Fair way to split rent -- roommate moving in earlier than me

[EverettKings]

Moving into a new place in SF. Roommate's job starts a month earlier than me, so he'll be living there without me for a solid month. We have a one-year lease.

What's a fair way to split rent for the time when he's there without me? Him paying double for a month doesn't really seem fair to him, but me paying a full half and not living there doesn't seem fair either.

OOT????

[tuq]

Gonna go out on a huge limb here and say that you not living there means that you shouldn't have to pay, unless otherwise agreed on previously.

[threeonefour]

you sign a lease, you pay your share. i can honestly say if i was in your position i wouldn't even consider doing anything other than paying for that month. especially if i didn't make arrangements with my roommate in advance of signing the lease.

i am a big pushover fwiw. i regularly let people take advantage of me and probably would pay for everything if roles were reversed and my friend asked me to cover for the month he wasn't around. so yea, i am probably not the best guy to ask.

[JackInDaCrak]

Legally, since you both signed the lease, you're both on the hook if no rent gets paid.

FWIW.

[TiK]

Did you both know that you would be moving there later beforehand? If it's only because of your roommate that you both started the lease at that time (a month earlier than you would be there), then he should pay more the first month, but if you both agreed to start the lease at that time, and he just happened to be able to move in before you, then I think you should pay your half.

Basically, unless there was a prior arrangement with regards to rent for the first month, you should pay your share.

[Boris]

You pay half.

[tuq]

[ QUOTE ]
Legally, since you both signed the lease, you're both on the hook if no rent gets paid.

FWIW.

[/ QUOTE ]
Oh yeah I'm a retard I guess, if OP was dumb enough to sign a shared lease before he ever moved in then of course he's on the hook for half the rent. Utilities and other usage bills are a different matter LDO.

[The Ocho]

if you dont sublet the room, and you signed a year lease, you should definitely pay your share. i dont think there is any discussion here.

[EverettKings]

Beforehand we knew that we had different start dates and that it would be a problem needing addressing in terms of rent splitting rent. That is, we both acknowledged that rent would need adjusting for this period. No solution jumped into mind, so we just kept looking for places. Now that it's locked down we need to decide.

Yes I signed a lease, but I signed it now instead of a month from now for my roommate's sake. If I refused to sign for a month, he'd either have to find temp housing for a month or we'd both have to find roommates in a city across the country, which wouldn't be as cool as roomming with a college friend.

So in part it was a favor to him to start the lease now. Ergo my feeling that I'm not responsible for the full rent.

[kkcountry]

[ QUOTE ]
Beforehand we knew that we had different start dates and that it would be a problem needing addressing in terms of rent splitting rent. That is, we both acknowledged that rent would need adjusting for this period. No solution jumped into mind, so we just kept looking for places. Now that it's locked down we need to decide.

Yes I signed a lease, but I signed it now instead of a month from now for my roommate's sake. If I refused to sign for a month, he'd either have to find temp housing for a month or we'd both have to find roommates in a city across the country, which wouldn't be as cool as roomming with a college friend.

So in part it was a favor to him to start the lease now. Ergo my feeling that I'm not responsible for the full rent.

[/ QUOTE ]

pay your half, you cheap bastard