u/HonestTowel6408

I’m on a group lease with two other individuals that is month-to-month, requiring two months notice to leave.

Past practice has always been that if somebody wants to move out, they give the required 2 months notice and then find someone to take over their portion of the lease. The lease is then amended to remove the old co-tenant’s name and add their replacement.

I found out recently that one tenant has notified the landlord that she will be moving out end of September and she has yet to start looking for a replacement. As it was I’m annoyed because had she told me earlier, I would have also given my notice to leave end of September - I had already been planning to move out but was waiting for the right opportunity and this is it as I really don’t care to go through someone new moving into the house when I’m on my way out myself. That aside, landlord and I are both concerned that my roommate may not find somebody to replace her on the lease. While she told me she would do her best to try, the fact that she still hasn’t started is worrisome, as well as the fact that she is adamant that it isn’t her responsibility to find someone new, nor can my landlord expect myself and the other co-tenant to cover her portion of the rent come October should she move out without finding a replacement.

What are my options here? At this rate I think I should really give my 2 months to move out end of October, but is there anything I can do to avoid liability of her portion of the rent should she move out end of September without finding a replacement? I’m also worried about the logistics of trying to find someone to replace my portion of the lease if it comes down to her leaving without finding a replacement.

TLDR; need access to internet equipment that is in a difficult roommate’s room and she has ignored my repeated requests to go in to look at it. Can I let myself in after giving headsup?

I live with two roommates, Roommate 1 and Roommate 2. The internet account is in my name, but when it was installed two years ago, the equipment was placed in Roommate 1's bedroom because that's where the wiring already existed.

The WiFi has always been unreliable, but I recently realized it's not just me having issues. Roommate 2, who moved in a couple of months ago, has also been experiencing frequent drops, which is a problem because all three of us work from home at least part of the week.

Because the equipment is in Roommate 1's room, I've been trying to coordinate troubleshooting through our group chat. Recently, after several connection drops, I suspected the router might be overheating and messaged our groupchat to ask her to check whether it was hot or if anything was blocking it. She ignored my messages. However, Roommate 2 responded saying she had rebooted it previously and that it felt very hot (I was away on vacation, and she must have had to go in to reboot it after having more issues). No further responses came through after this.

A few days later, the internet stopped working for Roommate 1. She messaged the group chat about it, and I again asked her to check the equipment and allow me to inspect it. She ignored those requests and only responded to say the internet had started working again. I reiterated that there are ongoing issues affecting everyone and again asked for access. No response, even though roommate 2 responded to agree that she would really like us to try and resolve this proactively.

Roommate 2 later told me that when she rebooted the equipment, it was not only very hot but also discolored, with parts of it turning yellow. This makes me suspect it may have been covered or obstructed at some point, but I can't confirm because I haven't been able to inspect it myself.

At this point, I need access to equipment that I pay for and that is tied to an account in my name, but it's located in Roommate 1's private bedroom. I've asked multiple times for permission to inspect it and have been ignored. I'm hesitant to enter without permission because this roommate is very confrontational and has previously become upset over minor issues, so I'm trying to balance respecting her privacy with addressing a problem that's affecting everyone in the house.

My current plan is to send a message such as:
" Roommate 1 , I need to inspect the internet equipment in your room to troubleshoot the ongoing connection issues. I'll need about 15-20 minutes between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. today. If that time doesn't work for you, please let me know an alternative."

If she doesn't respond, would it be reasonable to proceed (her room does not have a lock), or is there a better way to handle this?