Being held to 19 year old lease!

By Jerry

TL:DR version: landlady demanding I pay deficient amount owned by other roommate who is not in town, because years ago I signed a one year lease and he did not.

FULL STORY:
I have been in this apartment since 1992, with many, many other roommates over the years. I signed a lease in 1992 that clearly states that it was for only 11 1/2 months. No extension paperwork has ever been signed. The ownership of the building has passed from husband to wife during their divorce last year. He was married to someone else when I signed the lease, so the current landlady’s name was not on it.

My assumption is that since 1993 I have been a tenant at will, along with the other roommates who have lived here over the years. But the landlady (who lives downstairs, so this is a owner occupied building) thinks differently.

She is holding me responsible for the other roommate who is withholding a portion of his rent as part of a dispute with her over kitchen repairs. We are each supposed to pay $800, but he is only paying $533, and she wants ME to pay the other $267.

He’s in Europe and won’t be back for a few weeks. If I pay, even if he pays me back when he returns, it will still set a precedent that I will cover rent whenever he acts up. And he acts up a lot. He really hates the landlady, but for some reason won’t move out. He’s been here 15 years.

How responsible am I for the full rent, whether in a lease situation or a tenant at will situation?

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