[Tiva]

Alpha and I have been having a lot of problems with our roommate, she was anti social and would basically either use our stuff and not replace it period or put it in the mini fridge in her room if she replaced food. She had her boyfriend over all the time (5 nights a week) and tried to weasel out of paying me the utilities more than once because "she didn't use the cable and shouldn't have to pay for it".

The lease is in her name as well as mine and Alpha's. We can not break the lease, it would cost us over 1000 dollars to break it and ruin our credit.

We came back from being at Alpha's mothers to find that she had moved out. She took out all off her stuff and stole some of ours. She didn't leave her keys here and states that because her name is still on the lease she will continue to pay rent but won't give us back the keys since "She should be able to have access to the house at all times" We understand that but because she moved out with out warning and apparently had been planning this for months with out saying a word to us we don't feel safe in our own home.

We want to contact the land owner and tell him what is going on because we don't feel safe. She won't give us back the keys and our possessions are in danger because of how she acts.

Do we have the right to ask the landlord to change the locks even though she is paying rent?

[Coda]

Most of the time, the lease includes a clause about residency -- if you're not living on the property, you're in violation of the lease. Absolutely talk to your landlord. Call the police, too, to report the theft.

[Tiva]

She stole minor stuff, like pot pans & silverware. It isn't worth the drama with the police. We have checked all of our more expensive stuff and it is still here. But we are worried about it escalating, since we do leave some weekends to visit Alpha's mother. That is why we are asking him to change the locks.

The lease states that after 7 days she has voided the lease, but that Alpha and I in a bad situation because we wont have a place to live. I guess we will be looking for an apartment sooner rather than later.

[Coda]

Landlords are human, and can have human compassion. At the very least, you can make sure you get out of the lease without hurting your own credit score or rental history. You may be able to negotiate a month or two of reduced rent while you search, pack, and relocate; in return, you may be asked to do something to help get a new tenant, such as FINDING a new tenant or keeping the property presentable to show prospective tenants. A landlord would rather receive half rent for a month than have a vacant property earning NO rent.

[Alpha]

Tiva and I are going to go and talk to the landlord tomorrow. We are hoping for the best in this. He is a stickler for the lease and abiding by the terms of it, especially with the wording being such that tenants - individually or collectively - violating the lease will result in it being voided. Specifically in cases of "abandoning the property."

Certainly I hope that human compassion wins out to some degree. In any case, not much we can do in the mean time.

[hyjin]

good lucky you too
i hope things work out.
and hopefully she doesnt return to take more things from you

[Tiva]

She has moved into the dorms, either way she is going to be losing quite a bit on money.

[hyjin]

Um yeah. She lost money when she paid for the dorm...

[Gaius]

I hope your landlord is nice about it and lets you two stay, at the very least until you find somewhere else, and lets you off without damaging your credit since it wasn't your fault the lease was voided. Are you sure your former housemate intended to steal from you? Maybe she thought those items were hers. Still, it's perfectly legitimate and safer to just change the locks. There is no reason she should need access to the house without your permission as long as she is not living there.

My significant other and I recently signed a lease to a one-bedroom apartment for next school year, and we're so glad to not have to deal with housemate drama anymore. Not that there was ever a lot of that. Mostly just me fuming about certain people who frequently left disgusting dirty dishes lying around the living room, dining room, and kitchen. x_x