New Roommate - Moving Out Before Moving in
My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: New York
My roommate rented out a room in our apartment to this girl. Apparently, the girl only ever saw pictures of the room, though her friend had come to look at the room for her. The girl paid her deposit and first month's rent, then when she came to move in, decided she hated the room, and decided to move out. She wants her deposit back, as well as the full month's rent, and is threatening to sue. No lease was signed. Is she entitled to her deposit? We're searching for a roommate, but it may be necessary to use all or part of the deposit to cover this month's rent. We want to give her back as much money as we can, but we also want to be fair to the potential new roommates, and not make them pay a full month's rent to live somewhere for half a month.
Re: New Roommate - Moving Out Before Moving in
New York City or the rest of the state? Notice requirements are different. If she gave notice on or before her move-in date, even assuming she didn't have a valid reason to back out of the lease, you may have a claim to part or all of her fist month's rent but you owe her the return of her deposit.
Keep in mind, you're acting as a landlord. You have to follow your state's deposit laws and can potentially make things a lot more expensive for yourself if you fail to follow the law in relation to when and how you return a deposit.