Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Utah

Multiple Tenants-One Leaves. Who Pays?

As with all questions, you need to seek the counsel of a competent UT lawyer to obtain the correct legal answer.

We practice in GA and I believe the law on these 2 simple questions would be the same in UT.

The fact that one tenant moves out on a multiple tenant lease usually does not relieve that tenant from the duty to pay rent. Unless, there is a specific written term allowing for it or there is a novation or new lease, etc. Except for the promise of occupation required under the terms of the landlord's fire policy, it really doesnt make any difference wither the tenant lives in the tenancy or not. Rent is due as a matter of contract for as long as the lease is valid.

Check to see if your lease has an early termination clause or a subletting clause. These provisions may provide some relief.

Also, if one tenant skips and the other multiple tenants do not consent and have to make up the difference in rent, they have a legal right to sue the tenant for the amount of extra rent they had to pay to keep the lease current. Usually, the dollars are so small, no one ever pursues the issue.

The dates on the lease are not controlling. It is perfectly valid to have a lease from June 16, 1997 to May 31, 1998. And, that is probably how the court would read it. The fact that the date in May is "1997" instead of "1998," would be read by a cout in GA to be a mere misnomer and overlooked. The dates cannot be given their plain meaning, becasue the end date precedes the start date. That is, it is an impossible lease term.

Ambiguities in the lease will be construed against the party drafting the lease -- probably the landlord. The very best -- and its a long shot -- that the tenants may get away with is arguing that the rental term is unclear and therefore it must be a month to month lease.

Hope this helps.

Hugh Wood

Who pays? Whoever the landlord pursues.

The landlord can usually pick and choose which tenant(s) to pursue. Unless something specific on this point is in the lease or your state's laws are unusual, the tenants are said to be "jointly and severably liable" as well as "jointly and severally liable" for the rent. LL can even choose just one person to pursue for the whole rent. But that party would probably have recourse against each of the others, to get their shares paid back to him or her.

All this depends on the lease itself and on your state's laws.

The lease period sounds perfectly legal. Even if it was a mistake, it won't normally invalidate the whole lease, as long as some sense can be made of it. (Theoretically a judge would "reform" the lease, if necessary.)