There’s a reason why it’s best to always get everything in writing when it comes to money, even (and especially) with close friends. Living together with friends and being financially bound to them in some way, especially when you’re just moving out of your parents’ place or the first time, is a recipe for disaster. Your first living situation out of your parents house will always be a tragic learning experience and will be incredibly trying to any friendships you might have decided to live with, and when money is involved, things can devolve into “every man for themself” very quickly.
It really just makes sense to have everyone living somewhere on the lease to avoid issues like this, where someone doesn’t want to pay. If her name had been on the lease, there would be no question whether or not she was on the hook for her portion of the rent. Sure, if you’re not living there, it doesn’t make sense to pay, and vice versa. But when you’ve made a commitment to move in and start paying rent for a place on a given date, you can’t really just arbitrarily decide not to do that. Sure, if your situation has changed, then so be it, but you can’t really expect to just hold your “spot” and move in in a couple of months. Really, what the remaining girls need to do is just find another roommate to take this girl’s place.
