My question involves landlord-tenant law in the District of Columbia
Hi everyone - thanks in advance for looking at my situation!
The Backstory:
I signed a lease for a 3-person house that went from Feb. 1 2015-Jan. 31 2016. Me and another guy moved into this house as 2 other roommates were moving out, the third guy had lived there for a few years. All three of us are listed on the lease and we had joint and several liability for the rent. For clarity, I'll refer to my roommate who had lived in the house for three years as guy 1 and the person who moved in with me as guy 2.
Note: When I moved in, I was instructed by the guy who had lived there for a while (guy 1) to pay my deposit to one of the outgoing roommates. I have a document signed by the previous roommates and the landlord that states that guy 1 would remain on as a tenant and would be responsible for paying the former roommates back their security deposits.
At the end of December, Guy 1 and Guy 2 told me they were planning to move at the end of the lease term, which was the end of January. It was my intention to replace them with two new roommates and continue living in the house. I emailed the landlord at the beginning of January to ask what his preferences were for approving new roommates. He replied and said that he and his siblings (who he owns the house with) were considering doing some alterations, but that he would talk to them and be in touch. For the next two weeks, I reached out to him repeatedly to ask if I should be looking for new roommates, but did not receive a response.
On January 19th, he informed me that I needed to move out by the end of January because he was going to renovate the house. I explained that it was not possible for me to find a new place and move with such a short notice. I offered that if he would be willing to give me a break on February rent, I would be willing to move by March 1, but if that offer didn't work, then I needed to know what paperwork he needed filled out for new roommates/subletters. He did not reply.
At the end of January, Guy 1 and Guy 2 moved out. The landlord came by the house to do a walkthrough and collect their keys. We sat down and spoke for a bit. I told him I would do everything possible to find a new place as soon as possible, but simply didn't have the money to put down a deposit on such short notice, nor did I have the money to cover rent for the entire house without roommates. I asked what I should do for February rent and he said that he would need to talk to his attorney and would be in touch. He never reached out again.
Half-way through February, I found a great deal and moved into a new apartment. I notified my landlord that I would be out by the 15th. On the 15th, he came by and did a walkthrough, collected my keys and changed the locks. He mentioned that because Guy 1 paid him the full security deposit, he would return the full deposit to Guy 1, who could then split it among the three of us.
Now:
Today, Guy 1 informed me that the landlord is deducting two weeks worth of full rent for the two weeks I remained in the house. This amount is substantially more than just my share of rent for an entire month and more than my security deposit.
My Question:
My perspective is that I was given insufficient notice to vacate and then unreasonably denied the option to replace the roommates who left, and should not be liable for the full rent amount for the two weeks I was in the house in February. (It's worth noting that my lease says I can sublet with the landlord's permission, but that permission cannot be "unreasonably withheld.") I'm also a little uneasy about the landlord returning the deposit to only Guy 1 for him to split up - I think he's doing this in order to transfer the costs of my staying in the house to them in an attempt to make this an issue among the roommates rather than between me and the landlord. What recourse do you recommend?
Hi everyone - thanks in advance for looking at my situation!
The Backstory:
I signed a lease for a 3-person house that went from Feb. 1 2015-Jan. 31 2016. Me and another guy moved into this house as 2 other roommates were moving out, the third guy had lived there for a few years. All three of us are listed on the lease and we had joint and several liability for the rent. For clarity, I'll refer to my roommate who had lived in the house for three years as guy 1 and the person who moved in with me as guy 2.
Note: When I moved in, I was instructed by the guy who had lived there for a while (guy 1) to pay my deposit to one of the outgoing roommates. I have a document signed by the previous roommates and the landlord that states that guy 1 would remain on as a tenant and would be responsible for paying the former roommates back their security deposits.
At the end of December, Guy 1 and Guy 2 told me they were planning to move at the end of the lease term, which was the end of January. It was my intention to replace them with two new roommates and continue living in the house. I emailed the landlord at the beginning of January to ask what his preferences were for approving new roommates. He replied and said that he and his siblings (who he owns the house with) were considering doing some alterations, but that he would talk to them and be in touch. For the next two weeks, I reached out to him repeatedly to ask if I should be looking for new roommates, but did not receive a response.
On January 19th, he informed me that I needed to move out by the end of January because he was going to renovate the house. I explained that it was not possible for me to find a new place and move with such a short notice. I offered that if he would be willing to give me a break on February rent, I would be willing to move by March 1, but if that offer didn't work, then I needed to know what paperwork he needed filled out for new roommates/subletters. He did not reply.
At the end of January, Guy 1 and Guy 2 moved out. The landlord came by the house to do a walkthrough and collect their keys. We sat down and spoke for a bit. I told him I would do everything possible to find a new place as soon as possible, but simply didn't have the money to put down a deposit on such short notice, nor did I have the money to cover rent for the entire house without roommates. I asked what I should do for February rent and he said that he would need to talk to his attorney and would be in touch. He never reached out again.
Half-way through February, I found a great deal and moved into a new apartment. I notified my landlord that I would be out by the 15th. On the 15th, he came by and did a walkthrough, collected my keys and changed the locks. He mentioned that because Guy 1 paid him the full security deposit, he would return the full deposit to Guy 1, who could then split it among the three of us.
Now:
Today, Guy 1 informed me that the landlord is deducting two weeks worth of full rent for the two weeks I remained in the house. This amount is substantially more than just my share of rent for an entire month and more than my security deposit.
My Question:
My perspective is that I was given insufficient notice to vacate and then unreasonably denied the option to replace the roommates who left, and should not be liable for the full rent amount for the two weeks I was in the house in February. (It's worth noting that my lease says I can sublet with the landlord's permission, but that permission cannot be "unreasonably withheld.") I'm also a little uneasy about the landlord returning the deposit to only Guy 1 for him to split up - I think he's doing this in order to transfer the costs of my staying in the house to them in an attempt to make this an issue among the roommates rather than between me and the landlord. What recourse do you recommend?
Holding Over: Witholding Rent in Security Deposit / Made to Move
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