Landlord billing me for previous tenant&#39;s charges
<p>I have subleased a studio in Illinois, and did paperwork officially with the leasing office. The original lease was until July 31, 2019, so I signed the lease to take responsibility of the lease (and charges) starting from Dec 1, 2018.</p>

<p>As I moved in, in all surprises, the landlord give me bills for October and November, asking me to pay. I only moved in on Dec 1. The previous tenant is not responsive, and says they moved out and handed keys on Nov 1.</p>

<p>Only thing I know is I should not pay for utility bills, and I'm planning to raise it to BBB. The bills, just like how electricity and internet billing works, should be billed to the right person who used them.</p>

<p>What should I do? And what are my options? I feel very stupid and scammed right now.</p>

<p>You are responsible vis-a-vis the landlord. If the obligations are not current, then the landlord has a right to terminate the primary lease, and your sublease is derivative of the primary lease, so you would be evicted.</p>

<p>You, in turn, would have a right to sue the tenant of the original lease from whom you subleased, for any funds you had to expend to bring the lease current due to charged preceding your lease term.</p>

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