Getting off the Lease with your pesky ex-boyfriend

Q. I shared an apt with my boyfriend and I moved out. Both of our names were on the lease, but before I left the landlord checked the apt for damages, watched me turn over my set of keys to ex-boyfriend but refuses to remove my name from lease because as he quoted the ex-boyfriend has not had the electric turned back on. Can he do this?

A. I thought I knew where you were going with this, until the last two lines, but let’s see if I can sort it out.

You and your ex-boyfriend both signed the initial lease for the apartment. That makes you both liable for the rent on the apartment for the duration of the lease (which is a contract in which you agree to pay rent). As a result, the landlord is under no obligation to remove you from the lease, whether or not you still live there. Generally, since you both signed the lease, the landlord can come after either you, or your ex-boyfriend, or both, for any lease payments that are due for the duration of the lease, even if on or both of you move out.

To get your name off of the lease, when the end of the term is near, you should notify the landlord in writing that you will not be renewing the lease when it expires. Your lease should contain language about when you must give notice about non-renewal, so read it carefully. That should cover you for any payments after your lease expires.

As far as the issue about the electricity is concerned, I’m not certain what that has to do with the lease, or with the landlord. If the landlord is paying the utilities, and you’re reimbursing him for them, the electricity should be on and remain on during the duration of the lease. The landlord will then simply pay the electric bill out of each month’s rent. If, on the other hand, you and your ex-boyfriend had the utilities in one or both of your names, whoever is on the bill must pay for the utilities. I must confess that I’m at a loss as to what the electricity has to do with your name on the lease, so I’ll just say that you’ve got to pay for the electricity if your name is on the bill, and you don’t have to pay for the electricity if your name is not on the bill. If you’re on the bill by yourself and you’ve moved out, advise the utility and ask them to put the your boyfriend on in your place. They may ask for confirmation that he’s going to assume the bill, but you should be able to work that out.