Question- College and rent for apartments scenario

[Athena]

If a group of people rent a house for a year,

and two people A and B have an agreement to occupy one room,
person A will live in during first semester,
and person B will live in it during second semester,
because both will be studying abroad in alternate semesters,

but person B does not sign the contract (the contract is only in person As name for that room)


but then person B backs out 6 weeks before second semester starts, because they will be staying abroad,


whose responsibility is the rent?


If there is no suitable subletter found, that the other housemates agree upon,

and the room will be empty for that semester that B was supposed to live there,

then whose responsibility is it to pay the rent for that room?


The contract is only legally in person As name, but in a verbal agreement, does person B still have the obligation to pay the rent?

[AO1]

Originally Posted by Athena

If a group of people rent a house for a year,

and two people A and B have an agreement to occupy one room,
person A will live in during first semester,
and person B will live in it during second semester,
because both will be studying abroad in alternate semesters,

but person B does not sign the contract (the contract is only in person As name for that room)


but then person B backs out 6 weeks before second semester starts, because they will be staying abroad,


whose responsibility is the rent?


If there is no suitable subletter found, that the other housemates agree upon,

and the room will be empty for that semester that B was supposed to live there,

then whose responsibility is it to pay the rent for that room?


The contract is only legally in person As name, but in a verbal agreement, does person B still have the obligation to pay the rent?

Whoever's name is on the contract. Person A is totally responsible.

[Athena]

Even if person B agreed verbally, to occupy the room?


I know that legally, it is person As responsibility, but what about morally or ethically? If person B agreed in verbal, should they still take the responsibility for the rent for that period of time they would occupy it?

[LordSappington]

I'll teach you all a fun little trick from the cryptography field
Person A = Alice
Person B = Bob

This is what subletting is for. Alice should have made Bob sign a subletting contract stating that Bob is responsible for the rent, and if Bob chooses not to live there, then Bob must either pay the money anyhow or find someone to take over the contract.

Ethically and morally, Bob violated a verbal contract. I'm not an expert in contract law, but a verbal contract may be legally binding and you could have some legal restitution. But it would be hard to prove and probably easier to just scramble to fill the room with someone else. In any case, Bob is backing out of a trusted agreement, and is wrong, while Alice is pretty much screwed. Lesson learned. Don't trust verbal contracts from anyone, especially college students.

[Athena]

Yes, the two people A and B already checked with the landlord and the legal view, and legally it is still persons A responsibility.

But, it seems like a bit of a gray area on whether or not person B should still pay the rent, because of a verbal agreement. Also further gray because person B did try to find another subletter, and several were found, but the other housemates did not agree to them.


I am not A or B, but another who is viewing this situation, and would like to understand this objectively (moral and legal aspect of verbal contracts).

[RT Wolf]

Well, morally it's a tough cookie. I mean, on the one hand, B made a commitment. On the other hand, they provided ample (6 weeks!) notice that they're changing their end and helped to find several (!) subletters. In my book I'd let B off the hook and get to work on figuring out how to either get the roommates to agree to some subletter or finding a more suitable subletter. Are the roommates being nitpicky or do they have valid concerns? How can A address them? A might have to accept a slightly lower rent than they pay and cover the difference but I'd imagine that's preferable to having to pay the whole rent and not use it.

Hmm, if B is an exceptionally high character person, they may still offer to pay for the rent, but I wouldn't say they have a responsibility to and I wouldn't force them to using legality. I may ask them if they want to pitch in if no one can be found but not pressure them.

Legally, check with local laws on verbal contracts. I personally dunno if there's any way to check without having to pay for a lawyer but ask around your social circle, someone may know how to check local laws or ask specific questions about verbal contracts. Someone else here may be able to offer information on verbal contracts, I'm not a lawyer.

[Athena]

Yes, there was both a lawyer and the landlord already consulted, and legally it is person As responsibility.


The other housemates were picky about the other subletters, and did not approve of any of them.


So, legally it is person As responsibility, and person B gave advance notice and did the necessary work to find another subletter. Although it is not legally their responsibility, and perhaps not morally either, person B might offer the rent anyways for reasons of friendship, if that is important in such a case.

[funchy]

person A since presumably he is the one who had signed the contract to rent the room in the first place. If A wants to sub-let, as long as others don't mind, A can do it. But if A sub-lets and his tenant backs out, that is A's problem.