What legal action can I take in my previous co-tenant renewed our lease without my consent after I left the unit?
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What legal action can I take in my previous co-tenant renewed our lease without my consent after I left the unit?
I signed a lease with a co-tenant and finished the lease agreement a couple of years ago but I found out that my co-tenant renewed the lease with my name after I left the unit. She then broke the lease. Is there anything that I can do? What legal action can I take and who would it be against?
Asked on May 9, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Another person may NOT bind you to a contract--and that's what a lease is: a contract--without your consent. You are not liable to the landlord or obligated to the lease if you did not sign it, though if the landlord believes you did and take legal action against you, you will need to testify and ideally provide other evidence (e.g. other people's testimony; evidence of a lease where you did live instead) to show that you did not sign the lease.
You can sue your roommate for any costs, losses, or damages you suffer due to her falsely representing that you signed the lease; depending on the exact circumstances, this could be identify theft or fraud.
You also should file a police report and probably press charges against her: what your roomate did is crime, and filing a police report will help establish that you did not sign the lease.
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