Can anyone help me with an apartment lease issue?

[neverlandsky]

I had to sign off to get off of a lease when I was in a roommate situation due to me moving out before lease was up. Roommate then had to reapply for a new lease for the same unit when the old lease was up. Roommate moved when lease was up. This was 22 years ago though. I did pay a small fee to get off of the lease, $250.

Now with our new lease, me & DH are renting the apartment and paying for it all. Yet when Oldest turns 18, they want them on the lease too even though Oldest won't even be paying a dime for anything. Yet since Oldest is an adult, the apartment wants them on the lease and they are going to amend the current lease once Oldest is 18.

 

[MrsPete]

They signed a one year lease that rolls over into a new lease.

This "rolls over into a new lease" is the problem. I don't know this term. When I lived in apartments, and when my recent college-grad daughters lived in apartments, if the lease ended in June, your financial responsibility ended in June.

I THINK what you're saying is that the four girls have the right to sign a new lease for a new year /keep the apartment /not move out. Essentially they "have firsties" on the apartment -- they can "roll over" to a new lease -- no one new can swoop in and grab their apartment out from under them. This makes sense to me, but it also makes sense that your daughter is NOT obligated to join the other three in a second lease.

If this is wrong, then they had a two-year lease that required paperwork at the mid-point. And that doesn't sound right at all.

For what it's worth, my May 2020 college grad was in an apartment with a friend last year. They together (and each with one parent as co-signer) signed one lease. My daughter graduated; the roommate is still in school. The roommate got a new roommate, and the two of them together signed a new lease. My daughter was not involved in the second lease at all. This makes perfect sense to me.

I didn’t even mention that they are charging $500 to take my daughter off the lease.

She isn't coming off the lease that she signed; that lease is finished /her financial obligation is fulfilled -- or, it will be in June.
She is opting not to be a part of a NEW, SECOND lease.

I think the bottom line is that the three remaining roommates need to find a fourth girl to join them, and THEY FOUR sign the new lease.

 

[mamamary]

This "rolls over into a new lease" is the problem. I don't know this term. When I lived in apartments, and when my recent college-grad daughters lived in apartments, if the lease ended in June, your financial responsibility ended in June.

I THINK what you're saying is that the four girls have the right to sign a new lease for a new year /keep the apartment /not move out. Essentially they "have firsties" on the apartment -- they can "roll over" to a new lease -- no one new can swoop in and grab their apartment out from under them. This makes sense to me, but it also makes sense that your daughter is NOT obligated to join the other three in a second lease.

If this is wrong, then they had a two-year lease that required paperwork at the mid-point. And that doesn't sound right at all.

For what it's worth, my May 2020 college grad was in an apartment with a friend last year. They together (and each with one parent as co-signer) signed one lease. My daughter graduated; the roommate is still in school. The roommate got a new roommate, and the two of them together signed a new lease. My daughter was not involved in the second lease at all. This makes perfect sense to me.
She isn't coming off the lease that she signed; that lease is finished /her financial obligation is fulfilled -- or, it will be in June.
She is opting not to be a part of a NEW, SECOND lease.

I think the bottom line is that the three remaining roommates need to find a fourth girl to join them, and THEY FOUR sign the new lease.

Yes you pretty much nailed it. The only part we’re not agreeing to with the apt is that they want us to sign the new June to June lease and then file paperwork to come off this new lease. They are just going to be a threesome and not get another roommate. They are going to split the difference in rent.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Like others, I am a landlord but not in a college town. I would check with the college office for housing, yes to LA, or just go with an atty of your own.

 

[Heather07438]

The onus is on those who need to roll the lease and those who need to fill that apartment. Let them work it out. I’m assuming roommates knew your daughter was graduating this year and would be leaving at the end of this lease. Not like it’s a surprise.

I definitely wouldn’t sign a new lease we have no intention of using, and that would make us susceptible to claims. No way, sorry.

I might be willing to split the $500 four ways... just as a goodwill gesture and ONLY if I felt confident it would be easy with no chance of a new liability on our part.

