If the old tenant is on a lease, he is the tenant until such time as he tells the landlord he wants off the lease or is evicted.
If he is paying the rent there is little reason for eviction.

Now, IF subletting is forbidden, then the landlord can evict the lessee IF HE CHOOSES...but then it could be bye-bye to all three of you.

All the landlord is USUALLY worried about is whether he is getting the rent and won't get involved in your situation.
So, practically speaking, unless the lessee wants off the lease, you are stuck with him. Perhaps he could be $$$INDUCED$$$ to sign off.

(He sounds like a real pryckk.)

Who cares what he wants. He moved out. You don't want him on the lease. That's his problem. You need to step back and realize it's not that complicated. Just renew the lease without him.

drealock118 wrote:

Quote:

So the prick is trying to hold you over the barrel? He cannot compel you to renew the lease with him on it. So, just say you're forced to move out. I doubt he wants to sublet the whole place by himself and not live there.

Don't renew the lease, and refuse to go month-to-month. Then re-contract for a NEW lease in the same apartment on your own, or even in a new apartment with the same company. Or work with the management company to oust (evict) or sever (de-contract) with the prick.

If there are vacancies why not sign a new lease in just your name and move to another unit - get one month free to boot.

(They might even let you stay in your current unit)

Keep in mind however, if your employment and credit isn't good enough, then you likely won't be able to do anything but move elsewhere.

Quote:

But the old roommate does not want to be taken off the lease. That's the problem.

I had a roommate move out and I took over the whole lease. Very similar situation; it was a Management company also.

Yes, my new roommate had to pay me and I had to take the risk he wouldn't bail.

If you're willing to do that, I don't see what the problem would be. They don't have to go thru the hassle and expense of a credit report and finding new renters. That being said, just google NJ tenant's rights. You'll find a lot of info. I found this:
http://www.lsnjlaw.org/english/placei ... e/knowyourrights/thchone/

Here's a quick snippet:
You also may contact LSNJ?s statewide, toll-free legal hotline, LSNJ-LAW?, at 1-888-LSNJ-LAW (1-888-576-5529). The hotline provides information, advice, and referrals to low-income New Jersey residents who have civil legal problems. This service is provided at no charge to applicants who are financially eligible.

Maybe a little more background would help - the landlord is a management company that owns the buildings (I believe). They own several buildings in the area and I assume that's the reason they are hesistant to remove anyone's name from the lease.

With the economy the way it's been going, there seems to be a fair amount of empty rooms in the building and they're offering free 1 month rent for new tenents.

I was hoping to avoid having the hastle of moving, it's never fun. I do also like my building and wanted to renew the lease but if I can't get this person off I will be forced to move.

Is there anybody I could call for a consultation on the matter, what legal field even addresses these kinds of claims?

Just tell the landlord that your roommate is moving out when the lease is up, and you're taking over the whole apartment. The old lease will be up so no letter is needed. The new guy can't get on the lease anyway cause he has no credit history. You will have to take a risk trusting the new guy, or get someone else all together if you want another person on the lease with you.

Does the first roommate think his gravy train is going to end? He could cause potential trouble, but what he did may be a violation of the lease, so at the end of the day, he can't say anything.

I think what the landlord may be saying is that unless he receives a certified letter thirty days before the lease expires stating that the parties will be moving out, the parties become month to month renters. Pretty standard with leases in NJ, right?

I think your only options are to discuss the situation with the landlord and see if you can work out a deal to evict the old roommate for illegally subletting or move out.

If your lease ends in February with person A, then as of February, person A's obligations are over therefore you don't need his permission on the renewal lease. Since that "term" expired. The new term is subject to a new agreement and can have different people on it, i.e. you and new cool roomie.

The difference matters with the landlord, meaning is he open to the idea of offering a new lease to you plus the foreign exchange person. If the foreign exchange person doesn't have credit, you can always add whats called a "guarantor" for him who is basically a person who is also legally responsible in case new roomie f's up, the landlord can go after the guarantor also.

I think this sounds a little bit confusing the way I'm explaining it- let me know if it makes sense.

p.s. this is not legal advise as I am not an attorney, I am just offering you a very good suggestion...

gotta cover my @R$e ya know!

good luck! oh yea, u need to check your lease about "assignments or subletting" that should tell you whether or not subletting was allowed..

Quote:
That doesn't make sense to me. Is the landlord saying that he is obligated to renew this guy's lease for eternity?

I was in contact with the landlord. I was told that unless the person signs a notorized letter stating they want off the lease and giving up their security deposit there is nothing I can do.

