Q: 3 bed/2 bath apartment was advertised as split 3 ways. Roommates threatening legal action if their rent is not lowered.
One roommate has contacted a lawyer regarding this issue. They are threatening to not pay their rent until I give into lowering their part of the rent. I am on a lease with Essex and my father is the guarantor. My father and I do not want this rent change to happen as it would increase my portion of rent by 200 dollars. I have several ongoing chronic health issues that make working and finding a job that I can do very difficult. I took the master room with its own bathroom as I have chronic stomach viruses that are highly contagious. I have to have my own bathroom to avoid infecting others. They have threatened legal action. they state that a formal agreement was never made and therefore they can legally choose to not pay rent until a price is agreed upon. What should I do in this situation? The room was advertised at the 3 way split, verbal agreements were made, emails were written. They pulled this out of nowhere. Please help.
A:
Serve them with a three day notice to pay rent or quit. Follow up with filing a UD action and serving them. In the future, to not let anyone occupy the property until you have a WRITTEN RENTAL AGREEMENT with them that clearly spells out the property they are renting and the amount they are going to pay.
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