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  1. #1
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    May 2016
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    Default Roommate Moved Out and Now Wants a Rent Refund

    My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Colorado
    To begin, thank you for your time. I am renting a trailer from a trailer community and was on a lease with another guy. He didn't get approved to be the tenant, but I did. So on our lease, I am the primary tenant and he is a room mate. Recently we had an argument and he took himself off of the lease. He moved out half way through the month. He left holes in the wall and his room was dirty. I shampooed the carpets, painted, and patched everything up. I took pictures of the "before and after" because my wife told me to be pre cautious. We weren't going to take any legal action on the damages, I just want to ensure that I get the security deposit back. Recently the previous room mate sent me a message demanding that I pay him back half of the months rent since he moved out half way through the month. If we do not pay him the $300, he is going to take us to small claims court. My question: Will I have to pay him back half months rent? And the lease isn't up yet, so I wont receive the security deposit for another year. I was told since he broke the lease, he has no rights to the security deposit. I am okay with giving him half of the security deposit, but I wont have it for a long time. My second question: Will I have to pay him back half of the security deposit before I get it back? Again, thank you for your time. My third question: Can he claim that we kicked him out? I don't believe we have the authority to kick someone out under our lease, but I could be mistaken.
    Again, thank you so much I can't explain how grateful I am for this resource.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
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    672

    Default Re: Roommate Moved Out and Now Wants a Rent Refund

    My thought is let him take you to court. I don't think he will. Who did he pay the rent to, you or the leasing agent? How did he get himself off the lease? That might be a factor if the leasing agent released him, but details matter.

    Keep those pictures handy

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Roommate Moved Out and Now Wants a Rent Refund

    Quote Quoting hopevinson
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    I am renting a trailer from a trailer community and was on a lease with another guy. He didn't get approved to be the tenant, but I did. So on our lease, I am the primary tenant and he is a room mate.
    That would make it appear that you are the sole tenant and he is formally recognized by the lease as an occupant who lives in your unit.
    Quote Quoting hopevinson
    Recently we had an argument and he took himself off of the lease.
    Exactly what do you mean by "he took himself off of the lease"? You can't simply take yourself off of a lease. The landlord and, normally, all tenants who are joint parties to the same lease would have to consent to a modification that removed a tenant from a lease.

    If he was merely an occupant, however, the landlord might take note of a report from him that he had moved out and would no longer be residing on the premises.
    Quote Quoting hopevinson
    Recently the previous room mate sent me a message demanding that I pay him back half of the months rent since he moved out half way through the month. If we do not pay him the $300, he is going to take us to small claims court.
    So the actual situation was that you, your wife and this third person were sharing the trailer?

    If he were to sue you for prorated rent, you could countersue for the expenses you incurred while repairing the damage he caused to the unit although, having performed repairs yourself, the amount you might recover may not be very large.

    He is apparently planning to allege that he agreed to pay rent only for the time he was in residence. You would have to convince the court that there was a different arrangement. Normally that would not be a huge burden on a person sharing a rental unit, as normally the arrangement is pretty clearly defined by the parties' joint obligations under the lease or by past practice, and occasionally more formally.

    A complication in your case is that this person was apparently not recognized by your landlord as a tenant, but only as an authorized occupant. Given the terms of your lease with the landlord and the manner in which this person shared the trailer, it's not entirely clear if a court would regard you as a roommate or if they would regard him as your subtenant. He was paying rent, so somebody was his landlord -- and, as you say, your landlord refused to make him a tenant, so who does that leave as his landlord?
    Quote Quoting hopevinson
    I was told since he broke the lease, he has no rights to the security deposit.
    You were told that by whom? The village idiot?
    Quote Quoting hopevinson
    I am okay with giving him half of the security deposit, but I wont have it for a long time.... Will I have to pay him back half of the security deposit before I get it back?
    Has he brought up the deposit, along with his demand for a partial rent refund?

    If he were to sue for the security deposit, whether a court might order it to be refunded is going to depend on factors including the court's understanding of any agreement between you and this person, and whether the court views you as a co-tenant or as his landlord. If the court regards you as a landlord, the court will expect you to fully comply with your state's security deposit statute. If not, and the court concluded that he left voluntarily, the court would more likely find that in paying a portion of the deposit he implicitly or explicitly agreed that he would not recover the portion he paid until the end of the lease term.
    Quote Quoting hopevinson
    Can he claim that we kicked him out? I don't believe we have the authority to kick someone out under our lease, but I could be mistaken.
    He can claim pretty much anything that he chooses to claim. He could even claim that you physically attacked him or pulled a gun on him. Then, if the matter ends up in court, the judge would have to decide whose story was more credible. If the court were convinced that you forced him to leave, or that he reasonably believed that he could be in danger if he stayed, the court might excuse him from a further rent obligation.

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