My jurisdiction is: California
I'm having an issue with my old roommate. We signed a lease to a one bedroom apartment in Goleta, Ca between June 2008 and June 2009. We each paid one half of the security deposit, $650.00 each, for a total of $1300.00.
When the end of our lease approaches, I made plans to leave the week that she had planned to leave so we could clean the apartment together. I noticed, however that I could leave a week earlier due to my finals ending sooner than I had anticpated and informed her of my situation. She told me that it was fine with her, despite my worries of her cleaning the apartment all alone and without my help. She assured me she would be okay with me leaving a week early if I cleaned one room of the apartment before I left.
The day arrived to leave and my mom came down to help me move; my roommate was down at her parents for the week. I had originally planned to leave the day after she came down, a 420 mile trip, however, she insisted we leave the same day. My mom helped me to clean the bathroom, which we swept, mopped and bleached and move my things into her truck. However, because there were considerable time constraints in the fact that she wanted to leave so soon, we left in a little bit of a hurry on June 8, 2009.
I waited around for about a month to hear back from my roommate about the security deposit. When we signed the lease, she was named the contact person, meaning she would be mailed the one security deposit refund check and we would split it from there.
When I finally text messaged her and questioned about the check, she told me that I had left the apartment a mess, damaged her toiletries in the moving process, left numerous personal food items in the cabinets, left nails in the walls and taken her spatula. For this, she reasoned, she was going to ask the landlords what they WOULD HAVE taken out of the security deposit had she not done me the favor of cleaning up after me and left what I had left. I explained to her that my mother had moved her toiletries to a bin while cleaing the bathroom, the food that was left in the cabinet were all items I had meant for her to have, I simply forgot about the nails (which weren't all mine, they had hung pictures we purchased together), and the spatula was mine (I bought it at Albertsons!).
After she called me various names and slung general put-downs my way, I, feeling discouraged and emotionally hurt, told her to do whatever she wanted with the deposit via text message.
On Saturday July 19, I recieved a check of what she had deemed appropriate for my half of the security deposit refund of $350.00. I appoached her about the gross withholdings of my security deposit and demanded a copy of the Itemized Deductions list to see just why it was so low an amount and so I can recieve my fair share of the refund, 50/50, just as we paid before. She continued to claim that she divided the amount by the unofficial estimate our landlord had given her of what they would have taken out if she had left the apartment as is.
I have since recieved the report and it looks as though I should have recieved, after a division of our last month of utility bills, around $584, since, according to the official itemized deductions list, they only with held $100.01 for cleaning and repainting.
Before I go back to her with quite disgruntled comments, is there any advice on what I should say? What kind of legal standing do I have in this? For the fact that she divided our funds based on an unofficial quote and not the one our landlord put to paper with his signature on it? Does my text message to her saying she can divide the deposit however she wants count as a legal binding contract? What kinds of facts and laws can I throw in her face, if any? Any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much.
I'm having an issue with my old roommate. We signed a lease to a one bedroom apartment in Goleta, Ca between June 2008 and June 2009. We each paid one half of the security deposit, $650.00 each, for a total of $1300.00.
When the end of our lease approaches, I made plans to leave the week that she had planned to leave so we could clean the apartment together. I noticed, however that I could leave a week earlier due to my finals ending sooner than I had anticpated and informed her of my situation. She told me that it was fine with her, despite my worries of her cleaning the apartment all alone and without my help. She assured me she would be okay with me leaving a week early if I cleaned one room of the apartment before I left.
The day arrived to leave and my mom came down to help me move; my roommate was down at her parents for the week. I had originally planned to leave the day after she came down, a 420 mile trip, however, she insisted we leave the same day. My mom helped me to clean the bathroom, which we swept, mopped and bleached and move my things into her truck. However, because there were considerable time constraints in the fact that she wanted to leave so soon, we left in a little bit of a hurry on June 8, 2009.
I waited around for about a month to hear back from my roommate about the security deposit. When we signed the lease, she was named the contact person, meaning she would be mailed the one security deposit refund check and we would split it from there.
When I finally text messaged her and questioned about the check, she told me that I had left the apartment a mess, damaged her toiletries in the moving process, left numerous personal food items in the cabinets, left nails in the walls and taken her spatula. For this, she reasoned, she was going to ask the landlords what they WOULD HAVE taken out of the security deposit had she not done me the favor of cleaning up after me and left what I had left. I explained to her that my mother had moved her toiletries to a bin while cleaing the bathroom, the food that was left in the cabinet were all items I had meant for her to have, I simply forgot about the nails (which weren't all mine, they had hung pictures we purchased together), and the spatula was mine (I bought it at Albertsons!).
After she called me various names and slung general put-downs my way, I, feeling discouraged and emotionally hurt, told her to do whatever she wanted with the deposit via text message.
On Saturday July 19, I recieved a check of what she had deemed appropriate for my half of the security deposit refund of $350.00. I appoached her about the gross withholdings of my security deposit and demanded a copy of the Itemized Deductions list to see just why it was so low an amount and so I can recieve my fair share of the refund, 50/50, just as we paid before. She continued to claim that she divided the amount by the unofficial estimate our landlord had given her of what they would have taken out if she had left the apartment as is.
I have since recieved the report and it looks as though I should have recieved, after a division of our last month of utility bills, around $584, since, according to the official itemized deductions list, they only with held $100.01 for cleaning and repainting.
Before I go back to her with quite disgruntled comments, is there any advice on what I should say? What kind of legal standing do I have in this? For the fact that she divided our funds based on an unofficial quote and not the one our landlord put to paper with his signature on it? Does my text message to her saying she can divide the deposit however she wants count as a legal binding contract? What kinds of facts and laws can I throw in her face, if any? Any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much.
