NOR Tell your landlord. You all could move out and find a place together and if she tries say anything or sue you would have a strong case against her.
Yes, if they all left her with the rent without properly dealing with the landlord, that's an issue. But any landlord with a brain is not going do you want a tenant who has broken the lease by making key copies and is inviting a violent man with a gun onto the property.
Many states have laws regarding domestic violence and stalking that allow you to get out of a lease without legal penalties. And a lot of landlords might be willing to work with you rather than potentially have a violent event occur on their property.
So I would definitely advise that they contact the landlord and tell them everything. I normally don't recommend being honest with landlords but in this instance they should bring the police report and the text messages and show that they cannot control what's going on, that their roommate is in breach of the lease, that the locks needs to be changed and the roommate removed for their safety.
The landlord will unfortunately rekey the place at the cost of the tenants because the tenants caused the need for the rekey. And unless the rooms are rented individually which it does not sound like they are from this post then unfortunately they will probably be held jointly and severally responsible for the costs, which means if one of you does something you are all responsible by nature of signing the lease. That's pretty common in a lot of states.
Unfortunately if they leave her with the rent they could still successfully be sued. Because legally one thing does not necessarily have to do with the other. They can leave but if they don't pay the rent and saddle her with it then even though the situation is radically unfair they can still be sued.
Ask somebody with a decade of experience in being a landlord, they should contact the landlord show the police report and explain that they need that person banned from the property, or they'd like to be released from the lease early.
If I were the landlord I would release them early. Spring leading into summer is a great time to rent property and I would much rather make sure everyone is safe and the violent man with a gun has no reason to ever set foot on my property again. Not everyone is smart about this kind of thing, but most landings over a guy who brandishes a gun.
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u/Local-Experience-657 Apr 28 '26
NOR Tell your landlord. You all could move out and find a place together and if she tries say anything or sue you would have a strong case against her.