Security Deposit Refund

This situation took place in Westchester County, NY:

3 years ago I answered an ad in the newspaper and moved into a room in a 5 bedroom house. The guy who lived in the master bedroom (the ‘Main Roommate’) rented the house from the landlord – they had a written lease – and in turn rented out the other 4 rooms. He paid less rent, kept his cars in the garage, had furnished the living room, kitchen, etc.

I paid a deposit of $1034.00 and monthly rent to the ‘Main Roommate’. I never had any dealings with the owner of the house – I always made my checks out to the Main Roommate and I never had a written lease.

I moved out on September 1 after paying rent through September 15. The Main Roommate rented the room I had occupied to someone as of September 1 and assured me that I would be refunded a half-month’s rent ($285.00) and my security deposit ($1034.00). He and the remaining 3 roommates moved out of the house in October.

It has been almost 2 months since I moved out and I have gotten nothing but excuses:

- The homeowner has my deposit. This is in spite of the fact that I never paid anything to the homeowner, I paid everything to the Main Roommate.
- The homeowner is withholding ‘our deposit’ because there is damage to the property. None of the damage he mentioned (holes in the garage wall caused by the Main Roommate’s cars, a loose banister, a small hole in the wall caused by the front door handle, broken window handles) was to my room nor was any of it inflicted during my tenure.
- The Main Roommate is waiting for the homeowner to assess damage so he can make me pay a pro-rated amount based on my tenure. However, he won’t be contacting any of the former roommates to make them pay their share.
- The Main Roommate doesn’t have money to pay me because he just bought a house and doesn’t have any cash.

I lived in the house for almost 3 years and in that time there were about 11 people who moved in and out.

My questions are:

1. Am I legally entitled to the half-month’s rent?
2. Am I legally entitled to my entire security deposit?
3. What (if any) damages am I liable for?
4. How long do I legally have to wait for repayment?
5. Am I entitled to interest or damages because of the difficulty in recovering my money?
6. Should I take the Main Roommate to court? If so, can I recover court costs?

Thank you for your help,
Al

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by alburst:
This situation took place in Westchester County, NY:

3 years ago I answered an ad in the newspaper and moved into a room in a 5 bedroom house. The guy who lived in the master bedroom (the ‘Main Roommate’) rented the house from the landlord – they had a written lease – and in turn rented out the other 4 rooms. He paid less rent, kept his cars in the garage, had furnished the living room, kitchen, etc.

I paid a deposit of $1034.00 and monthly rent to the ‘Main Roommate’. I never had any dealings with the owner of the house – I always made my checks out to the Main Roommate and I never had a written lease.

I moved out on September 1 after paying rent through September 15. The Main Roommate rented the room I had occupied to someone as of September 1 and assured me that I would be refunded a half-month’s rent ($285.00) and my security deposit ($1034.00). He and the remaining 3 roommates moved out of the house in October.

It has been almost 2 months since I moved out and I have gotten nothing but excuses:

- The homeowner has my deposit. This is in spite of the fact that I never paid anything to the homeowner, I paid everything to the Main Roommate.
- The homeowner is withholding ‘our deposit’ because there is damage to the property. None of the damage he mentioned (holes in the garage wall caused by the Main Roommate’s cars, a loose banister, a small hole in the wall caused by the front door handle, broken window handles) was to my room nor was any of it inflicted during my tenure.
- The Main Roommate is waiting for the homeowner to assess damage so he can make me pay a pro-rated amount based on my tenure. However, he won’t be contacting any of the former roommates to make them pay their share.
- The Main Roommate doesn’t have money to pay me because he just bought a house and doesn’t have any cash.

I lived in the house for almost 3 years and in that time there were about 11 people who moved in and out.

My questions are:

1. Am I legally entitled to the half-month’s rent?
2. Am I legally entitled to my entire security deposit?
3. What (if any) damages am I liable for?
4. How long do I legally have to wait for repayment?
5. Am I entitled to interest or damages because of the difficulty in recovering my money?
6. Should I take the Main Roommate to court? If so, can I recover court costs?

Thank you for your help,
Al
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

If the 'main roommate' re-rented the apartment as of Sept 1, then you are due back the 1/2 month rent.
You are legally entitled to your security deposit, if: you can prove the damages assessed by the LANDLORD were not caused by you. This should be easy to do because there would have been no inspection checklist, but hard to do if you don't have any proof of payment of the security deposit (receipt, check, or witness to payment)
You legally have to wait 2-3 weeks (depends on the laws in your state.)
You are probably not entitled to damages, but with the right proof, you can take him to court, and if you win, the judge usually awards court costs (20-100 depending on what it costs to sue someone in your state)

My advice: SUE HIM.