by Amy Hass

Created on: June 02, 2008

First of all if there are two roomates and they have problems then who deals with them? One would think that when one of them is breaking the rules in the rental agreement, it would be the landlord, boy did I find out that was the wrong answer. My daughter goes to college and wanted a roommate last year. Things were fine in the beginning, but the roommate moved her boyfriend (which violated the no overnight guest without approval in the lease agreement)so when things became unbareable for my daughter I telephoned the landlord. Unfortunately she was rude and unwilling to help. I explained it would be different if he was paying part of the rent and not eating all of the food that I purchase for my daughter and she still would not assist us in this issue. She said she would ask the other girl. I had been to the house numerous times and he is always there. After that incident there was friction between the girls my daughter is very passive and likes to get along with everyone her roommate was very controlling and demanding. I heard her first hand and was shocked. I was even more shocked because my daughter would not stand up to her. Personally, if my daughter stood her ground and did not take orders from this girl things would not have gotten out of hand, but no, my peace keeper lets her run over her. In the meantime she had problems with her roommate laying out half the night and bringing home strange guys she meet at the bar. I work in the criminal justice system and I explained to the roommate how dangerous her behavior was. My daughter knowing the danger was scared to death! Well her roommate did not listen to my advise and she ended up getting a DUI and having an accident while intoxicated. It got so bad that just before Christmas, my daughter's birthday is in December, and her grandmother got her an expensive pair of blue jeans. She wore the night after her birthday to dinner with a friend. When she came home her roommate took a razor blade and sliced her jeans. My daughter is now in fear of her safety and moved back home. I tried to talk to the landlord and she was mean and nasty to me; she was only worried about her rent money. Well I still pay rent while my daughter moved back home. Thanks goodness this is the last month of rent that I have to pay. I think that before a person rents to roommates and becomes a landlord that they should realize the problems that can occur. Our roommate situation was a nightmare. The only clause in the contract that was enforced was the rent being paid on time. There were no regards to my daughters safety just the greed of the landlord for her rent money. The roommate was so psycho that we could not find another person to do a sublease. Now my question is not how to deal with the conflicts, but who should deal with them. We tried talking to the other roommates mother, the roommate, and the landlord, with no solution to the conflict.

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