Dear David,
I rented a townhouse with two friends about a year ago. All three of us signed the lease, which ended in the spring. Two of us moved out a few days before the lease ended and one friend stayed behind. We assumed he had given the landlord our 60 days’ notice that we would be moving out at the end of the lease.
As it turns out, he didn’t leave, and according to a message I just received from the landlord, he hasn’t paid rent in the last three months. He says he has no place to go and can’t afford to pay rent alone. Can the landlord come after all of us for the rent that hasn’t been paid? – LONG GONE
DEAR LONG GONE: Here in the province of Ontario, when you sign a lease with other people, all of you are considered “jointly and severally liable”. In layman’s terms, it means that every tenant listed on the lease is legally responsible for the entire rent, not just the share they agreed upon with their roommates.
If you moved out of the townhouse at the end of the fixed-term lease, but did not personally give proper written notice and were not formally released by the landlord, you might still legally be considered a tenant under the month-to-month tenancy that automatically continued. If you are still considered a tenant under the law, the landlord is within their rights to pursue you, your other friend who moved out (provided they failed to give proper written notice), or all three of you for the full amount of rent arrears, even though two of you no longer live in the townhouse.
At this point, the challenge you may continue to face is that unpaid rent keeps accumulating month after month. If your friend stays in the townhouse another six months without paying rent until he gets evicted, those arrears will continue to build, and you may be held accountable. The situation is not unlike a married couple signing a mortgage together: if they separate and one spouse moves out of the house, both still remain on the hook for the debt.
To protect yourself going forward, you could ask the landlord for a mutual termination agreement, or request they sign a new lease with only the remaining tenant. Until that happens, you are probably still exposed to ongoing liability from unpaid rent.
PRO TIP: Renting a place together may feel casual, but legally this commitment can carry the same weight as a married couple renting or buying a home. When you co-sign a lease, you are not just agreeing to just pay your share of the rent; you are taking on full legal responsibility for the entire amount and any potential damages, no matter who caused them. Before signing a lease with anyone else, make sure you understand the full weight of your risks and obligations. You might want to run the scenario by your lawyer before signing on the dotted line. #Advice #AskDavid #TheNegotiator
David is a top-selling Broker in Kitchener-Waterloo Region. He works personally with you when selling or buying your home. Moving? Get it right. Ask David today! Call or text 519-577-1212.