 

[mamamary]

Yes they knew she’d be leaving. No surprises.

 

[Skywalker]

Just logically, it makes no sense to sign your name onto another lease when you are, well, moving out. And I fail to see how anyone could make you do so. . Just seems like a potential liability waiting to happen. I'd be gone without looking back.

 

[mamamary]

Just logically, it makes no sense to sign your name onto another lease when you are, well, moving out. And I fail to see how anyone could make you do so. . Just seems like a potential liability waiting to happen. I'd be gone without looking back.

I agree. It just upsets me that it can screw her roommates up. Well we’ll see what they say when we call tomorrow

 

[LuvOrlando]

Wouldn't sign, would state clearly you are disengaged from the process I email and cc everyone involved. I would research small claims court for the $500 and would follow through, most of the time businesses don't bother to show up and you win by default. Even if not and they do show up it doesn't sound like they can force you to pay in order to end a contract on time. Makes no sense that this is a you problem. Some schools have some sort of legal support for students with this stuff, call the school.

 

[bcla]

It can get somewhat complicated at the end of a fixed-term lease. In most states it rolls over into a month-to-month tenancy if the landlord accepts rent in the same monthly amount. There are wrinkles to this, such as the possibility that the tenant needs to announce a departure at the end of the fixed-term lease.

Certainly the landlord can't dictate that someone wanting to leave be obligated to sign a new contract. And it would really be complicated if there are multiple people but one leaves. I've done that once as a landlord where we had an addendum that added one tenant while dropped another.

 

[clh2]

I would look at the lease carefully. Do you need to specifically give notice that you are not renewing?

 

[mamamary]

I would look at the lease carefully. Do you need to specifically give notice that you are not renewing?

Yes. We gave the notice

 

[mjkacmom]

My daughter has 5 roommates, all 6 parents has to sign, if someone leaves early the rest are responsible for the rent and/or a replacement. One girl chose not to resign for June, they found a replacement, but di cr it’s not the same 6, the contract has changed and rent will increase.

 

[mamamary]

My daughter has 5 roommates, all 6 parents has to sign, if someone leaves early the rest are responsible for the rent and/or a replacement. One girl chose not to resign for June, they found a replacement, but di cr it’s not the same 6, the contract has changed and rent will increase.

Any idea if the roommate who didn’t renew still had to go on the new lease and then get off it. That’s still the part that I have a problem with. Can’t wait to call them with my dh this morning. I actually couldn’t sleep last night.

 

[nkereina]

My initial instinct would also be to not sign the new lease. But if things do transpire the way its being explained to you (i.e. you pay $500, sign another form, and she comes off the lease), then I'm not sure there's any further risk you'd have to worry about. The risk will be mitigated when she comes off the lease. Seems like this is a formality the office and maybe the area requires, even though it doesn't make a lot of sense. I would request a copy of the new lease and the forms you'd have to complete for her to come off of it and review for anything weird or that doesn't jive with what the office is telling you. If it seems kosher, I'd then ask the other three girls to split the $500 fee four ways. To me, it seems like that would be the best approach to preserve the friendship and not leave the other girls in the lurch..

 

[rajak73]

Her lease has an end date of mid June but there is also a clause that it can roll over

You said your daughter gave them notice that she was not returning so at mid June, she has no more obligation. Yes, the lease CAN roll over but if not all parties are agreed, then the lease ends. The other 3 need to figure it out.

Yes. We gave the notice

Then in mid June your daughters obligation ends.

I didn’t even mention that they are charging $500 to take my daughter off the lease.

Charging $500 to remove your daughter from the lease sounds like a penalty. To me, that would be if you signed a new 1 year lease and then she broke the lease to move out. If your daughters gave the required advance notice and she is moved out and all her belonging gone by the time the lease ends then her obligation should end mid June. No $500 penalty for not renewing. Don't want to sound cold, but the other 3 girls need to work it out. I would not sign another lease agreement, and I'm a landlord telling you not to sign another lease and then get penalized for breaking it. Let us know how the call went today.

