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Question:

Guys,
I'm in a tough situation, and would greatly appreciate a bit of help from anyone who has a bit of knowledge on the subject.
I am a student (in DC), and for the upcoming year, I am part of a lease on a house, going from June 1 to June 1 (07-08). My roommates and I, not being in the area this summer, have each found a subletter to take our spots for the three summer months. They have already paid 1st months rent, a security depost, and utilities in advance.
In my room, there is a bathtub, but no showerhead. When my subletter was moving in, I attempted to install a slip over hand shower head to remedy this, though there is no mention of a shower in the sublease, nor a guarantee of it in our email communication (a bathroom was guaranteed - no specification of a shower). He saw this, signed the lease, both of us figuring that it would work - but again, there was no provision in the lease guaranteeing it. Well it didn' workt, and under the lease, one cannot make permenant alterations to the house without the landlords permission (basically, I can't just have a plupber come in). The landlord has not answered my requests to have a plumber put on the shower head. This sucks, and I'm not looking forward to dealing with it mself, but I don't see any legal obligation here on my part or the landlords part.
Anyways, my subletter has a bath (which works), but is now threatening to leave, demanding his deposit and rent back.
Seeing as there is absolutely no mention of a shower in the lease he signed, am I under obligation to do anything? Personally, I think that his leaving (and not paying the last two months rent, which was explicitly in the lease) is a violation of the lease, and I would at least keep his rent, prepaid utilities, and security deposit. At most, would I be able to bring suit in a small claims type court to recover the next two months rent? Remember, in the lease, it said that he would pay all three months rent.
I obviously don't want it to come to this, but I'm not going to pick up the rent myself if at all possible.
So, am I in the right here? Thanks in advance for any advice - I sincerely appreciate it.

Answer:

What is his problem? Do you have a handheld showerhead in the bathtub? If not, why don't you buy one? I can't imagine that would be considered as "permanent alteration" or that it requires a plumber's intervention.
I don't think I have ever seen a proper bathroom without a showerhead (at least handheld). If there is none, you really should have represented that clearly IMO - that is highly unusual

Answer:

Well, the subletter should have checked out the place. I do think there should have been disclosure. So are you saying you take a bath everyday (presumably you bathe every day)? Can't this guy use a shower located in another bathroom in the house?
I lived in Oakland with a 2 bed 2 bath. My "master" bedroom had the standing shower. My roommate had a tub. Just a tub. Suffice to say, I let him use "my" shower every day. Sometimes it was annoying when he'd wake me up either really late or really early, but we dealt with it.
Legally, yah, he's screwed. Only problem is you're gonna have a headache trying to recover your money if he's insistent that the lack of shower is a deal breaker. As long as you didn't lie and misrepresent anything, he is legally bound by that lease. If there is a shower somewhere else in the house he can use, perhaps you can work it out by deducting some from his rent. I rather work something out, than go through the hassle of arguing with the guy, and finding another subletter, unless finding another renter is easy to do. Good luck with it.

Answer:

I did buy a hand held shower head, the kind that slips over the spigot. However, he said that when he turned the water on, it didn't work. To put in one that would properly screw in, it would require a replacement of the spigot, something that I wouldn't feel comfortable doing myself, seeing how it is not my house to begin with. Its an old house, probably the reason for the bath without a shower.
Although I didn't represent the lack of shower in the sublease, he very clearly saw the situation, and signed the lease as is. I have every motivation to have a shower work (I'll be living there soon), and tried to make a fix for that, but it didn't work.
Here is a section of the sublease that seems to detail such issues:
"23. Sublessee acknowledges that he has examined the premises and his acceptance of this lease is conclusive evidence that said premises are in good an satisfactory order and repair unless otherwise specified herein; sublessee agrees that no representations or warranties as to the conditions of the premises have been made; and that no other agreement has been made to redecorate, repair, or improve the premises unless hereinafter set forth specifically in writing. Sublessor will deliver the premises and all common areas in a clean, safe, and sanitary condition, free of rodents and vermin and in a habitable condition. "
There is absolutely no condition about a shower, or any improvement at all for that matter.
I don't want to be a toal jerk, but I don't see myself at fault in this situation.

Answer:

Don't see why not. I agree it would be a hassle, but yes, there are two other showers in the house, five people total.

Answer:

Obviously, you can't change the faucet to install a real shower but you should be able to get an adaptor for the spout allowing you to hook up the handheld shower.
You are under no obligation to do anything more given the conditions you specified. That said, you don't want this guy screwing with your place since as the lessee, you are ultimately responsible to the landlord for what happens there.

