Cotenant Did Not Tell His Roommate He Was Leaving at End of Lease

[Searchingforananswer]

My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: NC
I have a rental property with two cotenants. One of the tenants "Sam" told me he was leaving at the end Aug 1st on July 5th, stating he "thought" the other tenant "Patty" would be staying. The lease ends on August 1st and would have converted to month to month. I did not have Patty's number and Sam did not give it to me even after three requests- although he was apologetic about it. Sam finally told Patty that I needed to speak to her at the same time he told her he was leaving on the 12th. Patty called me immediately and acknowledged she would be unable to afford to stay without a roommate, and wouldn't be able to sign another year lease (making finding a new roommate almost impossible). She has given a 30 day notice and is moving out Aug 13th. My question-after she moves out can I give her the entire deposit (her half and the other renters half) minus any damages? My inclination is to give her the entire deposit since Sam did not act in good faith, in my opinion. He put the other renter in a difficulty position since she is in college and only works part time and left me with a renter who can't afford the rent. Just not sure if Sam would have good reason for complaint later. Otherwise, they have both been good tenants.

The lease is very basic and only addresses the requirement of a 30 day notice if the renters decide to stay on after the termination of the lease. Is it proper notice when only one renter gives notice but doesn't even tell the other renter he is leaving?

Thanks in advance for any help- and I know it wasn't very smart to not have the contact info of one of my renters, and I also need to get a better lease.

[mmmagique]

No, you cannot arbitrarily decide that Patty gets Sam's money. Give each party the money put down for a deposit, minus damages (if any)
(I'd suggest a videotaped walk through with each tenant on the day they move out, for both their security and yours)

[Searchingforananswer]

Thank-you. Sam moved out yesterday. Can I deduct the prorated 5 days from his deposit (told me he was leaving Aug 1st on July 5th)? I wouldn't think this would be considered arbitrary. What if Patty doesn't pay the entire prorated amount for August and also leaves early but with more notice than Sam?

[mmmagique]

Well, did you tell Sam on the 5th you would be prorating his deposit?

[Searchingforananswer]

Sam sent me a text on the 5th "I thought I would let you know I'm going to be moving out Aug 1st end of the lease. I bought a house. I think Patty will be staying. I know looking at the lease it said there needed to be a written statement about moving out. Do I need to do that and is there anything else I need to do" This is what I am referring to when I state he gave me written notice- so I am not even sure if this would be considered adequate. I called him and left him a voice mail asking him to call me back to discuss this and that I would like to speak to Patty. At this time, I hoped Patty might be comfortable with the payments so I had no reason to assume she would be leaving. After 3 texts and a second phone call from me requesting her phone number he did tell Patty to call me, but he never returned my calls to discuss his moving out. But, to answer your question, no, I did not specifically address the prorating of his lease until the 5th. I was under the impression that they would both be responsible for jointly giving me 30 days notice, but maybe I was incorrect. The lease states "the required $ security bond shall be refunded only if all terms of this lease are complied with and a thirty day notice to vacate is given Lessor. (ugh- should say to the Lessor)