Where are you located?

Is the roommate still there?

In general, if there was no new lease agreement made with a tenant who wouldn’t leave it falls on the previous leaseholder.

You need to communicate with them only in writing going forward and preferably by certified mail or fedex or something trackable.

I know in nyc the advice you will usually get is you’ll have to pay the roommate to leave.

If they’re still there and not paying the landlord probably most of all wants them out and has to go through you as the previous lease holder if there was no lease with the roommate in order to do it.

If the roommate is still there worry less about owing back rent right now and more on getting the roommate out and unfortunately you will probably have to work out an agreement to pay them to leave.

But don’t just give them money.

Put it in escrow and then also by certified mail or if you can better yet start your own eviction of the roommate and serve them through process server and tell them they can have the money when they get out.

It’s a sucky situation and I’m basing my advice on what I know about nyc renting situations.