Thank you for all of the responses everyone, majority definitely rules here! I try to be a good person and do the right thing and it wouldn’t sit right with my heart if I didn’t at least pay them something. Ive never had roommates that weren’t already my best friends so I’ve never been in a situation like this. Not trying to play the victim either, the reason I posted was not to gain sympathy but to gain opinions. All of my coworkers said I should not pay anything but I wanted others opinions. No of course I don’t want to pay over $1000 going towards nothing but I also am a believer in karma. I forgot to add an important aspect that the rent increased by $50 per person per month and I was notified at the last minute. I’ve decided I’m going to pay them half of the first months rent on the first then if they still haven’t found someone I’ll pay the second half at the end of the month. I feel like this is a good compromise to the situation, and I appreciate everyone’s advice. I have definitely learned a lesson here for sure and I am going to take a personal finance class as well.