More details to this question:
My son signed a contract with 4 other boys for an apartment in fall 2014. One of the boys was on the fence in Spring 2015 on whether or not he was going to return to college. Move in date was 8/11/15. This boy decided on 7/24/15 he would not be returning. He and his parents state they will not be paying their rent portion and for the rest of the boys to find someone or figure it out. With this late notice the boys are having a hard time finding someone. This has brought on a financial hardship for all of the boys as their rent now goes up $90 a month, and utilities are now being split 4 ways instead of 5. The leasing office said if the boys do not pay his portion, all 5 of them can be sued because it is a joint lease. The kid who backed out is not the only one that will be sued. Do we have any right to take this to court? I know there is always a risk in doing this, but it just isn't right. Thank you.
1 ANSWER
How long did the lease run? If the kid who left (or his parents if he is underage) signed a lease that is still in force, they have no right (unless the lease provides otherwise) to back out just becaue they're no longer happy with the contract they signed. You may have a duty to minimize your damages by trying to find another roommate (while mitigation is requred in most breach of contract cases, some states do not require mitigation when it comes to leases. I don't know the law on this in Illinois), but any damages you can't avoid are the responsibilty of the former roommate. In other words, if the four students are only able, aftet using their best efforts, to rent the fifth spot for $200 per month rather than $360, so that they are each paying an extra $40 per month due to their former roommate's breach, they can sue the former roommate (or his parents, whoever signed the lease) for those damages.
Answered on Aug 13th, 2015 at 11:53 AM