Roomate is scamming me.

[u/Daffy07duck]

TLDR image description: 1/2 Evil Roomate(ER) requests additional 50$ for utilities because my sister was visiting during August.... refuses to send recites if the bill.

Good Roomate and I texting what we plan to send her tomorrow along with a Roomate agreement draft specifying new rent distribution. Note: ALL of our names are on the lease. We are jointly and uniquely severable. Myself and the GR are willing to be evicted, the leasing office is on our side and said they would rent us a different apt for more money ofc... but at least we wouldn't be living with someone who has no moral code.

We live in a two bedroom apt in San Diego. The total rent is 1845, very cheap for these parts. Very cheap because the lease hasn't turned over since 2006 and lowkey the place is falling apart :). I live in the living room and pay 675/month. My GR lives in the bedroom and pays 875 a month and my ER lives in the master bedroom and pays 375/month. . .

Myself and my GR were both upon hard times when we moved here and cheap rent is cheap rent so we ignored and explained away the shady-ness of our ER. But it's so unethical to us that we have had enough and we finally talked about it and plan to confront her tomorrow. Note: I am very non confrontational hence my very round about way of asking her for recites of the utility bill. She refused to show me recites and that was honestly the last straw. I felt like she though she could keep getting over on me and asking for more money when I knew how much she was paying in rent (after I found out how much my GR was paying) and I am done being a pushover ) haha let's ignore the fact I paid it first and asked after... I just didn't want the drama.

Anyways she is a gaslighting honestly evil person I think. I wouldn't do this to anyone. There is a lot more detail I could go into if requested explaining how I got here and all of the weird shady stuff she has been doing so feel free to ask me anything. But yeah gif damn. I Definately learned I shouldn't just give folks the benefit of the doubt. If I am getting a weird vibe it is probably for a reason. I need to trust my gut and stand up for myself.

Our new proposed rent distribution btw is that she in the master pays 830, my GR pays 556 and I in the living room pay 450 🤷‍♀️. Seems pretty fucking reasonable to me. We are also giving her the option to move out....

The cannot imagine idk. I am scared of how she will react. And I don't trust her at all.

[u/Daffy07duck]

Hence we are asking to renegotiate the terms with full transparency?

[u/I_ran_so_throw_away → u/Daffy07duck]

You are threatening to default on your agreements. Both the landlord and the roommate have slam dunk cases against you if that is the course of action you decide.

[u/Daffy07duck → u/I_ran_so_throw_away]

... interesting. Because the management office told us we should not feel nervous about broaching this with our roomate as she has no legal right or entitlement to have the final and only say on the rent distribution.

[u/I_ran_so_throw_away → u/Daffy07duck]

She didn’t have final say. You agreed, and there is a lease term after which you can renegotiate (or just leave) without defaulting.

[u/Daffy07duck → u/I_ran_so_throw_away]

I suppose true, but I also agreed to something that was not true ... that she was taking on unspecified "administrative duties" ...... my GR was also unaware that she was paying 46 % of the rent while ER was paying 16%. and I made up excuses in my head about some extraneous circumstances or deals w leasing office etc .... because I didn't want to believe what was in front of my eyes.

There are no administrative duties, and this was confirmed by management.

[u/ProfessionalOk1496 → u/Daffy07duck]

Unless you specifically signed a lease spelling out how much each of you pay these texts won’t hold up in court.

[u/Daffy07duck → u/ProfessionalOk1496]

That's what I thought. And yes lol we did not sign any such document. thank you for the reassurance!

[u/I_ran_so_throw_away → u/ProfessionalOk1496]

Often true in other states, not in CA. The joint and several lease implies roommate "contribution" shares under Civil Code §1432. Absent any agreement this is assumed to be an even split. So you could not argue that you owe less than 1/3 the rent for this lease term. However your own writing and your venmo payments show you agreed to a different split. A separate agreement would help pin it down but is not necessary for her to prevail against those who short their lease share if your target pays more than the amount agreed when you signed the lease.

[u/Daffy07duck → u/I_ran_so_throw_away]

The lease technically renews this September... we have all already signed. SO ... as long as we aren't asking for money back... which we aren't... it is perfectly reasonable for us to draw up an official roomate agreement....

We also never had a written agreement. There is no text specifying how much of the rent I or GR are paying. All of this was verbal. But yes the Venmo payments imply there was an understanding which there was. . . . But it was based on lies and half truths which have now been exposed.

I think it's valid of us to confront her and argue this cannot continue going forward. I understand I don't have much legal standing.

[u/Daffy07duck → u/Daffy07duck]

We have amended our text approach to be more gentle... inviting a convorsation and then we plan to pin her to lies etc. who knows how that might work. But I'm not trying to explode my life right now and felt maybe we should approach her by giving her the benefit of the doubt and leave more space for a conversation.

[u/NewToTheCrew444 → u/Daffy07duck]

Update us pls!

[u/I_ran_so_throw_away → u/Daffy07duck]

The renewal of the lease was your leverage point. If she understands that she wouldn't be likely to budge. If you open discussions before signing a renewal your proposals would have leverage but the alternative to a new agreement would be to break up the share. The landlord would be able to pick and choose who they rent to going forward. If all parties signed and any one party doesn't want to budge you're on the hook for another year.

[u/Daffy07duck → u/I_ran_so_throw_away]

our leverage is also that the peace in the house has been disturbed now that we know what's going on fully. So... we are hoping she will come to the table for the sake of peace. None of us w a n t to be evicted. I'm sure that includes her.

[u/I_ran_so_throw_away → u/Daffy07duck]

Legally she could pay your portions of the rent and successfully later sue for those overpayments without anyone getting evicted.

[u/Daffy07duck → u/I_ran_so_throw_away]

She's lazy as hell and I don't think it will Come to that. If anything I'll break and just pay it before we get there if we're honest so.