My roommmate and I were on a month to month lease and she moved out on April 17th (gave her 30 day notice, turned in her keys, and stopped rent payments). Now I am paying full rent for the apartment. I am scheduled to move out on April 28th (I already gave my 30 day notice). Since I am paying full rent, I have assumed the rental unit, correct? So the security deposit should be payable to only me and mailed back to me. I am delivering the apartment back to the landlord.
Is this correct?
There are additional details but above is my basic question. My former roommate also left significant belongings in the apartment and caused considerable damage as well. I assume that I can get rid of her things and repair the apartment as best I can before returning the apartment to the landlord. She cannot sue me for removing her things from the apartment, right?
On the security deposit, no, your assumption is not correct. Often landlords will not get involved in this sort of dispute over who is entitled to the deposit. The deposit does not have to be returned to anyone until the apartment is fully vacated. At that point, it is generally returned to all of the parties on the lease. Often, landlords will make it payable to all of the tenants (one check), and force them to all go to the bank together to cash the check. See what your lease says about refunding, but your roommate still has a right to receive it, and more importantly, the landlord has an obligation to return it to both of you.
As for her property, no, you cannot simply “get rid” of her property. There is a procedure in the landlord-tenant law for what you are required to do. Yes, she can sue you if you dispose of her property without first giving the proper notices. As for damage to the unit, that’s a dispute between you and your roommate, and the Landlord does not have to mediate that and decide who did what damage. The landlord is going to deduct for any repairs he or she has to make, and then return any remaining deposit to you both. I would suggest that you may want to talk to an attorney who handles landlord-tenant matters because your assumptions about the law are not correct.
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