Abby Connolly
One of the most crucial parts of living peacefully with a roommate is making sure everyone pays their fair share of rent each month. When that doesn’t happen, your living situation can quickly turn into a nightmare.
One woman recently had to kick out her roommate after she stopped paying her share of rent on their New York City townhouse for three months.
She’s 29 and moved to New York City with her 29-year-old roommate a few years ago. She has a well-paying job and rented a townhome in Brooklyn. Her roommate moved in with her, but the lease was only in her name.
“I have a boyfriend who would come regularly and then after some time decided to move in after about a year,” she explained.
“I made sure to talk it all through with my roommate before he moved in to make sure she was okay about it, and she was.”
When her boyfriend moved in, she paid 65% of the rent while her roommate paid 35%, which was an arrangement they already had in place. Her roommate never brought up wanting to change their rent arrangement before or right after her boyfriend moved in.
But then, when her boyfriend proposed to her a few months after moving in, her roommate became cold. For instance, when she told her roommate the exciting news, she simply nodded and went to bed.
Later that month, the rent on their townhome increased, so she made sure to let her roommate know. However, instead of stepping up and paying her share, her roommate suddenly stopped paying rent.
“She didn’t pay me that month, so I was alone with the rent, and my fiancé ended up paying her half,” she recalled.
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