The person is adament about staying on the lease. Not sure what I can do at this point.

you wont be kicking him off the lease. the current lease is up and you will be signing a new lease, by yourself, with the landlord. New terms, new lesee. all you need to tell the landlord is that he moved out (truth) and that you will renew on your own (truth).

If sublets are not allowed, you guys have already been taking a chance on the sublet so I see no reason to stop, UNLESS your previous roomie, who you are not friends with anymore, tells the landlord what you are doing after he finds out you swiped his extra dough.

Dont think he has a legal argument though.

But I really feel bad for the subleter, your roomie had him over a barrel and you could do the same if you wanted to.

Well there's a problem with that. The guy subletting is a foreign exchange student learning English with no credit history, no job verification.

So I was thinking I could just remain on the lease myself and kick the other guy off.

I agree, but you should likely just be straight with the landlord -- the only problem I can see is that the new tenant has to be acceptable to the landlord -- meaning credit worthy (credit report checked), employment verified (pay stubs), and past landlord references. If that stuff is ok, then you're all set - in any event you should lose that former greedy roommate.

This goes to show that people who sublet rooms can sometimes be worse the worst landlords. I've met crazy people in NYC who make their living being on leases and getting extra cash out of every subletter -- real sleaze balls!

I see. Well it sounds like an easy decision. He's out!

Now you have to consider whether you should be the only name on the lease, rather than putting the subletter on as well. I think you said you were not doing that.

I don't believe it has anything to do with residency as he moved into a building less then one block away and stores no furniture at our location.

The only intention he has for continuing to be on the lease is to extort more money for the room in order to pay for the increased rent in his new location.

There was a friendship at one point but no longer as he continues to ask the current subletter for more $$ even though our rent has not gone up.

Security deposit was paid by the subletter so that is not an issue. Just wanted to see if the current person on the lease could legally challenge me from taking him off the lease even though he no longer lives at our location.

The moved-out person should not be influencing how much you sublet for, or to whom. He has only small stake in the day-to-day operations and is only looking to draw some money from the deal to offset his current rent.

He might also be trying to secure his name on the lease for residency purposes (parking permit? voting? city employment?), or so he can store his old furniture with you, or because he may wish to have a safe harbor to return to if his current living situation changes.

These interests hardly merit your consideration unless there is a friendship you wish to protect. So, you should probably protect your self-interest by setting up the scenario you want. Tell the other person you're taking him out of the process... or perhaps the opportunity to re-negotiate by paying you more despite the fact that his rent has gone up as well. You have the upper hand: either he's off the lease, or he sends more money your way to stay on it. Weigh that increase against the independence and what increase you could get from the subletter.

It's probably a bad idea to "renew" the lease if the landlord or the old tenant are unclear about who's beholden of what to whom. For example, monthly payments, security deposits, and damages.

Thanks Suze, and yeah that is exactly what I meant. I guess my only remaining question would be does the old roommate have to sign anything to be taken off the lease.

I guess I should check with the landlord, just wanted to see if anyone has been in a similiar situation and had advice.

Thanks again!

Quote:

I think I understand you. Guy A moved out. Guy B moved in. You want to renew the lease with Guy B. Guy B is sending the rent check to Guy A and Guy A is sending the check to the landlord in order to give the impression that Guy A is still living in the apartment. Is that what's going on?

I don't think it would be a problem renewing the lease with a new person. I did something similar a few years ago. However, if there is a no subletting agreement in your lease (and since Guy A has been sending checks to the landlord this entire time) you may want to keep it quiet the Guy B has been living there. Just tell the landlord that Guy A is moving out and Guy B wants to be put on the lease.

Maybe I'm not explaining it correctly.

Situation: Roommate moved out before the end of the lease - hence he subletted it. Now that the lease is up and he no longer lives there I do not want him on the lease.

Reason: The person subletting is cool and I want him on the lease. The subleter also pays a set amount and the old roommate whose name is on the lease gives us a check for less.

Quote:
I still don't get it. Why are we hearing a story about what is happening with the guy who moved out at his new place?

If the roles were reversed - such that it was you who moved out - what would you want the remaining tenant to do?

That should provide your answer.

I had to read that about five times until I understood it.

Look at your original lease. Does it contain any language prohibiting subletting any or all portions of the apartment?

Sounds like something you should have talked to your landlord about when the roommate moved out, though now would be as good of a time as any to talk to him/her.

One of my roommates moved out in June but is still on the lease till Feb. When I renew I do not want his name on the lease as he is no longer living in the apartment.

The problem is the person moved somewhere where the rent went up so they are trying to force out the tenent who is subletting and raising the rent for the room to help with the their new rent.

So can I just renew my lease without the permission or signature of the tenet who moved out?