Roommate bill non-payment drama - advice?

[Numenorean]

Take enough of his stuff to sell to cover the bills. Toss the rest of it outside and change the locks.

Or beat it out of him.

 

[Capt Caveman]

why don't you talk to him?

This. How hard is it to ask him to pay or why he hasn't paid? He's paying the rent, right? So, let's be passive aggressive and cut the electricity to his room?

 

[halik]

Obvious solution is to post about it on an interwebs forum

 

[MotionMan]

Obvious solution is to post about it on an interwebs forum

...and not post any updates.

MotionMan

 

[Paladin3]

Damn, you need to look him in the eye and settle this. No messages or letters. The four of you corner his worthless ass and demand he either pay immediately or move out.

And the next time he doesn't pay his bills he's out the door with no further debate.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Step 1-Buy/Rent a power generator
Step 2-Steal gas from his car
Step 3-Stop paying electric bill
Step 4- Profit

 

[Numenorean]

 

[Taughnter]

Seems like a no brainer: Small claims complaint, sue him for a breach of oral contract and/or for his utilization of the utilities without paying for his share of the bill.

I don't know the landlord/tenant laws (or any other laws) in Mass, but I'd guess that you have no authority to kick him out of the apartment and if you try, you may very well get yourself in trouble. The same thing could very well be true if you cut electricity to his room, frankly I don't know. If you start messing around with his access to the apartment including utilities, that may create obligations on the landlord to correct the situation to his benefit and you could theoretically be the one kicked out.

Bottom line, if you don't have a pre-existing agreement in writing as to the utilities, it's going to be a "he said, she said" fight and even if you win a case, good luck spending the time and money to collect a few hundred bucks from someone who may very well not have any assets to go after.

Generally speaking, if you don't know/trust your roommates you SHOULD have a written agreement with them as to the breakdown of rent and utilities if it's not spelled out in the lease (if it is, you can use the lease to your advantage obviously). Furthermore, it's usually a good idea to split utilities up between the tenants so there is a bit less risk on each person...although a friend of mine lived in a house where one person payed all the utilities and everyone else split the rent. Kind of a risk everyone takes that it will balance out, but at least nobody was skipping out on bills.

 

[CVSiN]

Paper notice left on his door for the first five months, a hardcopy of the running total with copies of all six month's worth of bills sent registered to his place of work...he signed for the letter. He has acknowledged it but is just being a dick.



Yeah, he's on the lease. I really do not want to let the electric get cut off and screw over the tenant whose name it's under.

cut power to room then.. easy enough.. you get what you pay for. nothing else.

 

[MotionMan]

Update?

MotionMan

 

[Lithium381]

update?

 

[Numenorean]

update?

 

[fantolay]

Yah update? How could this go on for so long. If you two live together, then you must see him frequently? no?

 

[zinfamous]

looks like OP took some of the advice given here, and is now recovering in the hospital after his 5th degree black belt in Kempo Karate roommate didn't feel too threatened by the "punch him in the face" or "piss in his mayonnaise" suggestions.

 

[2Xtreme21]

Maybe the "roommate" the OP is referring to is himself and the rest of his buddies cut off his electricity?

 

[ivanlbc562]

lol that would be funny, no?

 

[BurnItDwn]

6 months behind on electric?
I assume you already threatened to shut it off after 1 month, broke his fingers after 2 months, beat the shit out of him after 3 months, cut off his pinkie after 4 months, cut off his other pinky after 5 months.

So, now that it's month 6, I believe that' is when it's appropriate to cut off the thumb on his non dominant hand.

 

[simonizor]

I like your plan, but you'll either need a document that you all signed saying that you all agreed to pay part or your other roommates as witnesses in court if/when your non-paying roommate decides to take legal actions. You'll also need a copy of all of the electric bills that he didn't pay his part on.

I would leave a note on his door saying something like "You must pay all of the electricity bills that you haven't paid since you've lived here within a month. If you cannot do this, you must set up some sort of payment plan within a month. If you take no action to resolve this matter within a month, we will shut the electricity off for your room." Have all of your roommates sign and date it. Don't forget to make a copy in case he destroys the note you leave him.

I would suggest kicking him out, but you can't just say "Here's the door, now leave," you have to go through a formal eviction process to legally evict him which can take a long time. If you just kick him out, he could easily take you to court for not following the proper eviction process. I don't think that just shutting off his electricity would really have any legal repercussions for you guys.

Also, if you decide to cut his electricity, take the breakers for his room right out of the box so he can't just flip them back on.

 

[alkemyst]

6 months behind on electric?
I assume you already threatened to shut it off after 1 month, broke his fingers after 2 months, beat the shit out of him after 3 months, cut off his pinkie after 4 months, cut off his other pinky after 5 months.

So, now that it's month 6, i believe that' is when it's appropriate to cut off the thumb on his non dominant hand.

"come at me!"