Okay so this is going to be a long one. Last year I (28F) was in a tough position. My relationship ended, I was couch surfing and trying to get back on my feet with 2 dogs. A coworker (29F) at the time asked me to be roommates, being that we were damn near in the same predicament. We were friendly but not friends. We agreed to live together. She wanted to live in Brooklyn and I wanted to live in Queens. We agreed that I was going to look for apartments in Brooklyn and I was going to look in Queens.
Fast forward a few months, she finds an apartment with a “private backyard” she sends me a video of the apartment, I loved it. We applied, got approved and moved in. Upon moving in, I realized my first mistake. I never actually saw the apartment but I trusted my roommate. Not in the best condition for a $3000 apartment and the backyard was disgusting. Whatever, I took that L. We didn’t have running water or heat for the first 3 days. And there were major repairs that needed to be done. My roommate and I agreed that we would stop paying rent until maintenance was done. We went to court and had to get multiple court orders to get things done. Things started to improve and we began to pay rent again but still had a balance for the first four month. Our landlords began to sue us for the back rent and my roommate and I agreed that we would take it to trial. I spent months compiling and organizing evidence. Let’s also keep in mind that my roommate was giving me her half of the rent and I was paying it through an app. Eventually she stopped giving me her half and kept coming up with some type of excuse as to why she wasn’t giving me the money. Now remember…we worked together but after a few months of us living together, she was fired. So I understood her why she would be short on money and I didn’t press her because I wanted peace at home.
Fast forward a few months later. We owed 21k dollars due to nonpayment of rent. At this time I stopped living in the apartment because there were safety concerns and I had gotten into a new relationship. I let my roommate know that I would still be paying my portion of rent and my half of utilities as originally agreed upon and I will be keeping my stuff in the apartment. Her and I were still cordial at this time. I kept reminding her of the back rent and explained that I want to be in good standing for our potential court date. She then went on vacation…how? I have no idea. I went to court and our landlords lawyer let me know the total amount being sued. I tried to negotiate (30% abatement of the first 4 months and give us 3 months to pay off the remaining balance). I spoke to my roommate and I let her known we need to speak when she comes back. When she came back she completely went MIA. stopped responding to messages and doesn’t answer the phone. I sent her a long message about how she was making me feel and how I thought her and I were friends…no response. So I cut off the WiFi which was in my name. Her and I spoke briefly after that and she swore she would give me her half of the rent later in the month. She never did…not even shocking at that point. So I cut off the electricity and let her know I’m no longer paying utilities and I will only be matching her paid half of the rent.
Fast forward a few more months, we see each other in court and we ignore each other. She tells the landlord lawyer that she is applying to the One Shot Deal and asked to give us 3 months to pay it off. I plainly say that I don’t live there and I want her evicted. We end up settling and waiving our right to a trial. Roommate gets approved for the One Shot Deal but we still have an outstanding balance. Court gets rescheduled and the unpaid rent has now accumulated to 17k.
We have court next week and my roommate wants me to apply to the One Shot Deal because she wants to be in good standing for court…but if I apply for the 17k and they allow her to stay there for the remainder of the 3 months left on the lease and she continues not paying, she’s going to accumulate 12k worth of back rent that I’m still liable for so I was trying to explain that I want to wait for eviction and see the total amount. Should I even apply to the One Shot Deal? Or should I just pay my half and see if she pays hers? Or should I pay the entire amount and try to sue her afterwards? I feel like eviction is best case scenario because I feel like the longer she’s in the apartment the more money I’m throwing into a black hole. I know eviction will fuck up my credit but I don’t want the rent to continue to accumulate. I’ve save this entire year so i have the money to pay my portion and then some but I hate that I’m liable for her portion. Idk what to do.