What if I sign a lease with some roommates and they run out on me, or they do damage to the place, or we decide to split up?
A. If your roommates run out on you, then you will have problems with your landlord. The first problem for the tenant is the concept of joint and several
liability. Most rental agreements have a joint and several liability clause. In the case of Spicer v. James, the court held that:
Generally, an obligation entered into by more than one person is presumed to be joint, and several responsibility will not arise except by words of severance.
Therefore, appellants are liable jointly because no severance language appears in the body of the agreement. If there is more than one tenant, then joint and several
liability between tenants is presumed by the Courts.
What this joint and several liability language does is makes every signer of the rental agreement responsible for the entire amounts due and owing. This means that
if your four roommates desert you, or damage their rooms beyond repair, your landlord can sue all five of you, or perhaps just you and you may be liable for the entire amount.
Of course, when your landlord sues you, you may cross claim against your destructive roommates, but such roommates are likely to be penniless, and the worst that they
will suffer is damage to their already tattered credit rating. This really becomes a problem when only your parents co-signed. If the landlord gets a big judgment, it
will be your parent's property that he will be going after in the collections process. So the moral of the story is choose your bedfellows wisely.
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Disclaimer: The information provided on ohiolandlordtenant.com is not intended to be legal advice, but general information related to legal issues commonly encountered. The law in your state may be different from that discussed here. The facts in your case may be different too.
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