To any law students/lawyers

Aziru

Hello,

I am a 23 year old student with a pesky dillema.  Last semester i was renting a room from a female at an apartment just outside of Umass Amherst. She was living there but didnt like the other roommates that she signed the lease with, so she found another place and was put on a lease with her fellow girl mates.She told me that it was going to be $350 a month plus utilities, and that i was going to live there starting Feb to Sept. She asked for a direct deposit to her of $400, i had her sign the reciept from the bank stating that i gave her $400 dollars. She said she was going to use that for that month of rent since she already put her direct deposit to the landlord.

I went to the agency where i had to pay for the 2nd month (march) and they said she was missing a month of payment, so i payed $700 thinking she must have kept the money for the last month. The first week of May a letter came in the mail saying that if the people on the lease ( the current roommates and her) signed this paper they could terminate the lease early. If the lease goes through everyone would have to be out by May 24th.  This was signed without telling me. I was forced to move out and back to Springfield (which is 50 min away)the week of finals at Umass. It was terrible. I also transfered my position from the Springfield Big Y to the Amherst BigY , thinking i was living there that summer . I was forced to commute to work all summer.

Thinking this headache was over , i keep getting txts/facebook messages from this girl guilt tripping me to pay for the last month,and rest of summer. She keeps saying  how much i have screwed her family over. Apperantly, the early lease termination was void due to the fact that 3 roommates owed a substantial amount of money. Now she is saying i owe her money for all of summer and is threatening me to pay otherwise legal actions will be taken. 

What are my options right now?

Grunty

Talk with the student legal aid department at your university. Bring copies of any leases, sub-leases, or other agreements that you and the other party signed along with any payment records.  Let them help you.  Different states, different laws.

Also make and bring with you a permanent record of any communications between you and them. Including the stuff that may present you negatively.

Ignore the emotion, stick to the legalities.

gamesrfun

Tenancy laws differ state to state.  I had difficulty reading your post but my impression is that you are worried about being sued.

If that is your concern, I would not sweat it.  I would not bother even seeking legal advice until you are served.  My suspicion is you will not be.  If you are, see above:  seek direction from student legal services at a university near you.

However, if you are attempting to recover money out of this fiasco, my advice would be to simply drop it.  It is not worth your time or the stress attached to it.