Deposit in shared apartment

[virtua]

Hey guys,

Let`s say I live with 2 roommates and someone damaged the TV in living room which is common area. Who will pay for that?

Or someone caused some damage to something in kitchen, who will get charged for that?

Edited December 3, 2016 by virtua
fro-for

[AP]

If these are hypothetical questions (nothing happened yet), I'd say you should sit down with your roommates and talk about it. We never did with mine, but it was implied that who ever broke whatever had to pay for that. For example, the TV was a gift from one dad to one roommate and me, but I know it is not really mine, it is hers, and if I busted it, I'd have to get a new one. 

There is a difference, I think, between breaking something that belongs to someone in the common area and something that belongs to the department, such as the stove. Since I always lived with friends, I never grasped the full meaning of "common areas", as if anything can happen there or as it if were no man's land. I our case, we agreed that those areas should be left as clean as possible. 

Sometimes things break because they are used and it happened to the last person that used it. In that case, I could be understanding and realize that it could have happened to me. Think of a cabinet door in the kitchen. In that case, when it is just the use of the item, I think it is fair to split the charge. 

I insist that if these types of things worry you, you should have a conversation with your roommates. My first roommate ever would have weekly meetings where we could have "total immunity" for saying whatever bothered us. It was really stupid, but it worked for her to pick on me only during those meetings. 

All the best!

[Yanaka]

From what I gathered from an other post of his, he would be moving in a furnished apartment (but not clear who furnished the apartment). I'm guessing he wants to know what happens if it's something the department provided, and if the department wants to hold the deposit although only 1 person broke the object (could I be more elusive? haha). 

[virtua]

1 hour ago, Yanaka said:

From what I gathered from an other post of his, he would be moving in a furnished apartment (but not clear who furnished the apartment). I'm guessing he wants to know what happens if it's something the department provided, and if the department wants to hold the deposit although only 1 person broke the object (could I be more elusive? haha). 

haha you got it absolutely right!

[Black Beauty]

1 hour ago, virtua said:

From what I gathered from an other post of his, he would be moving in a furnished apartment (but not clear who furnished the apartment).

If the apartment was furnished by the apartment complex then a roommate agreement specifying the responsibility of each roommate, with everyone signing on the dotted line, is definitely in order. This must be done because everyone living in the apartment will be held responsible for replacing what was broken irregardless of who broke what.

If the apartment is furnished by one of the roommates then the person who breaks the equipment must replace it. But I think all the roommates should sit down and have a serious discussion about these hypotheticals in advance.

[AP]

6 hours ago, virtua said:

haha you got it absolutely right!

Ohhhhhhh I didn't to the research @Yanaka  

So, yeah, basically you want to talk about this with your roommates since it's something that worries you. @Black Beauty made some good suggestions. With my first roommates in a furnished apartment, I never talked about any of it. One of them was particularly insistent on having weekly meetings for solving roommate issues, but I was never fond of those. Again, this isn't something that worried me because if I broke something, I would have paid for it. I'm trying to think, though, of an example of something provided by the manager that anyone can break and the manager request a deposit. In my experience, when thinks broke (such as a drawer), maintenance came right away. (Also, I have a terrible headache so I feel there is an obvious example and it just won't come to me). 

[TakeruK]

Just wanted to add: It is important to see what the lease says too. I am assuming that @virtua is moving into a furnished apartment with some other people, so the TV (for example) is owned by the landlord. Usually, landlords want to have the leases be "joint and several". This means that all roommates are responsible to the landlord for everyone's actions. It is up to the roommates to then resolve disputes between themselves. For example, if the TV is damaged, the landlord will charge all of you for the cost of the TV, according to the lease. If this means a payment of $300, then it's up to the roommates to ensure the right person pays the landlord. If this person does not pay the landlord, the landlord has the right to go after all of you for payment, because you are all jointly responsible for the damage. 

A "joint and several" agreement applies to all payments owed to the landlord. For example, if the rent for 3 people (A, B and C) is $2100 total, the landlord expects $2100 to come from the roommates and the landlord doesn't care who paid / didn't pay. So if A and B submitted their $700 check on time, but C failed to pay this month, all three people are responsible for not paying rent and this will affect the rental history of all three. In addition, if the landlord moves to evict the tenants, all three could be affected. What usually happens is that A and B will probably be expected to pay for C's share up front and then A and B have to ensure C pays them back. 

Landlords want leases in this way because they don't want to have to resolve disputes between roommates. 

In the case that the TV belongs to one of the roommates, then it's the same as if you have a TV, invited your friend over, and your friend destroys the TV. Since it's your property, it is your responsibility to make the person that damaged your TV pay for it. If they refuse, then you would have to take them to court to force them to pay etc.