Q: Monthly Rental Contract in Oregon
I am renting three bedrooms out of a house to friends, with me also having a bedroom. We share a common area. In the monthly agreement written up together and informally 5 years ago, it states that I am renting out three bedrooms with access to common areas for one monthly amount, (thinking that the three of them can figure out who pays what for each room, just as long as I receive that one amount each month.) In the contract it also states their names, and the amount of security deposit for each room. It is important to note that when I receive rent each month it is given to me separately from each individual tenant and is documented as such with my bookkeeping. Questions: 1) If one tenant takes me to court, can this tenant ask for his monthly room rent for damages, OR for the amount of the three bedrooms total as the monthly rent? 2) If the answer is, yes, to the latter, then if one tenant moves out, do the other two tenants have to cover rent for the third bedroom?
A: It would depend upon how the Judge sees it. You have drafted a lease that is conflicting in its terms and thus throws confusion into enforcing it. Either all three sign the same lease and are collectively liable for the rent AND the security deposit, and ideally the tenants pool their rent and pay you in one check/money order OR each is on a separate rental agreement; each pays separate rent; each pays their own security deposit. If you set things up the first way, then yes, all 3 are jointly liable to you for damages and rent and you could be liable to any of them for the total amount of their rent. If one moves out, it would terminate the lease for all though you could, of course, simply re-rent to the remaining tenants on a new lease. If it is set up the second way, then each would only be liable for their individual rent and deposit (and damages - but how do you prove which tenant did the damage? That would be a big advantage of having all three collectively liable on a single lease) and you would only be potentially liable for each tenant's individual rent. If one moves out in this scenario, it would not affect the remaining tenants and they would each simply continue to pay their personal amounts. If there is no lawsuit as yet, you might strongly consider using a better lease form and doing a new lease or leases, depending upon which way you want to go. The laws have changed in many ways since your original lease anyway so re-doing the lease would be wise regardless of the confusing mess you current seem to have. Good luck.
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A: Note that a single lease should specify a single security deposit - NOT different amounts for different rooms!
1 user found this answer helpful
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