Have you paid your rent this month?

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September 30th, 2013 · 25 comments

Lauren in Brooklyn says that when she asked her roommate, Josh, for the rent, “he gave me kind of a blank stare, but agreed to tape it to the fridge.” Instead, she got this:

Meanwhile, Oscar spotted this hand-painted masterpiece in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle:

FILED UNDER: money · roommates

25 responses so far ↓

#1 C

The city is gonna eat Josh alive.

Sep 30, 2013 at 9:13 pm rating: 32

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#2 H for Toy

Why would you ask your uncle to pay rent? That’s just mean.

Sep 30, 2013 at 9:19 pm rating: 20

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#3 weed store

dude weed is better than rent

Sep 30, 2013 at 9:27 pm rating: 5

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- #3.1 applejax
  
  I am unfamiliar with this “dude weed” of which you speak.
  
  Oct 1, 2013 at 8:15 am rating: 41
- #3.2 The Elf
  
  I think that’s slang for gay sex.
  
  Oct 1, 2013 at 5:46 pm rating: 20
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#4 tarn

Josh writes like a 5-year-old. Yep, he’s doomed…..

Oct 1, 2013 at 7:30 am rating: 13

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#5 Jillian

Just be careful… a landlord was shot and burned in his truck because 2 of his tenants couldn’t make rent here in SC! What is going on with this world!

Oct 1, 2013 at 8:30 am rating: 2

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- #5.1 kermit
  
  Eh, sorry but there’s gotta be a back story there. It’s entirely possible that the guy was a slum lord, as the vast majority of these one or two man operations are.
  
  And there’s nothing PA about Josh’s note. Brooklyn rents are getting as obscene as the rest of “gentrified” NYC neighborhoods and you’re getting zero value for your money. At least Josh was honest enough that he admitted he couldn’t pay rent and is moving out. If he really was a dick, he would refuse to leave and make her life a living hell.
  
  Oct 1, 2013 at 11:07 am rating: 13
- #5.2 redheadwglasses
  
  No, he qualifies as a dick because he’s leaving his roommate in the lurch.
  
  Oct 1, 2013 at 7:09 pm rating: 46
- #5.3 kermit
  
  True, he is leaving her in the lurch. If the price is reasonable, she can find somebody relatively quickly. If the rent isn’t reasonable, then yeah she’s on the hook to pay even more money for overpriced digs.
  
  Oct 1, 2013 at 9:05 pm rating: 1
- #5.4 The Elf
  
  Guys, we can compromise (unlike Congress). Clearly he’s a dick with a backstory.
  
  Oct 2, 2013 at 7:46 am rating: 19
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#6 warns

I’d be willing to bet Josh is gonna find himself in small claims court.

Many places, if you’ve lived somewhere for long enough, you’re a tenant, even if you’re not on the lease. I’ve never seen a lease that said I could leave when I wanted to without paying the rest of the month/year.

Oct 1, 2013 at 3:58 pm rating: 9

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- #6.1 kermit
  
  Although rental laws vary, just because you’re a tenant (or even on the lease) doesn’t mean that you’re automatically on the hook for the rent.
  
  You can be listed as an occupant and have zero legal responsibility for the rent. You’re only responsible for the rent if you’re a lease holder. And if you’re a long term tenant (i.e lived there for more than a year), you have a month-to-month lease, meaning that at most you’re “required” to give a month’s notice that you plan on leaving.
  
  Oct 1, 2013 at 9:09 pm rating: 0
- #6.2 norm
  
  If he had an agreement with the lessee, then he’s on the hook to her. She’s on the hook for the rent. So if she chose not to pay, the landlord would sue her for the unpaid rent. She could sue Josh for his portion.
  
  Oct 2, 2013 at 11:58 am rating: 2
- #6.3 warns
  
  Sorry, “giving notice” doesn’t take you off the hook for rent. If you don’t give a full 30 days notice in many places, you are liable for the amount of rent the person staying has to front in your absence because you didn’t give them enough notice.
  
  I didn’t say the landlord was going to sue them, Josh. I said Josh is going to end up in small claims, and he probably will.
  
  Oct 4, 2013 at 12:56 pm rating: 3
- #6.4 Signature Office Centers
  
  setting up a lease for an office building is going to be an investment and you are just going to have to stick through it.
  
  Dec 2, 2015 at 11:22 am rating: 0
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#7 The Elf

I love the second sign. Go big or go home!

Oct 1, 2013 at 5:47 pm rating: 6

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- #7.1 Snowflame
  
  He can’t go home…he hasn’t paid the rent.
  
  Oct 2, 2013 at 2:49 pm rating: 25
- #7.2 Crystal
  
  Snowflame…nice.
  
  Oct 2, 2013 at 3:44 pm rating: 2
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#8 Alex

I houseshared with a female version of Josh in college…I was the one who collected the rent and sent it to the landlord (he wanted a single check). One month Joshette gave me half of her share, and said she’d get me the rest by the 15th. I explained that wasn’t really how it works, but she said she didn’t have the other half yet, and there was nothing she could do. So I took the half and made up the rest myself for the landlord…then on the 14th a bunch of her friends showed up and moved her out.

That would be…about 15 years ago, and apparently I’m still kind of bitter about it. Or at least, it all came flooding back when I saw Josh’s note.

Oct 2, 2013 at 8:07 pm rating: 15

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#9 SharonCville

I’m not an expert in NY law, but in most jurisdictions the statute of frauds states that any contract involving real estate must be in writing to be enforceable. If Josh was not on the lease, she has no recourse against him and will have an uphill battle in court. Still dickish. He should have communicated his rent problems far enough in advance that she could have made other arrangements. This is precisely why I vowed many years ago that I would never again live with anyone who didn’t affect my tax return: If I didn’t marry them or give birth to them, they’re out!

Oct 3, 2013 at 9:31 am rating: 2

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#10 Raichu

This feels like a reversal of the one where that guy asked his roommate in a note to move out so his buddy could move in next month.

Oct 3, 2013 at 2:13 pm rating: 2

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- #10.1 The Elf
  
  Yeah, those guys need to be roommies.
  
  “I need you out so my buddy can move in.”
  “Already gone, dude.”
  
  Oct 4, 2013 at 7:29 pm rating: 4
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#11 mark

all these people debating the laws–get real nobody is suing anyone here.. it’s NYC where people have 5 roommates and they’re moving in and out of every other month.

I do commend Josh here for at least having the balls to write a note and GTFO. He could have stuck around not paying rent and screwed his roommates over even more than he already did… or just disappeared w/out leaving a note, leaving them to wonder if he was coming back, when he wasn’t. could be worse.

Oct 13, 2013 at 8:39 pm rating: 1

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#12 pantaloonfan

Is anyone else just overjoyed at the idea that Bob clearly pays his rent in such a mediocre fashion that someone found it worth their time to paint a pretty carefully made, large sign on WOOD to hang up. It’s not a rare occurrence for ol’ Bob, I have a feeling. Looks like the Vacancy/No Vacancy signs, probably has hooks for it in front of the house and everything.

Feb 4, 2014 at 12:07 pm rating: 0

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