While in college, students sign roommate agreements when living in a dorm, or leases if living in off-campus housing, whether it’s their best friend from their hometown, a casual acquaintance attending the same university or a complete stranger chose at random.

When troubles begin arising in any living arrangement, there are always options when it comes to dealing with roommates students are ultimately stuck with until the signed term is over.

Despite the fact that sometimes dorms have the space to accommodate for roommate changes, signing leases off-campus becomes legally binding.

“I expected that all of us would be able to share cleaning chores, each others’ study times, and that no one would be rude if people are trying to sleep,” said Jessie Hughes, a junior family and consumer science major, of her expectations when moving off-campus. “I wasn’t prepared for the drama of four girls living together, days when two people are mad at each other, or when three girls are mad at one.”

Kevin Sweeney, a senior health studies major, finds dealing with his three roommates up front is the best way to handle issues.

“We don’t let things boil up,” Sweeney said. “We get them out in the open and take care of issues right when they happen.”

Students will be forced to work things out amongst themselves, since getting out of a lease is never easy.

However, if situations become too stressful on any of the roommates, there are legal alternatives to opting out of a lease.

Unique Homes Properties is a real-estate company that owns several apartment complexes off-campus including The Millennium, The Atrium and Panther Heights.

Unique Homes described a signed lease as, “a legal and binding document that entitles you responsible for the term of the lease.”

However, while students cannot “break a contract” after signing a lease, there are two options available if they cannot fulfill their lease obligations.

One option offered by Unique Homes when resigning from a lease is the option to have the remaining students signed on the lease sign a new lease, agreeing to pay the dropping roommates portion of the rent, while the dropping roommate also forfeits his or her security deposit.

The other option for students to consider is finding someone else to take over that particular portion of the lease, known as a subleaser, while the dropping roommate again forfeits his or her deposit.

Though the dropping roommate’s name still remains on the original lease document, the subleaser takes place of their spot in the apartment and pays their portion of the monthly rent.

Marissa Guenzi, a sophomore communication studies major, experienced a conflict when signing a lease for an apartment following her freshman year.

After Guenzi signed her lease with one apartment complex, she found a much more financially sound lease with another roommate.

“Getting out of a lease isn’t easy,” Guenzi said. “But as long as you are straightforward with your roommates, it all works out in the end.”

After talking to her previous roommates, they found another person, to act as the subleaser on their contract.

Although Marissa lost her security deposit, she still remains friends with her previous roommates and is happy with her current living situation.

While working out differences with roommates to meet a compatible medium, sometimes, biting your tongue and calling it quits makes for the easiest solution.

“Well, as a girl, I have always lived with girls,” said Tara Weber, senior biology major. “And when there are issues, you just don’t live together anymore.”

Although living with a difficult roommate or someone students do not get along with may make the year seem to tiptoe by at a sluggish pace, there are many tactics of diverting from problems and even options to getting out of such living situations.

Alyssa Ullrich can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected]