We’ve received a lot of questions from readers about debt collection due to a broken lease, a lease terminated early (sometimes for good reason), cosigning a lease for someone else, or damages to an apartment or home after moving out. You will see many of those questions below.
There is no one-size-fits all answer to these questions, but here are some important things to keep in mind:
1. If you enter into a lease with someone else, you almost always agree to be responsible for the entire payment, even if you are splitting it with a roommate. If any amount goes unpaid, the landlord may try to collect from EACH of you for the entire amount, unless your lease says otherwise.
2. If the bill goes unpaid it may be turned over to collections or you may be sued. Either will be very damaging to your credit reports. If you’ve already been turned over to collections, please read our page about
what you can do about collections accounts on credit reports.
3. If you believe your landlord is unfairly charging you for damage that it shouldn’t, or if you believe your landlord is putting your health or safety at risk by withholding necessary repairs, your best bet is to either talk with a housing agency with information about landlord tenant rights, or to consult an attorney with experience in landlord tenant law.
Be sure to also peruse the questions below, as they may provide helpful information.