My question involves a roommate in the State of: California
My roommate and I live in a 2 bedroom apartment with a third roommate. This roommate has just moved out, providing little notice but that is fine. She is extremely messy and simply a slob.
Not only is it taking her forever to actually move all of her things out, but she still has not cleaned her room. There are numerous holes in her room and bathroom from hanging pictures and shelves. Her blinds are completely torn up and need to be replaced. There are large marks and scuffs all over the walls, and a huge stain on one wall where it looks like she spilled coffee everywhere. The carpet is covered with stains of its own and is especially a mess where she used to keep her cat's litter box.
She has mentioned she would have the carpets professionally cleaned, but would not be able to afford to do so for another month. She has a history of lying and never actually getting things done, so we are worried this will never actually happen. And even if it does happen, we don't want to wait another month. We just want her room back to it's original condition so that we can live in a clean apartment as soon as possible.
So my question: Are the damages to her room something that we can sue her for in small claims court? We live in an apartment complex and are not the landlords, and she has a deposit with our landlord but it will not be released to her until everyone moves out eventually.
What I'd like to do is give her a set date, say 2 weeks, in which time if she has not restored the room to its original condition and/or payed for damages then we will have to take her to small claims court. Is this legal to do (give her an arbitrary date in which she must be moved out and cleaned up)? And would we actually be able to collect damages in small claims court for painting the walls and cleaning the carpet? It is more than simply wear and tear. What is considered a reasonable condition for her to leave her room in and for her to be in the right?
Thank you so much for your time and advice!

