landlord/tenant Q&A

CATHERINE M. MATTHEWS (R), GRI
Broker-In Charge, Callahan Realty, Ltd.
Past President, Oahu Chapter
National Association of Residential Property Managers

Q. I rented a town house with two girlfriends. We all signed the lease for one year with the Landlord. Things started off good and went well for the first few months. But recently one of the roommates has gotten noise violations and hasn’t paid her share of the rent. The Landlord is trying to get me and the other girl who did pay to pay to cover the share of the unpaid rent; he said if we don’t pay he will take us to court. They rented to us as roommates, knowing there were three of us. Shouldn’t they just be collecting from the girl who didn’t pay?

A. No, the Landlord has every right to collect the rent from you.

In fact when you sign the lease each of you agree to be responsible for the entire rent, it is spelled out in all capital, bold print (Item K on the Hawaii Association of Realtors Rental Agreement) right above the signature line. If this should go to court you will be a defendant, and you will be liable for the unpaid rent. Each of you also agrees to be responsible for the other’s actions and the actions of any guests. It doesn’t matter if the guest is yours or your roommates. If they soil a carpet or punch a hole in the wall; you, all of you, individually and collectively are responsible for repairing the damage.

The noise violations that you are receiving will be recorded as a violation against you. Later after vacating when reference checks are completed and your rental history is reported, most likely it will show that you have been delinquent on the rent and had violation notices filed against you. If the House Rule violations continue the Homeowner’s Association can force the Landlord to evict you based on non-compliance of the rules.

You mentioned that the owner rented to you knowing there were three of you. This would be correct and if he didn’t rent to you because you were single adults and not a married family he would be discriminating against you. This would not be right or legal either. Also, I would be negligent if I didn’t point out the importance of reading documents carefully that you sign. It is never bad to ask questions, as many as you need to ask to fully understand. A lease is a legally binding contract. No question is silly and nothing should be assumed without clarification.

Something else to be aware of is your security deposit. That deposit belongs to each of you unless you instruct your Landlord differently when you submit it. However, even if the deposit is documented as belonging to one person and there is damage, unpaid rent, cleaning, etc. upon check out, that deposit will be used to make things right regardless of who has caused the damage.

When you decide to move in with friends it is very important to have a clear understanding of priorities in paying for and maintaining the home. A few things to consider are: rent, what is the breakdown and how do you pay it so each of you knows the whole amount is paid? Utilities, whose name are they in and who pays them? Cleaning and maintaining the yard… who specifically does that? I have seen very successful roommate relationships, some have one bank account that each person

contributes to and all bills are paid out of it. Many have hired a cleaner and/or yard person twice per month to keep up with the necessary maintenance that can fall behind and cause stress. Some just have cleaning days where everyone shows up and pitches in. In the successful roommate relationships I’ve seen each person knew how they would relate as roommates before they even saw the property. They would come to a showing with a plan on how they would relate. As a Landlord, I have to say with roommates like that I am always happy to have them walk through the door in a property I manage.