Your friendship might end, but your roommate’s lease will certainly not. However, my suggestion is to first try and work things out with your roommate. There are many ways to negotiate with your roommate on many things, such as move out dates, security deposits, etc. Never try to be hostile with your roommate just because he or she got another job and must move out of town. It’s totally understandable and you would've done the same thing had it happened with you. Therefore, in this situation, it’s best to talk it out amicably.
Since your roommate is the one who’s decided to give notice and break the lease, it’s his responsibility to do the following to help you find replacement roommate:
- Find a replacement tenant should be the responsibility of a roommate who’s vacating early.
- Tenant breaking the lease must be solely responsible for his/her remaining payments, until and unless a replacement is found
- If any damages were done that are his/her responsibility during the term of the lease, it must be fixed or paid for asap.
It would also be recommended to help your roommate in finding a tenant replacement. You might know some people that would like to share the living space with you, and it will help out the cause.
Want to bail on me?
Unfortunately, it just so happens that some roommates don't care about anything. They can just get up bail their roommate and not help find a tenant replacement. This of course leads to all kinds of disasters, like filing complaints at the leasing office, breaking out a fist fight as emotions flare up or even taking it out to a small claims court.
Keep calm, there is a ALWAYS a way out
However, as mentioned earlier, it’s always good to approach this situation with all the right intentions. Ask your roommate, who’s vacating to sit down with you and calmly discuss the best possible options. Nine out of ten times – it works out for the better and the best possible solution is always found.
