Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Virginia
Roommate Troubles-Termination of Lease
Recently, my roommate and I terminated our lease early. The total amount that we owed the apartment complex came to around $3000. A payment plan was set up, however, he did not sign the payment plan, nor has he made any attempt to pay his part of the debt. Could I take him to court to force him to pay, and possibly have the debt split up, so that once I am done paying my portion, no action can be taken against me? If not, what are my options?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Roommate Troubles-Termination of Lease
If the lease you and your roommate signed was like most leases, each of you is responsible(jointly and severally liable) for the entire amount owed under the lease.
If that's the case, the landlord could pursue you for the entire amount. If you had an oral aggreement with your ex-roommate that he would pay half of the total, you could sue him in small claims court(in the event you ended up paying the entire amount)for his contribution, but he might be able to plead a legal device known as the statute of frauds which generally requires that contracts for amounts exceeding $500 must be evidenced by a writing. Whether the court would allow you to present into evidence the original lease as evidence of what might be owed you as a result of this oral agreement between the two of you is problematical, but certainly worth a try.
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