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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
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    1

    Default Roommates Won't Give Me Back My Share of the Security Deposit

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

    I live in a house with 4 roommates (3 of whom do not like me and 1 who does). The 3 signed the lease, then me and the 1 signed on later. The 3 had paid the security deposit, and the 1 and I just paid the roommates for our portion by paying more for rent for 3 months. After the lease is over, the 3 are staying in the house, but the 1 and I are moving out (2 new roommates are taking our places). The Leasing Company says that they will not pay us our portion of the security deposit and our roommates have to.

    The 3 want to give us back 70% of our initial deposit since this is the Leasing Co.'s average. I emailed the LC and they said that 70% is the average because a lot of people trash their houses and get $0 back, plus they clean carpets after every tenant (we do not have carpets). The 1 and I want our full deposit back since our rooms have no damage and there is no way to know that we "deserve" 70%. The 3 are refusing to pay us back our full deposits.

    Is there any legal action I can take to get my money back / do I have any legal rights in this situation? How do I handle this?

    portion of the lease:
    Resident and [Leasing Co.] agree that if this Lease is renewed or extended that the Security Deposit will not be returned until the appropriate time following the expiration of such renewal or extension, unless an additional Security Deposit for the renewal or extension has been paid by Resident to Leasing Co.
    (Then it says that the security deposit will be returned to one of the 3 roommates.)

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Default Re: Roommates Won't Give Me Back My Share of the Security Deposit

    You appear to be stating that there are two provisions in the lease that you signed that prevent you from recovering money from the landlord. First, you agreed that if the lease were extended the deposit would not be refunded until the end of a lease extension. Second, you agreed that when the lease ends the entire deposit is to be refunded to one of the original roommates.

    Depending upon the terms of the lease, you may have an argument that a renewal with less than all roommates constitutes a new lease, not a renewal or extension, but you may also have agreed that such a change does not affect the ability of any remaining cotenants to renew the lease.

    But that aside, even if we assume that this would be properly characterized as a new lease, you still agreed that the security deposit refund would go to the specified original roommate, and not be divided among roommates.

    Averages are irrelevant. The question is whether or not there is damage to the unit for which you are responsible. If your roommates cannot point to any actual damage to the unit that might result in a deduction from the security deposit then they are not going to convince a court to allow them to withhold money based upon claimed averages. It will help if you can document to the court that the unit was in good shape when you moved out, with no damage beyond ordinary wear and tear (for which a landlord cannot lawfully deduct from a security deposit).

    Your remedy is to sue in small claims court.

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