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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Posts
    1

    Default Division of a Security Deposit When a Roommate Vacates Early

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

    About for months into our lease our third roommate gave us a weeks notice that she was moving out because she had gotten a new job out of state. She did this via text. She told us that she would continue to pay rent until the end of the lease. She paid us rent for three months. Then told us she had found a place and wasn't going to be paying rent. We split the rent 50/50 until the end of the lease. She was still on the lease when we moved out. All three of us signed a letter saying we were moving out at the end of the lease. My other roommate feels we shouldn't give her, her third of the security deposit. I feel we should since we never paid her out for it, nor did we remove her from the lease. We have nothing in writing from her about the security deposit. Every one feels we shouldn't give it to her. I don't believe we have any right to keep it from her.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    18,340

    Default Re: Security Deposit

    That's a little tricky.

    The three of you jointly signed a lease with the owner. That makes you all tenants of the owner and it's the owner who would have to comply with the security deposit law and he could be liable to the third tenant if he did not address all three of you in the refund of the deposit. In other words if he wrote the check to the two of he could be liable to the third tenant who was still on the lease until expiration.

    You and your roommate did not have a landlord/tenant relationship so the two of you are not bound by the security deposit law.

    However, the three of you did have a contract in that you agreed to split rent and expenses until the expiration of the lease. She paid her share of the rent for three months after moving out so she was not in breach until she stopped paying. At that time, contract law requires you to mitigate your damages by finding a replacement as soon as reasonably possible.

    You failed to mitigate. Instead you allowed the lease to run out without doing anything. Because of that she owes you nothing from the date of the breach. Since she owes you nothing for that period then you would be wrong to withhold her share of the deposit refund that you have already received and the two of you could be successfully sued for it.

    Up to you what you want to do. But if she's making noise about getting her share back you would be wise to give it to her or take your chances that she might sue you for it.

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