all hell breaks loose

All hell has broken loose in my apartment. For those of you who don't know, here's a recap of the situation:

My previous roommates graduated and/or moved out with their girlfriend/fiancée in May. I had been struggling to find two roommates to move in and take over their leases for several months. Partly because I procrastinated getting ads out in the most effective places, and partly because most of the candidates didn't want to sign until the fall. Finally (and very close to the deadline,) two guys contacted me and said they were interested. They came and checked out the place, I filled them in on approximate bills, showed them their rooms, etc. When I mentioned cable internet and wireless router, they immediately said they'd take it.

Ren let me know after he signed that he wouldn't be moving in until the fall, when classes start. Ross moved in at the beginning of Summer I session, and everything seemed fine. I let him borrow my lamp from the living room, since he didn't have one for his room. I didn't see him much, and I just assumed he was busy working and going to classes. Our conversations were very succinct, limited only to "hi" or sometimes only a nod on his part. I figured maybe he was a private person, the way I am around new people. A few weeks went by, and I noticed he didn't have a bed. I made a suggestion that he sleep on the fold-out couch/bed thing in the living room, but he said he was fine, and I didn't bring it up again. I suspect he sleeps in a pile of blankets on the floor. Weird. He has only shaved once since he's been here (I know because he left hair all over the counter.)

Now comes the main reason I'm posting this. I confronted Ross about the bills today. Ren had called me a few days ago and informed me that he wasn't going to pay any of the bills, since he wasn't living here. I didn't know what to say, so I left it alone. So what it came down to was Ross and I splitting all the utilities 50/50. I typed up a breakdown of the utilities and split them in half, only charging him for the second half of may, since that was when his lease started (on the 15th.) I taped it to his door, and went back to my room. Ten minutes later, he knocks on my door. "I want to see a copy of the cable bill," he said. A reasonable request, I thought, so I started going through the stack of papers on my desk (my room is a complete mess.) I told him I'd look for it and make a copy for him. "This amount is way too high. Can't we get a smaller package?" I informed him that we could and that I'd look into it today. "I don't mean to be a d*ck," (too late, buddy) "but this electric bill is way too high. You have an air conditioner, so I'm not paying half." Now there's a grey area. Yes, I do have a/c in my room, but there's no real way to separate the cost of that out of the rest of the bill. "I don't know what to tell you, but I'm only responsible for half of the bills," I said. "Fine, but I not paying it. I can live without electricity. Can you?" he retorted. He then went back to his room and locked the door.

There is another issue that I've been avoiding. Danielle has been frequently hanging out here (she is my girlfriend after all) and he claims that she should be paying 1/3 of the bills. Now, I consider her my guest, and as such, she should not be responsible for any of the bills. She pays her own bills at her place.

I went to my landlord and explained the situation, Ross' unusual (and borderline creepy) mannerisms, and asked for her advice. She gave me a couple of options to think about. First, she said that Ren should be paying 1/3 of the bills even though he's not here. She said it's like he's on vacation. Second, she told me to get detailed hardcopies of all the bills and sit down with Ross to work them out. The other options she mentioned were either I move out, and stick them with all the future rent/bills, or tell them to find another place to live. She, of course is not allowed to intervene, but I didn't expect her to.

If I can't work this out with the hardcopies, I'm going to explore the pros & cons of the other options. Maybe I should have just moved out with Danielle after all. It would have saved me all this trouble. If only I could have known this would happen...

Thoughts? Opinions? How can I convince these guys to pay up?