Obtaining Security Deposit After Eviction

[emoye]

I'll try to keep this ordinarily painfully long story as short as possible. I moved into a 3br apartment in August with two other people. Each roommate owed $550 for their portion of the security deposit. One of my roommates put down my $550 in July because I was not yet living in state. When I moved in, I reimbursed her for the deposit. Only one of us, not me, signed the lease. The other two of us never did sign. The three of us lived together until November. By that time, the situation in the apartment wasn't working out. I began to look for a new apartment. I gave the other two roommates the heads up. They didn't take it well, to say the least. One night, in a rage, one roommate came into my room while I was sleeping. She expressed her disgust with me regarding my desire to move out. She ended up telling me that she and the other roommate 'wanted my out immediately.' So the next day I found an apartment, threw my things in boxes, and moved out. Afterwards, I offered to pay the next month's rent and the utilities which added up to $650. I asked if it would be satisfactory to sign over my portion of the security deposit to them as part of the payment and write a check for the difference. This was not acceptable to the roommates. They said that they would return my portion of the security deposit, $550 when they got it back this coming August, but they wouldn't accept it as part of the $650 they wanted for rent and utilities. Following a few emails, we could not come to an agreement. The roommates have thusfar threatened to sue me in small claims court for rent and utilities. However, if they do sue me, I plan to maintain that I was evicted and therefore do not owe for rent or utilities that accrue after my eviction. I only offered to pay them in the beginning to make the situation go away. Now, I'm wondering if they really are planning on pursuing a claim in small claims or are bluffing. If they don't sue, do I have a chance to get my security deposit back? I asked the landlord about it, and he refused to return it. However, this request was not in writing. Should I pursue the landlord or the roommates to get the deposit back? Any advice is much appreciated.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

They couldn't evict you with a day's notice - that was illegal. If they go to court, they will have to explain but I also don't understand why you would have to pay rent and utilities for a month that you weren't living there and nobody thought you should be responsible. I don't understand why you are also willing to pay an additional month's rent? I feel like I'm missing a big chunk of the story here.

I'll try to keep this ordinarily painfully long story as short as possible. I moved into a 3br apartment in August with two other people. Each roommate owed $550 for their portion of the security deposit. One of my roommates put down my $550 in July because I was not yet living in state. When I moved in, I reimbursed her for the deposit. Only one of us, not me, signed the lease. The other two of us never did sign. The three of us lived together until November. By that time, the situation in the apartment wasn't working out. I began to look for a new apartment. I gave the other two roommates the heads up. They didn't take it well, to say the least. One night, in a rage, one roommate came into my room while I was sleeping. She expressed her disgust with me regarding my desire to move out. She ended up telling me that she and the other roommate 'wanted my out immediately.' So the next day I found an apartment, threw my things in boxes, and moved out. Afterwards, I offered to pay the next month's rent and the utilities which added up to $650. I asked if it would be satisfactory to sign over my portion of the security deposit to them as part of the payment and write a check for the difference. This was not acceptable to the roommates. They said that they would return my portion of the security deposit, $550 when they got it back this coming August, but they wouldn't accept it as part of the $650 they wanted for rent and utilities. Following a few emails, we could not come to an agreement. The roommates have thusfar threatened to sue me in small claims court for rent and utilities. However, if they do sue me, I plan to maintain that I was evicted and therefore do not owe for rent or utilities that accrue after my eviction. I only offered to pay them in the beginning to make the situation go away. Now, I'm wondering if they really are planning on pursuing a claim in small claims or are bluffing. If they don't sue, do I have a chance to get my security deposit back? I asked the landlord about it, and he refused to return it. However, this request was not in writing. Should I pursue the landlord or the roommates to get the deposit back? Any advice is much appreciated.

 

[emoye]

Eviction

I realize that they couldn't evict me legally with a day's notice, but after being yelled at during the middle of the night in such a hostile and agressive manner, it's fair to say that I was fearful of what might happen if I stayed there any longer. Before I was 'evicted,' I was looking for a person to fill my spot in the apartment and planned on coming to an agreement with the roommates about how much I should pay for leaving early. I probably would have continued to pay until I or they found someone to fill my room. That all changed when I was 'evicted.' I stopped looking for someone to fill my room, and decided that I did not owe anything because i was kicked out. Then I started receiving multiple phone calls and emails demanding the $650. I don't have the time to deal with that type of thing because I'm a busy graduate student. I suppose they harrassed me enough that I was willing to pay the money so that they would stop contacting me. They weren't willing to compromise. What I had proposed, signing over my security deposit and writing a check for the difference, didn't satisfy them. I thought that was ridiculous because they would be getting all of the money they demanded. I didn't trust them when they said they would return my portion of the security deposit next August if I wrote a check immediately for the entire amount they were demanding. How am I to know that they won't damage the apartment or just not return it? At this point, I felt like they were jerking me around, and I ceased negotiations. Right now, I am most worried about getting my security deposit back. I think I dealt with it in a reasonable manner, but I was met with stubborn and illogical people in return. Does this help to clarify at all? Thanks for listening.