A friend of mine died yesterday. What can his roommate do regarding the other half of his rent?

the_thoughtless_ponderer

There are some charities that specialize in assistance with rent issues. if his roommate has died, I'm sure they will do what they can to give him some help covering the other half. This may only help for a month or two. That should be enough time for him to find a new roommmate (at least at a discount rate?). I think St Vincent DePaul might be able to help. Google rent assistance... and some charities should show up. I had to use them in the past and they saved my butt (and I didn't have a roommate die...so i think they should be able to help you or your friend).

Good Luck

Silver

Sean's right. As co-tennants, assuming both names were on the lease, both are jointly and severally liable under the obligations of the lease. With the death of one party, the other becomes the sole member responsible for the terms of the agreement...thus is responsible for getting the entire portion of the rent paid.

One could certianly assert that the estate would be responsible for 1/2 the rent, but that can be a complicated situation to resolve and it's likely that the landlord wouldn't have the patience to wait until the estate is settled to get 1/2 the owed rent.

Hopefully the land-lord can cut the roommate a break...but s/he is under no legal obligation to do so.

My sympathies for your loss.....

t3h1

maybe he can apply for some housing benefit until he can manage to move into a cheaper place?

Nancy Kay

...another roommate...the rent isn't going to go down or go away...if they are both on the lease or rental agreement, each is liable for all of it...better hope its not rent controlled and only the deceased person's name is on the lease...then the roommate may be out on the street regardless of rent payment...

IMHO

Perhaps finding a new roommate is the only way for a more perminant solution.

Sean

The answer is, unfortunately, nothing. If the landlord is a good human being maybe half the rent can be waived, but the two roommates were co-tenants, and once one tenant dies, the survivor "inherits" all responsibilities in the lease. That is assuming, of course, that both their names were on the lease.

Sorry to hear about this, and good luck!

Emma

I'm not sure, but I wanted to say that I'm sorry for your loss and I hope all works out!

jmssklly

Nice to see where your priorities are lol

BabeHeart

Whoever is on the lease is responsible for the rent...if it was the deceased, then technically anyone else living there could be evicted (probably) unless a new lease was signed...

The current resident may need to find a new roommate to help with rent if it's more than he can handle...landlord's typically aren't going to have a lot of mercy in these situations...

emmylou1951

in NC, he could file a claim against the Estate, if the Decedent had one, if not, and if there is no formal written agreement regarding the arrangement, the surviving roomate is SOL.....

James H

Well Joe, the roomate's situation is not as unfortunate as your friends. I am sorry for your loss. The situation is as unfortunate for the roomate as it for many people who loose half their income. If the bills don't get paid, there will be an eviction. Tax paying programs do not, should not, bear the burden of paying rent for people.
The landlord, may understand the situation and delay payment until a new roomate can be found. The lost revenue of the owner could be paid back over a period of time.

Bret

Hopefully he can find a new room mate. But helping him out is great. He might be able to get out of the lease if they were both on the lease.

triffytraff

I'm sorry to hear that. the only thing is to say is life goes on and it may be a horrible thing to say but he should start advertising for a new flat mate.

Again I know what I said sounds a bit blunt but I hope it helps. Again I'm sorry to hear that your friend has died and I hope all goes well for you in the future.

Pvt. Andrew Malone

go live with him. then take over the rent

technocase

Go to advice bureau for some advice.
Good luck.

dablaze

Legally the deceased person's estate should pay. In other words, if he left any money behind, the rend should come out of there. Or maybe his family would step in. That would be cool.

The Mole

Strange how life can go...sorry for the way has worked out.
My friend lost her brother recently aged 23.

I guess contact the Landlord a.s.a.p and hope you come to an arrangement until someone else takes the room on/agree to help find someone else for the room. As a landlord if they are not understanding maybe there is a clause in your agreement and go somewhere else.

Help with that and offer your support in a difficult situation.

Let the room to someone else as soon as can find someone.

Then you have Citizen's Advice I guess. Don't really know much more than that. They will be able to advise on forms and stuff and where to go.

If it were me, I'd try the landlord and if he was unhelpful, I'd look into terminating my contract and going elsewhere. But it isn't always as easy as is to say.

Get agreements in writing.

Angels Raising Hell

dam dude dies yesterday and all you worry about is the rent. what a pal.

thepenismightier

Gee, you and your friend must have been really close. My sympathies.

He's only been dead a day and you're worried about money. Don't you think that's a little disrespectful to the dead?

darcy179

Should you're first thought be paying the rent. That seems really cold hearted. Shouldn't you be more concerned about the loss. The roommate will have to pay the rent. But from the sounds of it you will probably ask the family during the funeral for the rent. Really low.

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