My roommate and I are both on the lease. Rent was due on the 1st and I paid my portion on time, but she still hasn’t paid hers. I’ve texted her multiple times checking in/reminding her and she has either ignored me completely or not responded about the rent at all.
The landlord messaged us through the tenant portal about the remaining balance, so I replied and explained that my portion was already paid and that the remaining balance was my roommate’s portion. I also mentioned that he may want to contact her separately since she hasn’t been responding to me either.
His response was basically: “yall are both in the message.”
I understand that roommates on a lease are often jointly responsible, but I’m frustrated because I’m doing everything I’m supposed to do and now I feel like I’m being dragged into someone else refusing to pay. I also am not willing or financially able to cover her half myself.
At this point I’m mostly trying to: protect myself/document everything, avoid getting evicted because of someone else, and figure out whether there’s anything else I should realistically be doing
Has anyone dealt with this before? What happened in your situation? Did the landlord actually pursue both tenants equally even if one person could prove they paid their share?