Legal Question: Former roommate refusing to return deposit

[sadguy]

Long story short... my former roommate is withholding $400 of my deposit. It has been 2 months since I moved out and was taken off the lease. Since this former roommate is not the "official" landlord (that title would be reserved for the Managers of the Apartment complex), would I be able to sue him in small claims court and win back my deposit?

California law states that a landlord must return your deposit 21 days after you have moved out... but I am not sure if he would qualify as a landlord?

Thanks in advance.

 

[leftyman]

who actually has the $400.. your roommate or the actual owner/landlord?

 

[sadguy]

the roommate has the $400... and he is still living in the apartment.

 

[leftyman]

No.The roommate spent the $400 on beer and pizza.

Do you have a dated and signed receipt?

 

[sadguy]

dated receipt?

i have the original $400 check that he cashed in 2005.

 

[leftyman]

And what does he say when you ask him for the money? Like I said he probably doesnt have it or spent it, so see if he is willing to pay you back an amount that he can afford either weekly or monthly.
other then that you can go to small claims court and win, but I doubt you'll see any money.

 

[allisolm]

Why did the landlord give your deposit to someone else?

 

[leftyman]

Originally posted by: allisolm
Why did the landlord give your deposit to someone else?

I think the other kid had the apartment first and sadguy moved in with him and the other guy collected some security deposit off of sadguy.

Is that right?

 

[sadguy]

Originally posted by: leftyman
And what does he say when you ask him for the money? Like I said he probably spent it, so see if he is willing to pay you back an amount that he can afford either weekly or monthly.
other then that you can go to small claims court and win, but I doubt you'll see any money.

he still has the money... he is holding it due to an argument we had prior to me moving out. as a result of this argument, he decided to fabricate several excuses to continue holding my deposit (such as me having caused certain damages to the carpet).

 

[sadguy]

Originally posted by: leftyman

Originally posted by: allisolm
Why did the landlord give your deposit to someone else?

I think the other kid had the apartment first and sadguy moved in with him and the other guy collected some security deposit off of sadguy.

Is that right?

yes, that's correct.

 

[leftyman]

Originally posted by: sadguy

Originally posted by: leftyman
And what does he say when you ask him for the money? Like I said he probably spent it, so see if he is willing to pay you back an amount that he can afford either weekly or monthly.
other then that you can go to small claims court and win, but I doubt you'll see any money.

he still has the money... he is holding it due to an argument we had prior to me moving out. as a result of this argument, he decided to fabricate several excuses to continue holding my deposit (such as me having caused certain damages to the carpet).

what type of damage? and how does he know what the cost would be to fix/clean it?

unfortunately its beginning to sound like your screwed.

 

[sadguy]

Originally posted by: leftyman

Originally posted by: sadguy

Originally posted by: leftyman
And what does he say when you ask him for the money? Like I said he probably spent it, so see if he is willing to pay you back an amount that he can afford either weekly or monthly.
other then that you can go to small claims court and win, but I doubt you'll see any money.

he still has the money... he is holding it due to an argument we had prior to me moving out. as a result of this argument, he decided to fabricate several excuses to continue holding my deposit (such as me having caused certain damages to the carpet).

what type of damage? and how does he know what the cost would be to fix/clean it?

unfortunately its beginning to sound like your screwed.

minor carpet stains...most of which were not from me. unfortunately, i did not make a list of those stains when i moved in. i figured, "he seems like a nice guy, i won't get screwed". a lesson for all you future tenants out there! make a list no matter what!


the issue i'm mostly concerned about is whether he qualifies as a "landlord" since i issued him the deposit. if yes, then i will be suing asap since 21 days have passed (he has not issued any sort of itemized list).

 

[leftyman]

did you sign a lease and if you did, with who?

 

[Double Trouble]

This kind of thing is fairly common. Whether he is the landlord or not is irrelevant (and he's not the landlord by the way). Basically, you can take him to small claims court and sue him for the deposit.

You'll need to be able to show that the landlord returned the money to him (ie that he recevied the money that belongs to you). You can get the real landlord to sign a letter stating that he returned the depost within 21 days as required. Then you can show your old 2005 check to prove that you paid the deposit, and voila, if you have your paperwork in order you'll walk out with a judgement for the amount. Collecting on that judgement can be trickier, but once you have the judgement you can hire a collection agency if you have to, and could even mess up his credit if he doesn't pay.

