Dear CO-STAR:

At the end of last semester three other guys and I signed a lease on a house. Before we moved in, two of the guys got accepted to another school so they didn't want to live in the house anymore. They both found replacements and the lease said that for $100 the tenants could change the parties to the lease. So right before move-in we paid the cash and did the switch. The landlord used the original lease. He just crossed out the two old names and wrote in the new ones and had the replacements sign.

Fast-forward a few months, now one of the replacement tenants can't pay his rent. It says in the lease that we have to pay with one check and that we're all liable for the rent. We (me and the other original roommate) wonder what our liability is here. We never actually signed the lease with the two new names on it. So do we have to pay?

- Dan, Junior, Private College or University, Wisconsin

Dan:

Yeah, it would be nice if some legal loophole could get you out of a jam with a deadbeat roommate. But I'm sorry to say, I don't think that's the case here.

First off, what the lease says about everyone being liable for the rent is true. It's called joint and several liability. It means that each of you are entirely responsible for the full amount of rent. So no matter what you four have agreed between yourselves, the landlord can go after any one of you for the full amount.

This is a pretty common condition of a rental. And it's perfectly legal.

Second, I don't think that the non-signing means much at all. You and the other original renter signed the first lease. Then YOU paid $100 to change it. If that's not proof that you agreed to the terms, I don't know what is? In fact, that's probably why that provision is in the lease. It allows your landlord to stand in court (assuming that something like this gets that far) and say "Agreed to it? They paid me $100 for the privilege of changing the parties."

And finally, even assuming that the lease was, somehow, invalid. You guys still lived in the place for the months in question. In that case the landlord would probably be able to sue you and get occupancy charges from you.

So, I'm sorry Dan, I think the loophole strategy isn't going to work out for you. Here's what I suggest. First, put some pressure on the deadbeat replacement. Call his parents. Give him a hard time. Tell him you'll kick him out and get a paying roommate if doesn't cough up the cash.

And, simultaneously, open the lines of communication with your landlord. Call him up and explain the situation. Ask him if you can pay him three-quarters of the rent for the next two months (while you find a new roommate), then make up the difference during the rest of the lease. He may say no, but it's worth a try.

Good luck.

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C.L. Lindsay III is the founding executive director of CO-STAR, the Coalition for Student & Academic Rights, and author of the book "The College Student's Guide to the Law: Get a Grade Changed, Keep Your Stuff Private, Throw a Police-Free Party and More!" in bookstores now. CO-STAR is a network of lawyers, professors and students who work to protect academic freedom and constitutional rights at college campuses nationwide. If you have a question for CO-STAR, log on to their Web site at www.co-star.org.

The material in this column addresses general legal issues only; is not legal advice and should not be relied on as such; and may or may not be appropriate to a specific situation. Laws and procedures change frequently and are subject to differing interpretations. This column is not intended to create, and does not create, a lawyer-client relationship and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel in the relevant jurisdiction.

© 2006, Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service

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