Yes, your roommate is still responsible to pay his share of the rent. You and your roommates are all bound jointly to pay the rent to your landlord. If a roommate leaves, the rent must still be paid in full. The landlord can evict you if the rent is not paid in full, regardless of your roommate moving out.
Your roommate may ask the landlord to remove him from the lease. If you and your landlord agree to this change, then the roommate will no longer be responsible for any of the rent. This new agreement should be in writing and everyone should sign it to avoid later difficulties.
As a tip for next time, it is often a good idea to have a roommate agreement in place with all of the people you are living with. The agreement should specify:
- how rent will be paid
- how long each roommate remains responsible to pay their share of the rent
- what will happen to rent payments if a roommate leaves
A sample roommate agreement can be downloaded here.
You can view our Shared Accommodation tip sheet here.
To find out what happens to a security deposit when a roommate moves out, you can refer to the following FAQ on our website.
February 2020
