I apologize for the somewhat long story, but this has been a rather complicated and unpleasant situation...
In August, I signed the lease on a two-bedroom apartment with a verbal agreement to sublease a room to a roommate who was present at the lease signing but is not on the lease. She agreed to pay a portion of the rent and utilities on a month to month basis and paid her portion of the first month's rent as well as the nonrefundable broker's fee at the lease signing while I paid the security deposit and my portion of the rent. The sublesse was late by at least a week with her rent every month, did not clean up after herself - even after repeated verbal and written notices that I required her to do so, caused damage to both her room and the oven - she tried to cook a pie that was covered in saran wrap, causing a thick layer of acrid black plastic to semi-permanently coat the entire inside of the oven resulting in an expensive clean-up for which I had to foot the bill, was involved in drug and alcohol use and abuse in her room on the premises, and was involved in prostitution (it did not occur on the premises to my knowledge, though). I issued numerous verbal and written pleas for her to respect our verbal agreement that she would 1. pay rent on time, 2. clean up after herself, and 3. pay for any damages, but to no avail. Finally, in late December, I issued her a written statement informing her that since she had broken both the stipulations of the lease that I signed (and that I was therefore responsible for) and our verbal agreement, she would be required to vacate the room with all of her belongings by January 31st. Unfortunately, I didn't have the statement sent certified mail (an oversight I now regret!), but she received it in person and agreed to it verbally. Around January 15th, the sublesse's father arrived unannounced at the apartment and declared that he would be moving in for two weeks to help her find a new place. He physically and verbally threatened me (in one incident with a hammer) and was beligerent because he didn't believe his daughter should be forced to move out. I filed a complaint at the police department for "menacing" and was informed that the next time he approached me I should call 911 immediately. The police arrived and told him that he was to either leave immediately with his daughter and her belongings (because she refused to stay in the apartment without him) or face prosecution on the menacing charges. The police gave them 8 hours to pack up and move out, as she had very few belongings, and informed me that if they ever returned, to call 911 again. It has been three months since this transpired and I recently recevied a certified letter from an attorney claiming that I was in possession of $2,000 of her funds because I failed to pay her the security deposit and refund half of her rent from the month of January. I am not sure how to proceed, because I think that my actions were appropriate and the police are the ones who forced her to leave two weeks early, while I was going to allow her to stay until January 31st. Additionally, she didn't pay the security deposit in the first place, she paid a portion of the broker's fee which is nonrefundable. Does she have any credibility in claiming that I have possession of her funds?
Thank you.
In August, I signed the lease on a two-bedroom apartment with a verbal agreement to sublease a room to a roommate who was present at the lease signing but is not on the lease. She agreed to pay a portion of the rent and utilities on a month to month basis and paid her portion of the first month's rent as well as the nonrefundable broker's fee at the lease signing while I paid the security deposit and my portion of the rent. The sublesse was late by at least a week with her rent every month, did not clean up after herself - even after repeated verbal and written notices that I required her to do so, caused damage to both her room and the oven - she tried to cook a pie that was covered in saran wrap, causing a thick layer of acrid black plastic to semi-permanently coat the entire inside of the oven resulting in an expensive clean-up for which I had to foot the bill, was involved in drug and alcohol use and abuse in her room on the premises, and was involved in prostitution (it did not occur on the premises to my knowledge, though). I issued numerous verbal and written pleas for her to respect our verbal agreement that she would 1. pay rent on time, 2. clean up after herself, and 3. pay for any damages, but to no avail. Finally, in late December, I issued her a written statement informing her that since she had broken both the stipulations of the lease that I signed (and that I was therefore responsible for) and our verbal agreement, she would be required to vacate the room with all of her belongings by January 31st. Unfortunately, I didn't have the statement sent certified mail (an oversight I now regret!), but she received it in person and agreed to it verbally. Around January 15th, the sublesse's father arrived unannounced at the apartment and declared that he would be moving in for two weeks to help her find a new place. He physically and verbally threatened me (in one incident with a hammer) and was beligerent because he didn't believe his daughter should be forced to move out. I filed a complaint at the police department for "menacing" and was informed that the next time he approached me I should call 911 immediately. The police arrived and told him that he was to either leave immediately with his daughter and her belongings (because she refused to stay in the apartment without him) or face prosecution on the menacing charges. The police gave them 8 hours to pack up and move out, as she had very few belongings, and informed me that if they ever returned, to call 911 again. It has been three months since this transpired and I recently recevied a certified letter from an attorney claiming that I was in possession of $2,000 of her funds because I failed to pay her the security deposit and refund half of her rent from the month of January. I am not sure how to proceed, because I think that my actions were appropriate and the police are the ones who forced her to leave two weeks early, while I was going to allow her to stay until January 31st. Additionally, she didn't pay the security deposit in the first place, she paid a portion of the broker's fee which is nonrefundable. Does she have any credibility in claiming that I have possession of her funds?
Thank you.
