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seenew

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Dec 1, 2005
1,569
1
Brooklyn
So I hate my roommates (didn't use to, but they have become a**holes, never help with cleaning, etc), I hate my apartment (it's falling apart and has no insulation and rats or something in the ceiling) and I want to move out.

I never actually signed a lease or any paperwork. I came into town late and my roommates had already signed everything and started moving in before I got there. I had no idea what a sh**hole it was or anything.

The only legal paperwork they have on me, that I know of, is my rent checks and my deposit check.

I want to move out, and I am trying to figure out if I can. The lease (that I didn't sign) isn't up until next September.

If it means anything, I am living in Georgia, so we'd be going by those laws.
Any help is appreciated!
 

r.j.s

Moderator emeritus
Mar 7, 2007
15,026
52
Texas
Since you paid the deposit money, you might be out that, but like was said above, if you didn't sign any lease - you have no obligation to stay.
 

dmr727

macrumors G4
Dec 29, 2007
10,406
5,077
NYC
Like others have said, it doesn't sound like you're under any legal obligation. But it'd be cool of you to at least give them a bit of notice so they have time to find a replacement.
 

seenew

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Dec 1, 2005
1,569
1
Brooklyn
Well yes, I'd let them know. What do you guys think would be the best way to go about this?

Tell them first or the landlord? Or how to I actually ask the landlord if they think I am bound by some kind of verbal agreement?
 

dukebound85

macrumors Core
Jul 17, 2005
19,117
4,096
5045 feet above sea level
Well yes, I'd let them know. What do you guys think would be the best way to go about this?

Tell them first or the landlord? Or how to I actually ask the landlord if they think I am bound by some kind of verbal agreement?

You arent bound if you didnt sign

If you want to move, you can move out any time, notice or no notice...you didnt sign the lease

How did you pay the security deposit though? Just paid your roomies? as they would have had to pay it all up front
 

r.j.s

Moderator emeritus
Mar 7, 2007
15,026
52
Texas
Well yes, I'd let them know. What do you guys think would be the best way to go about this?

Tell them first or the landlord? Or how to I actually ask the landlord if they think I am bound by some kind of verbal agreement?

You and the landlord have no agreement, it seems, so you wouldn't have to tell them anything. Verbal agreements won't hold for a lease.

It'd be nice to tell your roommates, but you don't have to. If you were to just move, your roommates would still be responsible for paying the next month's rent.
 

SilentPanda

Moderator emeritus
Oct 8, 2002
9,992
31
The Bamboo Forest
Tell them first or the landlord? Or how to I actually ask the landlord if they think I am bound by some kind of verbal agreement?

Does the landlord know you are there? All the leases I've ever signed state that nobody except those that signed the lease are to live there. So if your landlord doesn't know you live there it'd probably be best not to talk to them.

If your deposit was just to your friends then you'd need to get it back from them, not the landlord.
 

velocityg4

macrumors 604
Dec 19, 2004
7,328
4,716
Georgia
Well yes, I'd let them know. What do you guys think would be the best way to go about this?

Tell them first or the landlord? Or how to I actually ask the landlord if they think I am bound by some kind of verbal agreement?

Let your roommates know first. You don't really have any obligation to the land lord so whether or not you let the land lord know is really up to you. Though I doubt the land lord would care since you are not signed on the lease. If you are friends with the land lord you might give that person the heads up.
 

synth3tik

macrumors 68040
Oct 11, 2006
3,951
2
Minneapolis, MN
If your not on the lease your out nothing. It was kind of stupid for your roommates to treat you like crap considering they would have no legal recourse.
 

ucfgrad93

macrumors Core
Aug 17, 2007
19,522
10,810
Colorado
Since you paid the deposit money, you might be out that, but like was said above, if you didn't sign any lease - you have no obligation to stay.

Agreed.

Does the landlord know you are there? All the leases I've ever signed state that nobody except those that signed the lease are to live there. So if your landlord doesn't know you live there it'd probably be best not to talk to them.

If your deposit was just to your friends then you'd need to get it back from them, not the landlord.

To add to this, if you tell the landlord, he may want you out immediately. I would just try and find a new place, move out, then get your deposit back from whoever you gave it to.
 

MaskedPhantom

macrumors regular
Feb 26, 2007
178
0
New York
In most states, if there's no written lease, then it is an automatic month-to-month tenancy, and you must give 30 days notice before moving out. I don't know if Georgia's laws regarding this are different, but this is what I have gathered from watching The People's Court and consulting my mother, who is studying law.
 

r.j.s

Moderator emeritus
Mar 7, 2007
15,026
52
Texas
In most states, if there's no written lease, then it is an automatic month-to-month tenancy, and you must give 30 days notice before moving out. I don't know if Georgia's laws regarding this are different, but this is what I have gathered from watching The People's Court and consulting my mother, who is studying law.

Yeah, but in most states, there is a written lease.
 

BlackiBook

macrumors 6502
Jan 1, 2009
386
0
Norman, Oklahoma
In most states, if there's no written lease, then it is an automatic month-to-month tenancy, and you must give 30 days notice before moving out. I don't know if Georgia's laws regarding this are different, but this is what I have gathered from watching The People's Court and consulting my mother, who is studying law.

I worked in 4 different apartment complexes in four different states and none of them ever had this automatic month-to-month tenancy! If that was the case somewhere that you know of then it was an agreement between the apartment owner/manager and the tenant, not a law.

