Q: What do we do about the person renting from our landlord who was subletting to us... stealing our money?
Mike is our landlord. Jeff rents the house from him and his name is on the lease. Jeff is subletting to me, and two other roommates. Jeff moved out but is still on the lease. We have been sending him rent money and utility money to pay the landlord and utilities (in his name). We found out today he hasn’t paid utilities or the landlord in three months, so he basically stole our money. Now there is a Pepco bill of over $600 past due, and $6,225 of our collected rent/utility money gone and we don’t know how to handle this because he constantly lies and ignores our calls
A: It sounds to me like you need to get out in front of this with the landlord as well as the sub landlord. It might be a good idea to review the lease between Mike and Jeff to see if he had the right to sublet. It is likely that you may be evicted, and if the PEPCO bill is in your name, you might need to pay it and take legal action. It is possible, however, that, handled correctly, you can get a new lease from Mike and let him chase Jeff for the rent. Keep your receipts and sort this out with a consult with a lawyer.
Eric Todd Kirk agrees with this answer
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