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pebbley

my roommate stole furniture?!

pebbley
11 years ago

Last fall, my friend and I signed a year's lease for an apartment that came furnished. She had to move out early at the beginning of summer, so we found someone else to sublet the rest of the lease and then co-sign the lease with me for another year.

After last year's lease ended in September, I asked the new roommate to co-sign the lease with me. By this point, I had already signed the lease for the apartment; all she had to do was go into the management office and co-sign. She kept putting it off, giving various excuses. I made the mistake of believing her and she still has not signed - currently, the apartment is under my name only.

Starting about a few weeks ago, she had slowly been moving her things out to her boyfriend's place and spending less and less time at our apartment. Finally, this morning, she called to with the excuse of asking me when I was free to meet. I gave her a time block when I was busy, but told her I would be in the apartment the rest of the time. Apparently, she took advantage of the time that I told her I would be out to completely empty the apartment of her things and take a few of the furniture furnished by the apartment! Specifically, she has taken the coffee table and drawers given by the apartment as well as a desk my friend (and former roommate) left behind.

She has paid rent until September, and handed me a check for October, but conveniently forgot to sign it so that I could not deposit it. She has made no further indication that she would co-sign the lease and continue to pay rent, even if she would actually be living elsewhere. I'm also having a very hard time contacting her (aside from the her call to me this morning), whether through phone, email, facebook, etc - she simply does not reply. As a side issue, she has not been paying me for utilities either.

When I saw that all her things as well of some of the apartment furniture was missing today, I immediately had the locks changed and plan to tell her that if she needs to get back into the apartment she needs to contact me for the keys first. I'm hoping this way, she will contact me so that I can ask her to return the apartment furniture and ask whether she is officially moving out.

Was I right to do this? What else should I do if she does not return the apartment furniture?

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