 

[barkley]

mine have never had to sign a new lease when they were leaving at the end of the term of the shared lease they were on. they just gave (in writing) to the landlord proper notice (i think in our state something like 30 days prior to end of current lease term). thier roommates took it from there.

i would look up landlord tenant laws on-line for your state AND COVID landlord tenant laws. there are some wrinkles in the law b/c of certain federal and state mandates. i would not hand over any kind of money except/unless the landlord is claiming damages on the individual part of your daughter-and that's with proof of damage/proof of repair/receipts.

 

[mjkacmom]

Any idea if the roommate who didn’t renew still had to go on the new lease and then get off it. That’s still the part that I have a problem with. Can’t wait to call them with my dh this morning. I actually couldn’t sleep last night.

I don’t think so, the new girl did sign a lease though. Their policy is that rent won’t go up if the same girls renew, so I’m sure the landlord was happy with the new tenant, and extra $600 a year.

 

[nkereina]

Charging $500 to remove your daughter from the lease sounds like a penalty. To me, that would be if you signed a new 1 year lease and then she broke the lease to move out. If your daughters gave the required advance notice and she is moved out and all her belonging gone by the time the lease ends then her obligation should end mid June. No $500 penalty for not renewing. Don't want to sound cold, but the other 3 girls need to work it out. I would not sign another lease agreement, and I'm a landlord telling you not to sign another lease and then get penalized for breaking it. Let us know how the call went today.

That's exactly what I perceive the fee to be without knowing more details. The way this has to work for the other three girls to keep the apartment is that they all have to renew, but the OP's daughter has the option to opt-out after the fact for a penalty of $500 which would void her obligation on the remainder of the lease. Did the OP say the fee would be charged even if she didn't sign the new lease? I may have missed it. But unless there's a clause in the lease about that, my assumption would be that she could walk away without having to pay anything, but the downside would be that her friends could lose their apartment.

Without knowing the nuances of the lease and the statutes of the area they live in, it does seem like a silly policy and puts OP's daughter in a precarious spot. But if she were to sign the lease and simultaneously complete the paperwork to remove herself, then I'm not sure what the downside would be other than having to shell out $500. The risk would be mitigated. And hopefully the other girls would be cordial enough to chip in for that fee, since this would be the OP's daughter doing them a favor. I'm not fond of the idea of signing either, but I'd think the chances of the complex acting nefariously and not allowing her to void after, as they've explained it, are probably slim.

 

[clutter]

Thank you everyone. Her lease has an end date of mid June but there is also a clause that it can roll over. Her roommates just want to stay on but apparently for them to keep the same apt they are saying that my daughter needs to sign the new lease and then this other form to get off.

I didn’t even mention that they are charging $500 to take my daughter off the lease. It’s so aggravating and this is a pretty big complex. I feel like they are taking advantage. I am going to tell my daughter that her friends will have to deal with this. I just hope we aren’t the bad guys by making these girls potentially have to switch apartments

It sounds like they want you to renew the lease and at the same time have all four sign and assignment and assumption - where the three remaining roommates agree to be assigned the rights and responsibilities of your daughter. I don't know why the landlord doesn't just have the three remaining girls sign a new lease. The results would effectively be the same - although I'm not sure that it would absolve you of financial responsibility if one of the remaining girls defaults. Does she have to move out at the end of the lease, or could it be a little sooner? I'd push back that the assignment and assumption can happen on the original lease, and the three remaining tenants can then sign the renewal.

That said, it's now almost mid June, and it seemed like the renewal date was mid-june. Is there a 60 day notice period? That could be the problem. The lease could read that the tenants have to notify the landlord 60 days prior of their intent to move out, or the lease automatically renews at the same terms. And you are in that period - you have effectively told the landlord that you are staying. I would guess that he wanted a notice from all four tenants that they were terminating the lease and that three of them wanted to sign a new lease. So renewing the four of them is already set up to happen. If all of this happened before the 60 (possibly 90?) day notice period, this wouldn't be an issue. That also would have eliminated the $500 change fee - the fee to remove yourself from a lease and assign the obligation to someone else.