AITA for backing out of the housing lease last minute?

A 21-year-old student from out of town is starting a 4-month internship in Toronto and needed a sublet. After finding a listing for a shared apartment, the communication with the roommates became unclear and frustrating, especially regarding the rent and contract details. When the rent was revealed to be significantly higher than expected, along with other issues, the poster backed out of the deal a week before moving in, leaving the roommates to scramble for a new subletter. Now, they’re questioning whether they were right to cancel.

‘ AITA for backing out of the housing lease last minute?’

I (F21) am starting a 4-month internship in Toronto as part of my undergrad degree in Jan 2025. Since I’m from another province, I needed a sublet and searched University of Toronto student FB groups, figuring students would be similar in age, friendly, and offer a more budget friendly option in Toronto’s awful housing market.

In late November, I found a place advertised as 1/3 bedrooms for $1250/month (negotiable). While this was slightly over my budget, I applied since rent was listed as negotiable. The post focused on how they wanted a roommate who would also be a friend and who fit their vibe. We FaceTimed and they seemed nice, but when I inquired about the negotiability of the rent, they told me they were taking offers for what people were able to pay. I offered $1100–$1200 and assumed this just meant the landlord was a bit flexible with rent.

Having subleted before, I assumed rent would be set by the landlord per room and that I’d deal directly with the landlord. They chose me as their new roommate, saying they’d update me on the contract process. However, they never explicitly told me my rent, so I assumed it would be $1200.

Over the next few weeks, communication was minimal. They claimed they were waiting on the landlord, so I just waited. Mid-December, I received a rental application with the rent amount blank from the landlord. I submitted it leaving the spot blank as I still didn’t know my rent. I texted asking them for confirmation and once again no response.

A few days later I received a contract listing all three roommates with a total rent of \~$2700. This was pretty shocking given my assumed $1200 rent meant I’d pay almost half the rent, while they each paid less than $800. On top of that, my room was smaller and did not have a bed frame, which was not made clear until late in the process. Additionally, the joint liability rather than individual contracts for rent was a financial risk, especially since I didn’t know them well.

I messaged them and asked if we’d split rent evenly (\~$900 each). They finally replied, telling me my rent was set at $1125 and saying it was set lower as a gesture of goodwill on their part. They claimed my higher rent was due to furnishing the place (once again no bed frame) and they received offers as high as $1300 but chose me anyways.

By this point, I felt they had been unclear and were taking advantage of me to subsidize their rent. Their lack of communication and withholding key details felt dishonest, especially after framing this as a friendly living situation.

That same day, about a week before Jan, I told them I couldn’t move forward, explaining it wasn’t about affordability but fairness. Even though they offered to lower my rent to $1000, and ask for separate contracts, the tension felt too uncomfortable to live with. This left them to find a new subleter in a week and me to find a new place which sucked for everyone. Legally speaking, no contract was signed so I’m fine in that sense but AITA?

Here’s what Redditors had to say:

debacchatio −  NTA. Take it as a good lesson learned that no matter how much you may hit it off with or like a potential roommate – you don’t agree to or sign anything without having all the details hashed out and put in writing first.

Ok_Purple766 −  NTA. Always protect yourself.

Lower_Instruction371 −  NTA If that is how they treat their friends I would hate to see how they treat their enemy’s.

LuckPetite −  NTA, you dodged a bullet there.

thatonehunter123 −  NTA sounds like the othe roommate was trying to s**m you.

Advanced-Power991 −  YWNBTA, sounds like they were looking for a sucker, and they thought you had no options, not surprised about the joint liability, that way the LL is protected if something gets broken.

JenninMiami −  NTA they were trying to rip you off. You did the right thing!

Aw_Yeah_Nuh −  NTA. They planned to rip off whomever took that room = they would not make good roomates. They’re now stuck looking for a roommate last minute because of *their* shifty behaviour. You realise now that you were too laid back about details such as rent, whether your room was furnished, individual liability etc so unfortunately, you’re also in a bind. I’m sure you won’t make this mistake again. Good luck.