Submitted by jpwspo on Mon, 07/20/2009 - 18:35
I don't think this has been addressed yet in this forum, but I suspect it is a common situation... The one-year lease for my condo was signed by two people. They both intend to vacate the property 6 months before the lease ends, which according to my lease leaves the "Lessee" responsible for remaining payments until it is re-leased to someone else. The lease does not make any specific provisions for how the responsibility for the remaining payments is divided (or not) among the two signers. Are they each potentially liable for the full amount? (For example, suppose the "Lessee" owes me $5000, and Signer #1 is unable to pay (due to bankruptcy for example)... is Signer #2 potentially liable for the full amount?
Editor's Response
Yes, if they are both named as tenants in the lease. There is a common law doctrine known as joint and several liability, under which each and every defendant may be held liable for the entire amount of any judgment entered against them. Massachusetts courts adhere to this doctrine. To maximize your chances of collecting the debt, you would name each of the tenants as defendants, get a judgment against each of them, and then attempt to collect from either or both of them. Good luck.
Thank you. If the tenant(s)
Thank you. If the tenant(s) refuse to pay voluntarily, what is the least expensive way for a landlord (with only one property) to pursue getting reimbursed when they move out and stop paying rent? They have given me 60 days written notice which I have not replied to yet. I'm assuming that I'd want a properly written letter to EACH of the two signers from an attorney basically saying "if you move out before the end of the lease you are still responsible for any shortfall in lease payments, plus my expenses in attempting to re-lease the place". But IF they still move out, and refuse to keep paying their lease, what is usually the shortest distance to collecting what they owe? (One of them is a doctor who definitely has the ability to pay; the other is his significant other.)
Editor's Response
Yes. In my prior response, I was only answering your question about joint and several liability, not about the process of retaking the unit, getting a judgment, and collecting. It sounds like you are talking about a decent amount of money, so I agree with your intention of hiring a lawyer who does MA landlord/tenant work.
You also raise an excellent point about not waiving your right to collect future rent. When your attorney sends the letter to your tenants (or he or she might do this in a notice to quit) he will notify the tenants that they are still responsible for the rent for the duration of the lease, along with reasonable costs associated with re-renting the unit. If you or your lawyer do not do this, then a court might view your actions as an acceptance of the tenants' "surrender" of the unit and bar you from collecting rent for any part of the rental period after that acceptance.
As for collecting a judgment, I will leave that explanation to your lawyer. Suffice to say that collecting is often one of the more difficult parts of this whole process. Good luck.