When a Roommate Leaves
What to do if a roommate moves out before a lease ends.
A co-tenant in a month-to-month tenancy who wants to leave is legally responsible for giving the landlord proper written notice and paying rent through the end of the notice period. If there's a lease, the tenant should either get permission from the landlord to leave early or, if this is impossible, find a new tenant who is acceptable to the landlord. If a co-tenant simply leaves without the landlord's okay or without an acceptable substitute, the fallout can be serious.
What to Do If You Want to Stay
The unauthorized departure of a co-tenant gives the landlord the option of evicting the rest of you, even if you are able to pay the full rent. The landlord has this option because breaking the lease or rental agreement by even one tenant is a violation of a key lease term (the length of stay), for which all tenants are liable.
In practice, however, your landlord will probably let you stay if you can keep a steady stream of rent money coming in and keep the place occupied by stable, nondestructive tenants. So if you want to stay after a co-tenant has broken the lease and left, the landlord will probably not evict you and other tenants unless:
- you are a troublesome tenant, and this is a golden opportunity to be rid of you, or
- your income doesn't appear sufficient to cover the rent in the future. In this case, if you can assure the landlord that you can promptly bring in a good, law- and lease-abiding new co-tenant, you might be able to salvage your tenancy. In the meantime, you may need to ask permission to pay the rent late or in installments.
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