Is there a case here?

I figured I might as well ask the most intelligent board on the interwebs this question.

I have a friend in a bind, and this came up as a possible solution.

If a person has documented proof from a social worker and a doctor (psychiatrist) that his roommates are detrimental to their mental health to the point of suicidal thoughts, could he plausibly get out of a lease (obviously with the help of a lawyer)? FWIW, there IS documented proof of the detriment of mental health directly caused by these roommates--the reason that he needs to get out of the apartment, and preferably the lease.

This is nearly the last of his worries--but right now, unless he can find a subleaser, he is looking at more than 10 grand in rent before the lease runs out, which is quite worrisome when there his family's income will be eliminated if Obamacare passes. His parents would mostly be the ones dealing with this aspect (seeing as they are the cosigners on the lease), he has been seeing a psychiatrist regularly, and has entered a mental health hospital. Also, he is already searching for a subleaser, but that might be hard to find.

I know that anything posted below isn't a legal consultation, isn't legal advice, just an opinion, etc. etc. etc.

You'd (obviously) need a lawyer who's experienced in civil law, but I'd think that proof from a licensed mental health professional would carry some weight.

If suicide is the alternative... the cost of braking the lease can't be much higher.

In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:

Yeah, he's already moving out... found a friend of a friend, and has that all set up. Just trying to see if he can get his money back. I don't know what the lease looks like--I'm still in the dorms, so haven't seen one--but I'd assume its near impossible to get out of it.

mtn wrote: I'd assume its near impossible to get out of it.

In all seriousness for a minute... You can appeal for a new room - but if suicide is your plan A - it ain't the roommates that are the problem. This sounds like an ex-girlfriend story where she claims that if you don't give her what she wants she will kill herself. This is a pretty berkeleyed up dude who needs some straightening out by professionals and one who if he were to have a bad credit rating... well that would be pretty far down the list of issues to be dealt with.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

mtn wrote: I'd assume its near impossible to get out of it.

In all seriousness for a minute... You can appeal for a new room - but if suicide is your plan A - it ain't the roommates that are the problem. This sounds like an ex-girlfriend story where she claims that if you don't give her what she wants she will kill herself. This is a pretty berkeleyed up dude who needs some straightening out by professionals and one who if he were to have a bad credit rating... well that would be pretty far down the list of issues to be dealt with.

Well, its a completely berkeleyed up situation. The guy has some underlying problems that were triggering his depression (that would make anyone depressed), and the roommates are just not helping. They are socially retarded, and as much as I like for people to take responsibility for their own actions, having seen the situation, I have to agree that these people are detrimental to his health. Obviously not the entire problem, or the original problem, but they are certainly contributing unnecessarily to it.
He has a perfect credit rating, and is getting professional help. He just would rather not go into anymore debt than college has already put him in.

Snorklewhacker is on the money here. Lessee: "oooh oooh, I might get bad credit" v. suicide. Humm, someone ain't thinking too straight here, obviously. Lets start out with some professional assistance here from a psych doc, and not the one that just shot up Ft. Hood. And the roommates go if they are part of the problem. Either way, and you don't worry about no stinking lease. If they sue because of the lease, then the issues can come up and no court is going to touch that.

People in depressive episodes don't think clearly. Small things like a BS lease with roommates get blown out of proportion. His best path right now is closer and more frequent interaction with a psychiatrist, not a pshchologist.

Dr. Hess wrote: People in depressive episodes don't think clearly. Small things like a BS lease with roommates get blown out of proportion. His best path right now is closer and more frequent interaction with a psychiatrist, not a pshchologist.

He's actually doing this already. He'd been meeting with a psychiatrist on a weekly basis until yesterday. And now he's officially going into a mental health hospital for at least a few days.

I guess I have not made it clear, he is getting the help he needs, he is moving out regardless, he is just trying to save some money since he (and his parents, who are not depressed and would be the ones dealing with the lawyering and such) are nearly out of money. Added to the fact that his family's income would be eliminated with Obamacare.

In a word - NO. Just another one of a million scams to try to get out of a contract.

Here's a silly one: Has he tried just talking to the management at the complex? I had a nasty break-up in college, found a roomate for psycho-girlfriend, we went to the management, they took my name off the lease and put hers on. Took 10 minutes. Didn't cost me a dime. He needs to be actively looking for someone to take his place, and working with his roomates to do the same.

Sometimes these situations get all f'd up because all parties ASSume too much, without having open communication with everyone involved.

my $.02.

poopshovel wrote: Here's a silly one: Has he tried just talking to the management at the complex? I had a nasty break-up in college, found a roomate for psycho-girlfriend, we went to the management, they took my name off the lease and put hers on. Took 10 minutes. Didn't cost me a dime. He needs to be actively looking for someone to take his place, and working with his roomates to do the same. Sometimes these situations get all f'd up because all parties ASSume too much, without having open communication with everyone involved. my $.02.

Yeah, his dad went and talked to them. If he finds a subleaser, he'll be okay. He (myself and a couple of our other friends, he's not doing much but concentrating on not killing himself) are actively searching. If we can find one, then this problem is solved.

Cool. If he finds someone to take over the lease, make sure he gets something in writing saying he's not responsible for damages, unpaid rent, etc. When we went to buy our house, the only mark on my credit was from the apt. complex I was talking about in the earlier post. It was a simple misunderstanding. I had all the paperwork stashed away, and they fixed it lickety split.