I'm in California, have been renting a house with my roommate since Oct of last year, and have yet to pay my half of the depost ($500 of $1000).
its not easy to scrape up that kind of money when you're twenty-something and living paycheck to paycheck. with my tax check coming soon, i should be able to pay a large sum of it, if not all of it. i dont plan on living here much longer, im hoping to move out with my girlfriend in the next five or six months.
if i pay my deposit now and decide to move out while my roommate still lives there, can i legally get my half of the deposit back? i havent made any damages to the property, it just needs a good vacuum because my cat sheds a lot. and im 95% sure that my roommate can afford to write me a check for my half of the deposit if/when i move out.
or do i just have to wait until my roommate moves out, which could be 5 years from now, to get any of it back?
what if she makes damages to the house and says i did it?
should i take pictures of it the way it is now, when i move, and in a couple of years contact my roommate and ask about the deposit?
im not on any sort of lease, ive never signed anything, ive never even met with the landlord.
should i make up a mock contract, have my roommate sign it and my girlfriend witness it?
any and all advice is welcome, thank you!