Answer:

I've done a fair bit of research about a showerhead, but I'm pretty sure that it woudl require a new faucet, one with a diverter. Keep in mind that its an old house, so the faucet may not have the features that a more modern one would.
I agree - I would prefer to fix the problem, but if the shit hits the fan, I want to know what my options are.
Again, thanks guys, any thoughts are very welcome.

Answer:

Tell him to leave immediately. Tell him you have already consulted an attorney to effectuate the eviction. Either he stops being such a little pussy and pays you or you get him out and get someone else in.

Answer:

This really depends on the jurisdictional laws in your area. I don't know, but I seem to recall hearing DC has rent control/stabilization, which indicates it's a tenant-friendly jurisdiction.
If this guy knows anything about these things, there's a good chance he can just continue living there, and you're screwed. If it were NYC, that would be the case--not because you were wrong, but because the process for eviction takes a minimum of 6 months (yes, even for subleasers).
I have changed many showerheads, and I don't quite get what is wrong with yours--are you saying the whole shower line doesn't work?
As far as whether he had a right to disclosure about this, a broken shower head doesn't ruin the places 'habitability' by any stretch of the imagination, so he should pay you something.
While you can threaten the 'I talked to my lawyer' bit, if it's not actually possible to get him to leave legally, then you're going to be even more screwed if he calls your bluff, and he'll realize he doesn't have to pay you squat. Should that occur, then you will have to go and sue him after the fact for back rent.
One thing you should definitely do is sit down and type out a thorough description of your agreement, along with any events/dates that are pertinent (like when he stopped paying you rent, or announced he would do so). Document everything about this dispute, and put it with copies of supporting information (receipt for the shower head, copies of checks he may have given you, etc.) Did you sign any contract with him, or have you got any deposit from him? Did you write receipts for the rent he paid you? I'd also recommend getting your roommates who support you as lessees to write up statements as to the agreement they understood you had with the guy.
Finally, for good advice on this topic, locate the DC housing court online information: there should be a landlord/tenant hotline. Phone them up, describe the situation, and get them to tell you all possible steps you can take to get him to pay or get him out. Other than that, unless some kindly DC landlord/tenant/housing lawyer happens to be online, you're really not going to get a definitive answer here on this board. Unfortunately, landlord/tenant laws are very local in their jurisdictions, often mainly based on a lot of common law, so it's really difficult for someone to tell you what to do unless they are intimately familiar with this stuff.
It's possible you will have two main avenues to actually deal with the situation: negotiate with the guy (maybe he'll pay you a reduced rent immediately and agree to leave soon), or something more drastic--read below.
Good luck. I once sublet from a guy who went away on vacation just before I moved in. When I arrived at the apartment, his friend was there with the keys to tell me the previous subletter had changed the locks to her room and refused to move out. I moved into the tenant's room and watched every night as this strange woman came into the apartment, walked by me, and went and locked herself into the room. She finally moved out after the tenant returned from his vacation and negotiated a result.
Now, as far as the drastic measure: you might be able to change the room lock, but DO NOT do this before consulting housing court or a lawyer knowledgeable in DC housing laws. This could very well create financial liability for you, and position the guy to remain there even longer.
And if you're having a hard time figuring out a good hotline number, phone your local police/sheriff's dept. They usually know who you can contact for such an issue, as they're the ones who end up enforcing any eviction actions.

Answer:

Gentlemen,
Thank you for all of your replies. After some (forceful) emails, he will be paying his rent as usual, and everything should be fine. I think that he was probably bluffing on not paying rent, knowing that he didn't have any legal standing to do so, and was just hoping to ruffle me up enough to let him out of the lease. Regardless, all is well, though I'm sure looking forward to being done subletting this place in August. I'll certainly feel better after the final rent check is received in July, but I don't anticipate any problems.
Just to further clarify about the shower bit, as it seemed to confuse everyone. The bathroom has a (perfectly working) bath. The bath is set up in such a way that the only way to install any kind of showerhead would be to take off the current faucet, and replace it with a new one that has a diverter to screw in a hose for the showerhead (it is an old bath). This would be easy to change, but the landlord is mute on the issue, meaning I cant't even hire a pluber to do it. He inspected the house before signing, signed (with the condition that there were no improvements guaranteed to the house), then two weeks later demanded out of the lease on the basis of not having a shower. There are also two other showers in the house that can be used by anyone.
It's really beyond me how anyone could stand being a landlord for a living. Dealing with something like this every week would be the end of my sanity...

Answer:

I assume you're not making money off the dude, and you don't own the place, so you're also not getting any equity + credit while he's paying you.

Answer:

Correct, he is just paying rent in place of me. Of course if I were actually making money in this, I'd be more willing to deal with it, but it is still at the bottom of my career list. I'm sure it can be quite profitable in cases, but I'd rather slog away 80-90 hours a week in the office as a banker/lawyer to make my living.