they found a new person to come in. This prevented issues of someone not paying their share, of one person skipping out on rent forcing it on the other people.
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
I'm afraid you made a tactical error in paying the full rent. If you hadn't you could have bargain with her thusly:

"I explained the situation to you before you came so don't act dumb, if you weren't listening that's your fault. I'm not paying the full rent and if you don't pay half we will both be kicked out so pay it , get another roomate or else fuck off. I'll go stay with a friend otherwise I've got nothing lose. " (the last bit may be a lie but she'd never know)

I'll guess it's too late for that now (shit, I really don't mean to rub it in, I can be a bit tactless at times). I hope you win your case dragonlove , people like that suck.
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Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
Zoomba, Hmmm.... I never heard of this, but I will look into it. Thank you for the tip.

Dragonlove
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
Toblerone,

Well, thanks for the support. However, I HAD to pay rent otherwise we would have been evictied. Since Mia has moved in she has not paid her
1/2 of the rent on time, EVER! So, if no one paid for this month then we really would have been kicked out. I NEED this apt. See, I am a college student and only go to school. I do not have a job (at least not a steady one, I freelance my photography skills to a local public school but that only brings in about 100.00 a month, if anything at all). Almost every apt (at least the decent ones) require a credit check during the application process, to make sure you have enough money to pay for the rent. My parents pay for my rent. Actually they give me a check and then I deposit that and turn around and write a check out to the building management. Now, when I originally moved into this apt I DID HAVE a job. However, as mentioned before, now I don't. So, my options for moving are pretty close to zero.

Again, thank you for your support!

Dragonlove
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
Little_Whip

Hmmm... I guess I am just not able to be that mean. If I start doing any of that stuff to her, then she will turn around and say that I was harassing her. And she would be right. However, I do need to start living in my apt again (not just my room). I can not give her any power over me. I will not let her bully me. I will sit down and watch TV in the living room and if she tries to watch with me I will nicely tell her that since she is not going to pay for her part of the electricity or cable bill then she CAN NOT watch TV with me. If she continues to sit there and watch TV then I will turn it off (I have it set up on a lock system - you need a password, which she does not have, to view anything) and go to either my parents and watch TV or to a friends house.

No, I do not have the option of moving the TV to my room cuz I have satellite hook up and the cord does not reach my room (which is the furtherest away from the living room). I do have another TV in my room along with a VCR so I can watch movies and my computer is in my room so I can watch DVD's there as well.

As far as having friends over to be loud, this I would do if it was not the final month of spring semester at school. I have way to much homework this month to even think about hanging out. If I invited my friends over and tried to stay in my room to do my homework while they were having fun in the living room I would feel very, very left out and would skip the homework to hang out with them.

However, thank you for your support and I did get a good chuckle out of your suggestions (I kept picturing Mia screaming cuz all her clothes had been bleached... Ha ha ha ha ha ha)

Dragonlove
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
Little_Whip

Hmmm... I guess I am just not able to be that mean. If I start doing any of that stuff to her, then she will turn around and say that I was harassing her. And she would be right. However, I do need to start living in my apt again (not just my room). I can not give her any power over me. I will not let her bully me. I will sit down and watch TV in the living room and if she tries to watch with me I will nicely tell her that since she is not going to pay for her part of the electricity or cable bill then she CAN NOT watch TV with me. If she continues to sit there and watch TV then I will turn it off (I have it set up on a lock system - you need a password, which she does not have, to view anything) and go to either my parents and watch TV or to a friends house.

No, I do not have the option of moving the TV to my room cuz I have satellite hook up and the cord does not reach my room (which is the furtherest away from the living room). I do have another TV in my room along with a VCR so I can watch movies and my computer is in my room so I can watch DVD's there as well.

As far as having friends over to be loud, this I would do if it was not the final month of spring semester at school. I have way to much homework this month to even think about hanging out. If I invited my friends over and tried to stay in my room to do my homework while they were having fun in the living room I would feel very, very left out and would skip the homework to hang out with them.

However, thank you for your support and I did get a good chuckle out of your suggestions (I kept picturing Mia screaming cuz all her clothes had been bleached... Ha ha ha ha ha ha)

Dragonlove