> You don't get to arbitrarily stop paying

Yes, as has been demonstrated.by lots of companies lots of times, you do get to do that.

If other people don't like it, they have a variety of options of how to respond, of course. But those options kind of suck, because they cost money and, ultimately, you can't get blood from a turnip.

The biggest problem facing trying to do this is getting people to extend new credit, which tends to place a hard wall for most efforts to do it, as not being able to pay your old bills might not shut you down, but being unable to get new goods and services will.

“Get” is an interesting choice of word. They won’t escape without any punishment but they certainly can do this.

Their landlord can take them to court... when the courts open.