 

[sadguy]

Originally posted by: tagej
This kind of thing is fairly common. Whether he is the landlord or not is irrelevant (and he's not the landlord by the way). Basically, you can take him to small claims court and sue him for the deposit.

You'll need to be able to show that the landlord returned the money to him (ie that he recevied the money that belongs to you). You can get the real landlord to sign a letter stating that he returned the depost within 21 days as required. Then you can show your old 2005 check to prove that you paid the deposit, and voila, if you have your paperwork in order you'll walk out with a judgement for the amount. Collecting on that judgement can be trickier, but once you have the judgement you can hire a collection agency if you have to, and could even mess up his credit if he doesn't pay.

Thanks tagej... but what if the former roommate is still living in the apartment and has not received the money yet? He will be living in the apartment for another 6 - 12 months at least.

 

[allisolm]

the roommate has the $400... and he is still living in the apartment.

but what if the former roommate is still living in the apartment and has not received the money yet?


I'm confused. Who has your $400?

 

[sadguy]

Originally posted by: allisolm
the roommate has the $400... and he is still living in the apartment.

but what if the former roommate is still living in the apartment and has not received the money yet?


I'm confused. Who has your $400?

Sorry for the confusion, it's the same person who will not return my deposit.

 

[Vette73]

Send a letter saying you moved out on XYZ date and request your full deposit of $400 back. Make sure it is sent certified letter, courts love that.
Call roommate up after he gets it. If he says he still will not pay then take him to small claims court. Cost less the $80 here and you get all that back if you win.

Just make sure you keep a copy of the letter you sent and also the certified reciept to give to the judge.

 

[Double Trouble]

To win, you have to convince the judge that 1) you are owed the money, and 2) the person you are suing is the one that owes the money.

You can show #1 by showing the rental contract along with a copy of your check showing that you paid your deposit in good faith. #2 can be shown if you can show that he received the money (letter from landlord). If he hasn't received the money (yet) because he still lives there, then you should send a certified letter to the landlord demanding your deposit back. If he wants a deposit from the other guy, that's between them, but he must refund your portion of the deposit.

Certified letter to your roomie is a good idea to show that you tried to collect before going to court.

 

[FoBoT]

sue him

 

[mugs]

Paying your roommate a security deposit was a bad idea. You should have dealt directly with the apartment people.

He may not want to give you back your money until he moves out and finds out if the apartment people are going to withhold any of his deposit for damage that occurred while you were living there.

 

[CellarDoor]

Originally posted by: sadguy

Originally posted by: leftyman

Originally posted by: sadguy

Originally posted by: leftyman
And what does he say when you ask him for the money? Like I said he probably spent it, so see if he is willing to pay you back an amount that he can afford either weekly or monthly.
other then that you can go to small claims court and win, but I doubt you'll see any money.

he still has the money... he is holding it due to an argument we had prior to me moving out. as a result of this argument, he decided to fabricate several excuses to continue holding my deposit (such as me having caused certain damages to the carpet).

what type of damage? and how does he know what the cost would be to fix/clean it?

unfortunately its beginning to sound like your screwed.

minor carpet stains...most of which were not from me. unfortunately, i did not make a list of those stains when i moved in. i figured, "he seems like a nice guy, i won't get screwed". a lesson for all you future tenants out there! make a list no matter what!


the issue i'm mostly concerned about is whether he qualifies as a "landlord" since i issued him the deposit. if yes, then i will be suing asap since 21 days have passed (he has not issued any sort of itemized list).

I feel you on this one, but it is your responsibility to write down every little detail you see when you move in. I made the same mistake once as well, and had to pay for it.

 

[sadguy]

thanks for all of the advice. one last question: how exactly does a letter become certified?

i have emails which asked the former roomate to return my deposit, along with his refusals.

 

[sadguy]

Originally posted by: CellarDoor
I feel you on this one, but it is your responsibility to write down every little detail you see when you move in. I made the same mistake once as well, and had to pay for it.

yeah, lesson learned. make a note of that kids!

 

[JS80]

When your ex roommate moves out the landlord will fvck him out of the entire deposit.