Edit: sorry for the misleading post! What I meant is it doesn't mean it was a law, but it could be! (For all I know the four states I worked in were the only ones without this law!) :D
 

MaskedPhantom

macrumors regular
Feb 26, 2007
178
0
New York
I worked in 4 different apartment complexes in four different states and none of them ever had this automatic month-to-month tenancy! If that was the case somewhere that you know of then it was an agreement between the apartment owner/manager and the tenant, not a law.

When you pay your rent and the landlord accepts that payment, an automatic contract for that next month is put into place. Not all on contracts are on paper as I'm sure you know of.
 

seenew

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Dec 1, 2005
1,569
1
Brooklyn
Okay to clear some stuff up:

I mailed a check for the deposit to one of my roommates ahead of time and he included it with his check and our other roommate's check in one envelope and mailed them together.

We each pay one third of the rent every month by check. One of us takes all three checks in one envelope and drops it off at the office. I've only done it once, but left it in the mailbox.

I also forgot to mention I dropped by their office to pay a pet deposit which also has my name on it... Do you think that changes anything?

I feel like if I just stop paying rent, or tell them I am moving with the intention of not paying rent, they will try and sue me or something...
 

SilentPanda

Moderator emeritus
Oct 8, 2002
9,992
31
The Bamboo Forest
If you didn't sign a lease, you're not on the lease and there's not much anybody can do as far as I know. If I were you, I'd get a copy of the lease from one of your roommates and read it. The lease can really contain whatever the landlord wants so who know? Odds are you are in the clear but between reading the lease and doing some research that's probably all you'll know. You may also want to look up "Tenant At Will" since it sounds like the landlord does know you are there.

Sounds like you might have to give 30 days notice to the landlord but otherwise you are free to go.

Does a tenant have any rights when there is not a written lease?

A tenant who occupies rental property with the landlord's consent and makes rent payments without a written lease is called a "tenant-at-will." Georgia landlord-tenant law, including eviction laws and security deposits laws, still applies. A tenant-at-will has the right to occupy and use the rented premises subject to any restrictions upon which the landlord and the tenant have agreed.

Because there is not a written lease, Georgia law regulates the type of notice which a tenant-at-will and the landlord of the tenant-at-will must give to terminate or change the original rental agreement. A tenant must give thirty (30) days notice to the landlord to terminate or change the original agreement. A landlord who has a tenant-at-will must give sixty (60) days notice to the tenant before seeking to terminate the agreement or change any term of the original agreement. This means the landlord must give a tenant-at-will sixty (60) days notice before imposing a rent increase. To protect your legal rights any and all notices should be in writing. When a tenant-at-will fails to pay rent the landlord is not required to give the sixty days notice before terminating the tenancy. If the tenant-at-will fails to pay rent, the landlord can demand possession and immediately file a dispossessory warrant seeking possession in court.
 

BlackiBook

macrumors 6502
Jan 1, 2009
386
0
Norman, Oklahoma
When you pay your rent and the landlord accepts that payment, an automatic contract for that next month is put into place. Not all on contracts are on paper as I'm sure you know of.

Yes not all contracts are on paper but he could easily say that he has been helping a friend out who is in need by paying some of his rent... Just because he has given them a check does not mean he is obligated to live there.... Do you think that the minute an apartment complex gets a check with someones name who hasn't signed a lease we write their names down on the lease? No, or parents would never be paying their kids rent.... What I am saying his No they can not hold him to anything unless his roommates tell the landlord he is living there before he moves out in which case they can either kick him out or ask him to sign the lease.
 

BlackiBook

macrumors 6502
Jan 1, 2009
386
0
Norman, Oklahoma
If you didn't sign a lease, you're not on the lease and there's not much anybody can do as far as I know. If I were you, I'd get a copy of the lease from one of your roommates and read it. The lease can really contain whatever the landlord wants so who know? Odds are you are in the clear but between reading the lease and doing some research that's probably all you'll know. You may also want to look up "Tenant At Will" since it sounds like the landlord does know you are there.

Sounds like you might have to give 30 days notice to the landlord but otherwise you are free to go.

But this concern those "tenants-at will" who pay month to month and have a predetermined conditions to their agreement with the landlord. No agreement was made between the landlord and the tenant here concerning his month to month occupancy, so he is not covered under this. If the Landlord knows he lives there and hasn't talked to him about the payment options and lease options then the landlord is basically looking the other way and taking the checks. Once he is out the only proof the landlord could have to sue him is either tapes of the tenant entering and leaving the apartment on a more than regular basis or having his friends testify against him.
 

Surely

Guest
Oct 27, 2007
15,042
11
Los Angeles, CA
SilentPanda and BlackiBook seem to be on the right track with their advice.

But really, before you do anything, you should really seek advice from an attorney in Georgia.
 

mac88

macrumors 6502
Aug 7, 2008
477
2
Boston, MA.
But this concern those "tenants-at will" who pay month to month and have a predetermined conditions to their agreement with the landlord. No agreement was made between the landlord and the tenant here concerning his month to month occupancy, so he is not covered under this. If the Landlord knows he lives there and hasn't talked to him about the payment options and lease options then the landlord is basically looking the other way and taking the checks. Once he is out the only proof the landlord could have to sue him is either tapes of the tenant entering and leaving the apartment on a more than regular basis or having his friends testify against him.

Absolutely correct.
 

BlackiBook

macrumors 6502
Jan 1, 2009
386
0
Norman, Oklahoma
But if you take a verbal or implied contract to court, they hold up about as well as the paper they are written on.

Which is why the landlord would most likely (if he is not dumb) go after the people on the lease for the missing rent and not the OP, because the landlord already has them by the balls....
 
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