What can my daughter do about her college roommate who allowed her boyfriend to move into their shared apartment that is leased only for the two women?

I would have a talk with the girl’s parents. Surely if the parents are paying for this apartment then they have a right to know…. I bet they can get through to her!

I can’t believe she would be so disrespectful to your daughter. I’d have your daughter tell them that if he continues to live there, the boyfriend must take over her rent and she’s moving out.

Which part bothers you? That a boy lives with your daughter? That it’s against the rules? That the deposit might be in jeopardy? What would you like to see happen in this scenario and how involved are you willing to get?

When you get to the root of the problem, it becomes easier to see the solution.

I am bothered that my daughter has absolutely no freedom in her own apartment, I am working to pay and my daughter feels like she is the the kid living with parents…kind of like threes a crowd…

@summerlover Maybe your daughter could call the apartment office every single day and report the situation, at least until the office manager gets overwhelmed and does something about the situation. She could evict the girl if she wanted to. If the reason your daughter doesn’t have the option to leave is b/c she’s locked into a lease, this could be the answer to your problem. If I were you I would also call the office manager every other day or so, asking for your daughter to be released from the lease or for her to make the roommate abide by it. No fair for her to break the rules while your daughter stands by helpless.

@Kevbo: Wow… did I miss something?

What’s the actual question here? The apartment manager and the lease say no.
Who pays the rent, you or your daughter? Does she want you to get involved?

I am involved partly because I am paying, also because it is a new situation for my daughter. She has asked for help because she would really like to make the situation work but she is outnumbered

She could steal her roommate’s boyfriend. Touché.

This is a duplicate of an earlier question by the same user.

If management already knows, he won’t be able to stay there much longer. They’ll be keeping an eye out for him and he’ll have to find somewhere else to go. If not, maybe you could have your daughter move in with a different roomate.

@summerlover If the lease states he can’t live there, then she’s not outnumbered. The law is on her side. It might be messy and ruin her relationship with her roomie, but he can be kicked out. What does the management say when you complain?

[mod says] Please keep comments on topic. This is a legitimate question. Thanks.

management has talked with her multiple times but the boyfriend is still there, maybe this is a difficult situation for them to enforce?

She could have the management change the locks on the apartment, and only give her the key. In order to get back into the apartment, the roommate and boyfriend would have to deal with your daughter in the presence of the manager. The roommate has voided the lease, and needs to move out. The roommate’s name needs to come off the lease, and a new roommate found. This means you will have to fund the full rent until a new roommate can be found.

How old is your daughter?

As an apartment owner I deal with this stuff a lot. I usually start first time renters off with my “mommy lecture,” although I give it to the parents too. I explain that being roommates is like being married. If she doesn’t pay her share of the rent, you will be responsible for it. You are responsible for your roommates behavior.
I would suggest you stop complaining to the manager and try to figure out a way to get your daughter off the lease.
If you can convince the landlord (and the roommate) to replace your daughter with the Boyfriend, then ot won’t be on your daughters credit when this deal goes south. Complaining to much to the manager may make her hesitant to agree.
Ultimatly, this is your daughter and her room mates mess to sort out. Involving the manager to much could cause her to evict both girls because of unauthorized people in the apartment.
Choose your roommates wisely. I have seen hundreds of friendships ruined when people become roommates.

@summerlover, I apologize for my incorrect assumptions about you and your question, and I hope the situation is resolved happily and soon.

The lease goes both ways, the landlord is required to uphold the terms of the lease as well as the tenants. If he won’t you should send the roommate and the landlord a certified letter stating if the bf is not out in 48 hours you will take them jointly and individually to small claims court for breaking the lease. You will ask for damages equivalent to the portion of rent and bills that should have been paid by the illegal tenant, moving expenses and the difference between the rent on the your current apt and a new apt because you have been constructively convicted by the failure of both parties to enforce the lease. Even if the roommate is broke, the full judgment would go against the landlord so he will be the one to do something.

If you all agree the boyfriend is out and you are going to stay roomies you might want to draw up a contract stating what the policy is for overnight guests. ie overnight guests are allowed only 1 night/week or there will be no overnight guests allowed at all with a penalty of $50 for any guest in the apt between 1 am and 8am.

For those who say let the bf stay, we all have the right to decide who we want to live with. It would still be wrong if the roommate brought in a sister or hs friend. The apt would be less private, bills would go up and that isn’t what @summerlover agreed to in the 1st place

Grass her up and get her out ;-)

@galileogirl ; problem is, most leases say, “jointly and severally liable.” Severally does not mean separately, it means together. @galleliogirl I say that for some of the younger people here, I am pretty sure you already knew what that severally meant. A lot of people get it confused though.
That means that any legal expense the landlord incurs can be charged against BOTH room mates regardless of who is at fault. I’ve been doing this in California for 25 years and I can tell you, in the eyes of the landlord it’s is not a “problem resident,” it’s a problem apartment. In their eyes the two room mates are one and the same, responsible for each others behavior.
Yes, the landlord has an obligation to enforce the terms of the lease, but they can choose to evict both of them, causing huge legal expenses and a mark on their credit and rental history.
Unless they live in some sort of student housing with separate agreements for each resident, or unless they live in a state more resident friendly than California (That will be the day) then she better try to work things out with her room mate and not try to get the manager to play Mom.

I agree with Judi. I think they need to work it out, or find someway to find an agreeable solution to separate. For instance, they could agree that the roommate will move out with her boyfriend as soon as a new roommate can be found for your daughter (management might be willing to alter the lease midway to enable an amicable solution). This may not work however because the roommate and her boyfriend have apparently found an inexpensive living situation (2 for the price of 1) that they may not be able to replicate elsewhere.

Hi shilolo. Haven’t seen you around in a few days.

But there are damages in case of an unlawful eviction and small claims court might be more sympathetic toward the wronged tenant. This kind of law is open to some interpretation And for the general reader parties who are jointly liable are liable for up the full judgment so irresponsible tenanat could skip out and a jointly liable landlord could end up paying the entire judgement. While the landlord may consider the apt the problem, it is the contract that must be upheld. The reason a reasonable landlord usually prevails is because the tenants are in the wrong, but if responsible tenant makes sure the rent is paid and the apt is kept up, landlord can’t kick her out because she is asking he enforce the lease. If he were smart, he would just make bf go away. If irresponsible tenant left then it would be between the roommates and not his problem.

Also @summerlover might get the landlord to witness for her if she moves to evict bf as an illegal sublessor. He just needs to be more proactive.

The residents have an equal responsibility to uphold the contract (equal to the tenants) so if the landlord makes a reasonable effort to solve the problem, by serving notice (remember, she will serve notice to BOTH residents.)
How do you propose he “make him go away?” He has given notice, told them to leave, the only alternative is eviction. The result of eviction is to re claim possession. Maybe the resident should institute an unlawful detainer action against the boyfriend (heck, throw in the room mate, she violated the lease.) That might actually work. It can take 30–90 days. (again in California.)
In most cases the cost of an ordinary eviction with an attorney is about $500.00 (in California) unless they answer, contest and want to go to court, then it is about 150.00 per hour added.
If I, as a landlord institute this action I will (as provided for in the lease) charge it back to my residents who are jointly and severally liable.
If the land lord has given written notice, and talked to her, and she still continues to have an unauthorized resident in the apartment, then short of eviction with incurred expenses, I don’t know what you expect her to do.