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  1. #1
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    Dec 2011
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    Default When Should you Sue a Roomate Who Owes You a Deposit

    My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: CA

    It's been almost 3 weeks since she hold my share of deposit after moving out but only one week since we settled final statement utility bills using a website to split expenses as roomates. it has been a week since I asked politely twice if she has questions and when she transfers money to my account. No response.

    We moved out from old address at the end of lease and the landlord returned the whole security deposit to her with no damage charges.

    I plan to make call and if this goes nowhere send a demand letter.
    Does it need to be certified, or is email and attempts via phone call text message enough before I decision to go to small claims court. I don't have her new address, only previous at which I lived with her which she set to forward to her new address.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: When Should you Sue a Roomate Who Owes You a Deposit

    You can send a demand letter by any means you choose -- first class mail, FedEx, personal courier, text message, carrier pigeon.... There's no special significance to how it is delivered.

    If there's any chance of your ex-roommate moving out of state, you'll want to serve any small claims case before she leaves. Otherwise, the time to file is normally the date upon which you recognize that you're not likely to get your money any other way -- while keeping in mind that you may find it as difficult to collect a judgment as you're finding it to collect the debt.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: When Should you Sue a Roomate Who Owes You a Deposit

    Quote Quoting Mr. Knowitall
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    You can send a demand letter by any means you choose -- first class mail, FedEx, personal courier, text message, carrier pigeon.... There's no special significance to how it is delivered.

    If there's any chance of your ex-roommate moving out of state, you'll want to serve any small claims case before she leaves. Otherwise, the time to file is normally the date upon which you recognize that you're not likely to get your money any other way -- while keeping in mind that you may find it as difficult to collect a judgment as you're finding it to collect the debt.
    Don't their credit rating go down or court case show up on their credit report if they default in making court payments? Can't this be enforced? For example through bank levy, especially since I have info about her bank account? Or collect through collection agency? They may charge fee but this is better than getting 0. While getting small claims court involved, I should be able also to demand fee for court fees?

  4. #4
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    Default Re: When Should you Sue a Roomate Who Owes You a Deposit

    Quote Quoting novak_12
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    Don't their credit rating go down or court case show up on their credit report if they default in making court payments? Can't this be enforced? For example through bank levy, especially since I have info about her bank account? Or collect through collection agency? They may charge fee but this is better than getting 0. While getting small claims court involved, I should be able also to demand fee for court fees?
    If you sue the ex-roommate and win, what the court gives you is a money judgment, which basically says that you are entitled to collect $X from the ex-roommate. If you properly record that judgment it becomes a lien on the ex-roommate’s property. Credit bureaus search for records of liens and record them on credit reports. So if you get a judgment and record that judgment, it will eventually end up on the ex-roommate’s credit report, lowering his/her credit rating.

    In most states, the court does not get involved in setting up payments for the judgment. Whether to accept a payment plan is up to you as the judgment creditor. With your judgment, you have the right to attach any of the defendant’s non exempt assets and income to collect your judgment. That means attaching bank accounts, garnishing wages (although 4 states do not allow garnishment of wages for private debts), etc. It is up to find the assets and income of the defendant and take the steps to attach those assets to get paid.

  5. #5
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    Dec 2011
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    Default Re: When Should you Sue a Roomate Who Owes You a Deposit

    Quote Quoting Raster
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    AS an aside , its not clear,from your post that she owes you deposit ....were you her sub tenant or were you both on the lease or what.....and it's your burden to prove she owes you if it gets into court .

    IF you were sub tenant you want to pay attention to the laws as to security deposits , particularly 1950.5 , if she as your LL uses bad faith and refuses to return security , and you follow the proper steps you can seek TRIPLE the security back .

    EXactly who did the LL pay and how ....the exact names and payment instructions on check ?
    A smart LL with 2 tenants on the lease as having made deposit would not be smart to issue a security return in just one name . ( unless the point is covered in lease )
    We both were on the lease. I only had my own bedroom and bathroom with shared access to kitchen and living spaces she owned and completely stuffed ( I had very limited space). The proof is I gave her deposit as check (cashed) and roommate agreement I had her to sign when giving this check. Later she lived with boyfriend without my permission but there was nothing I could do about it and just let it go. He did not store his things or food but was pretty much every night.

    The LL. Haha. He forgot to cash her rent check after almost 30 days and in lieu of returning deposit, he only cut and crossed out check issued by her bank and sent image to both her and my phone. Otherwise I would have advised him to pay us directly and all I would have left on Splitwise (roomate expense split website) is small bills after which she ended up owing me only $2 (I owned cable internet, she owned electric)

  6. #6
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    Dec 2011
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    Default Re: When Should you Sue a Roomate Who Owes You a Deposit

    Quote Quoting Raster
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    I am still a bit fuzzy as to exactly what you signed and who is accountable to pay the security deposit back to whom. Cutting up a rent check does not appear to satisfy the security deposit return law . About how much are you owed...how much did you pay to whom for security?

    I follow the cute move but doubt it's consistent with law .

    ME just a suggestion, I'd read the CA law on points, follow them to a T, make parallel demands on both for the correct amount due me, and name the both in an action for security back and seek triple sum
    1/3 of the deposit equal to 1 month rent (since that is only how much I paid and mutually agreed since my roommate had master bigger bedroom and own parking spot). Sure a smarter move would had been split deposit equally but negotiate a little smaller share of rent before move, so I don't think paying her only 1/3 of the deposit was too much problem.

    In the beginning of signing lease, she cut whole security deposit to the LL. I moved a month later and only after I moved I started to pay her half of the rent and utility bills and paid my 1/3 share of security deposit to her. Since the lease from LL only assumed equal responsibility for both of us, I had drafted and signed with her a separate roommate agreement that basically spelled out in writing my arrangement with her that I start renting on a specific date, split the security deposit in 67%-33%.

    She also owns me difference in settling up bills but since its very small I can waive it and just focus on security deposit if that would make my court case simpler.

  7. #7
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    Dec 2011
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    Default Re: When Should you Sue a Roomate Who Owes You a Deposit

    Quote Quoting Raster
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    Just as a layman it reads like she was your LL and I'd focus that way , key, you paid her....

    Personally I'd follow the law to a T ...but might tell her in writing unless she returns security as per law I may seek triple as per law...copy , highlights, and enclose relevant sections . And then do so as appropriate

    I'd not clutter things up with small utility splits .

    Just my suggestions...not legal advice .
    Thank you! That's still helpful.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    Default Re: When Should you Sue a Roomate Who Owes You a Deposit

    You need to answer this very clearly;

    were you and the roommate both signatories to the same lease, the one the landlord provided.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: When Should you Sue a Roomate Who Owes You a Deposit

    Quote Quoting jk
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    You need to answer this very clearly;

    were you and the roommate both signatories to the same lease, the one the landlord provided.
    Yes, I was with her on LL lease agreement, but as I mentioned in the previous post we had written roommate agreement also and first month she leased on her own and later I handed to her deposit and rent payment every month after moving in myself on the second month.60 days before lease was over, we got notice from our landlord he is retaking ownership of the apartment he leased to us. We both moved out at the same time.

    Landlord never cashed her last month rent check in lieu of refunding security deposit.

  10. #10
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    Jan 2006
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    Default Re: When Should you Sue a Roomate Who Owes You a Deposit

    and first month she leased on her own and later I handed to her deposit and rent payment every month
    if you were on the lease, why did she rent by herself for one month and why didn't you pay your share of the deposit
    at the inception of the lease?

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