How to get deadbeat college roommate (1 of 4) to pay rent?

Question

I rent to college students, 3-4 per unit. My problem is that sometimes one of the students will not pay rent but the others do. What is my best recourse?

That is, I will sometimes be paid 2/3 or 3/4 of the rent for the unit, but the last roommate may not pay for months on end. I have not yet had someone actually default, they usually come up with the money eventually, but it is stressful and I would like a better way to handle it. All 3 (or 4) tenants' names are on the lease.

Should I proceed with eviction? I don't know if I even CAN evict because I do have part of the money. And if I'm getting 3/4 of the rent each month, they're not even going to be behind a full month's amount for 4 months. Even if I could evict, I'm not sure I should. Since this is a college town, it is unlikely that I would be able to get new tenants in the unit before the current tenants' lease is up anyway. 3/4 rent is better than 0 (right?)

I would appreciate suggestions on how to get the deadbeat roommate to pony up. Thanks.

Marcia Maynard · Answer

I trust the agreement makes all of the roommates jointly and severally liable? If not, terminate the current agreement as soon as you legally can and enter into an agreement that is. Month-to-Month agreements will give you more flexibility.

Now, call a meeting... since they are college students I would approach this as part of their education. Review the terms of the rental agreement and let them know "If rent is not paid on time and in full each month, you can't stay and we will need to talk about a move-out plan." It is an all or nothing situation... they chose to live together and they must sort it out. It is not your problem unless you make it so. The ball is in their court. They need to get their priorities straight. They have choices. Let's hope they make the right ones.

You need to not be so lenient.  If you have a late fee defined in your rental agreement, charge it each and every time. Also, serve them with the "Pay or Quit" notice as soon as you don't receive the full rent. I doubt they all will want to leave in the middle of their school year, so you are likely to see some action. They will come up with a solution. If they don't, you will need to follow through on what you need to do. I sometimes will use this phrase with tenants... "Your decision determines what I will do." So, if they choose to not follow the terms of the rental agreement, then enforce the rental agreement and evict if necessary.

Matt Devincenzo · Answer

Are you renting to individual students, or are you renting to the group together and they're choosing to pay separately?If you're renting to a group that chose to live together then you need to accept payment as such (meaning one check for the full rent amount).

Personally you're lease should have designated who the "primary" tenant is. That person is your contact, he can collect the other checks and give them all to you or deposit the other 3 and write 1 for the full amount to you. The other three should have also acknowledged his role as "primary" by initialing the statement in the lease, and initialing that any issues would be handled through him.

Like Marcie said that "joint and severally liable means they are all responsible for 100% of the rent. They can pay their 1/4 share but if you don't end up with 4 out of 4 then they are all liable for it. I'm willing to bet that 3/4 of the roommates putting the pressure on the 4th will be quite a bit more effective than almost anything you can do.

Also start thinking about this right now....what did you do for the security deposit. It will be a nightmare upon move out if you're attempting to split damages among the 4 when "I didn't break that he did".... Again your primary tenant gives you the full SD and any amount returned goes back to him. The other three can negotiate with him for the amount that should be returned to each. That keeps you out of the middle of their drama.

Gwen Barnes · Answer

Marcia, yes, jointly and severally liable.

Matt, I have always taken rent from each tenant before, but I think changing it to where there is a primary tenant is a good idea. I haven't had problems yet with the security deposit, but similarly, I can see how having a primary tenant for that too could hold off future problems.

Nicole, thanks, I'll look into that.

Jesse, no parents are on the lease. How would I do that? They aren't in town. Could they sign remotely somehow?

How long do you recommend I wait after not getting full rent to post the "pay or quit notice"?

Jesse T. · Answer

Are the parents on the lease?

I would use the 2 or 3 paying to put pressure on the deadbeat.  I would insist on full payment and then they collect from the deadbeat.

Nicole A. · Answer

I second everything that Marcia said. You also need to study up on your local rental laws. Some places, you apparently can only accept full rent. In other places such as Maryland, you can accept partial payments and still file for rent court and eviction.

How to get deadbeat college roommate (1 of 4) to pay rent?

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