Can a landlord send me to collections when I do not live at the apartment?

Lots of answers have by now convinced you that, of course he can.

The issue of whether only you signed or whether both of you signed and whether it says jointly or severally or not is very important.

o You say that the apartment is in both of your names. Do you mean that "the lease" is in both of your names? In other words did both you and your ex-husband sign the lease.

o If that is true then it is both you and your ex-husband who are responsible for the lease. This would be better - because it would mean that he is also liable.

o The wording of the lease is what you must look at. You will be better off if it does not have a clause dealing requiring the lease be the responsibility of the co-signers "Jointly and Severally" (meaning that you are both responsible as a unit and also separately - in other words if the rent isn't paid the landlord can go after both of you as a unit as well as going after each of you separately for the whole amount). If it does not say jointly and severally then you would have a possibility of being responsible for only half of the amount owing - IF you both signed the lease document.

o If it was signed only by you then you are 100% responsible.

o The issue of whether only you signed or whether both of you signed and whether it says jointly or severally or not is, therefore, very important.

Regardless of that issue, though, at this point what you need to figure out fast is whether the three of them would actually prefer to stay in the apartment and will get the rent up to date to do it, or whether they are just sitting it out, enjoying the free home and saving their money until either you or the landlord puts them out.

o If you believe that they are just taking advantage of being able to save money at your expense - and IF you intend to accept your responsibility and pay the debt until the end of the lease - if it comes to that, then you must move fast.

BASIC PREPARATION

You must educate yourself about what residential leasing is all about. You must get copies of all the legal documents you may need for this situation and you must understand those documents.

1 You will need a sub-lease agreement (for either the people currently in your apartment or for whoever you sublet it to after you get the current inhabitants out -which must happen FAST- preferably within hours of your becoming certain that they will NOT take responsibility for the apartment and will NOT make the payments) However BEFORE this you must be PREPARED properly and be clear about what you need to do to protect yourself in this situation to be able to make a VERY BAD situation a little better for yourself.

2 You will need a Notice of Overdue Rent to give to the present inhabitants immediately that they have signed the sub-let (or ASSIGNMENT) agreement - if you are AMAZINGLY QUICK WITTED enough and ORGANIZED enough to succeed at that - which will be a MAJOR MIRACLE for even a great lawyer to do - so don't feel too bad if you fail at that.

3 If there is no provision in your lease forbidding ASSIGNMENT you will need an "Assignment Agreement" – which is better than a "sub-let agreement" (which you will need if you have already signed a lease forbidding Assignment) because it releases you from the duty of collecting rent and makes the arrangement with the occupants your landlord's problem instead of yours. BUT BE SURE TO CHECK YOUR RIGHTS WITH THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES (I'm in Canada and your rules may be different than ours.)

4 (Make sure you have these ASSIGNMENT or sub-lease agreement documents with you – which you understand completely and which you have already written up with their names inserted correctly - and have three copies - one with only your ex's name, another with both your ex and his girfriend's name, and a third with all three names -and be sure to add the clause that they are "jointly and severally" responsible for the rent and for all responsibilities related to the lease. <--- YOU MUST FIND THE CORRECT WORDING OF THIS (I'm just guessing at what must be written here). You may also want to have two other leases with only the name of his girlfriend on one and the name of the cousin on the other – just in case either one of them is willing (and capable) of taking the responsibility. This way, if at any point, there is the choice made by any or all of them to take responsibility - you have the document completely prepared so that all they have to do is read it and sign it on the spot.

5 Having these documents with you all ready to be signed (not in sight – but handy in your brief case until needed – in the event that someone chooses to take responsibility because they can afford and wish to keep the apartment) gives you a little edge to possibly circumvent the opportunity for such a person to then change their mind later – if they say they will take responsibility – make them put their money where their mouth is and sign it right away. If they won't sign then you will know they were lying anyway just to get more time. Don't give any more time because that time is more money out of your pocket. And REMEMBER it is way better to get an ASSIGNMENT than to get a Sub-Let because with the sub-let you are still responsible if they don't pay. With the Assignment – the Landlord has to deal with them and you are off the hook..

Landlords tend to prefer to deal with the person with the best job and the best credit for obvious reasons – so if that person is you – it will be more difficult to get the agreement of the landlord, however if it has not already been forbidden by the lease – you will probably be able to do it anyway regardless of whether the landlord likes it or not. But in your location – the laws could be different and for this you need to speak to whatever public office governs residential leases – and if there is a landlord – tenant advocacy group where you live – go to them for help before going to the expense of hiring a lawyer. Some lawyers will charge you plenty and yet can just push you to make a deal with the landlord where you end up paying (because that's easy for the lawyer to do). A good lawyer will negotiate for you and try to get the lease assigned to the occupants – but the more you can figure out yourself before you hire a lawyer the less they can charge you for, and if you CAN get an Assignment yourself you will be off the hook without any more expense (especially backdated to when you moved out – which is what your EX if he has any decency – should agree to anyway).

o If you do get this to the negotiating stage – that's the point where you need someone else with you to make sure that your EX or his girlfriend or cousin don't then railroad you into being too lenient and into letting them get away with dumping some of the expense on you. The best at this point would be to have a good lawyer handle it if you can afford that – but that will likely mean getting them to go to the lawyers office which could be a lot harder than standing at the front door (which has locks they cannot open) with someone your EX doesn't want to lose the respect of by your side.

SO once you have prepared yourself with the documents you need

o First, You need your copy of the Lease you signed so that you can check it to see exactly what is in it and whether or not your ex also signed it? Do you have a copy of the lease?

o If not, Are you on speaking terms with your ex and the others inhabiting "your" apartment?

o Are they aware that you have received a notice from the landlord? If you don't have a copy of the lease you signed (you need to read it to see what you actually signed and if there is a “jointly and severally” clause in it.) – before starting anything with the “squatters” in your apartment – try to get a copy of it by speaking to them nicely – before you start getting “tough”.

o If you do have it or once you get it, then, don't wait any longer. Ask what their intentions are (and do it in person – and preferably don't be alone. Have someone with you who your ex likes and whose opinion he respects. Someone whose respect he would not want to lose (like his mother) and If they claim to be willing to pay then ask them to sign a sub-lease agreement with you.

o If you cannot get anyone to sign a sub-lease or an Assignment (or if you cannot get them to speak to you) immediately go to the legal authorities for rentals and ask them to advise you what your rights are in your State.

o AFTER making sure that it is legally within your rights then to do the following:

IF YOU ARE UNABLE to get them to sign for responsibility and are convinced that they are not going to pay, – Put an ad in the paper and all online apt rental sites - immediately. Tell your "guests" that they must leave immediately since they are illegally inhabiting your property - and send them a notification by registered mail (or bailiff) and show the apartment to prospective tenants.

SOMETHING else you may want to try is the following – but first check this with a lawyer or tenant advocacy group to be sure it is within your rights in your State or Province

DO YOU HAVE KEYS? If not, get the keys from the superintendant of the building. This is your right since you are the person who is renting the apartment. It is easier to change the locks if you have keys to those locks (and keep the locks the locksmith removes - after all you had to pay for the new locks - and they should be good ones that are not easy to pick}. Tell the superintendant that he is not allowed to change the locks for the occupants as they are "squatters".

If your EX DID sign the lease - you probably will not be able to prevent TH