Roommate didn't sign lease, now wants out. Iowa.

[skibi]

1. He is giving us 1 week notice that he is moving out.
He said the house is messy, when it is just cluttered because it's the end of the semester and he is used to having a maid. Literally, he has never had to even wash his own clothes before, so he thinks a cup on the counter is a mess.

2. He never signed the lease.
I gave it to him to send to the landlord but he never did it (we didn't know). So despite us giving him the lease three times, and he implied it was taken care of, he is technically not a tenant that the landlord is aware of. This is one reason he is moving - we are forcing him to sign the lease when we realized he didn't do it.

3. He's a bad roommate.
He smokes pot (my other roommate is in the military so if it's in his system it can be detected and he can be severely punished), he is constantly late paying bills (3 months late at times) and he is intolerably passive-aggressive.

4. Other facts: Lease ends in 7 months. State of Iowa. Everyone paid $500 deposit. I paid the deposit for everyone when we signed the lease, and the roommates gave me their portion.

My questions:
- Are we (the remaining roommate and I) obligated to give him the deposit back?
- If we refuse to give him the deposit back, do we have a good defense if he takes this to court?

Helpful comments and advice is really appreciated. I've never had to deal with this king of situation before.

 

[Who's Liable?]

1. He is giving us 1 week notice that he is moving out.
He said the house is messy, when it is just cluttered because it's the end of the semester and he is used to having a maid. Literally, he has never had to even wash his own clothes before, so he thinks a cup on the counter is a mess.

He is a month-to-month tenant and MUST giive you a MINIMUM 30-days notice to vacate, or however is deemed necessary per your states LL/T laws. In this case, he needs to PROPERLY give you notice(verbal notice may not be sufficient) ON OR BEFORE Jan 1. if he wants to be out by Feb. 1.

2. He never signed the lease.
I gave it to him to send to the landlord but he never did it (we didn't know). So despite us giving him the lease three times, and he implied it was taken care of, he is technically not a tenant that the landlord is aware of. This is one reason he is moving - we are forcing him to sign the lease when we realized he didn't do it.

It does not matter that he didn't sign a lease. Absent a signed lease, the state automatically provides one when none is written. It is done to protect both the tenant and the LL.

3. He's a bad roommate.
He smokes pot (my other roommate is in the military so if it's in his system it can be detected and he can be severely punished), he is constantly late paying bills (3 months late at times) and he is intolerably passive-aggressive.

than you all might want to move out or get him to move out.

4. Other facts: Lease ends in 7 months. State of Iowa. Everyone paid $500 deposit. I paid the deposit for everyone when we signed the lease, and the roommates gave me their portion.

My questions:
- Are we (the remaining roommate and I) obligated to give him the deposit back?
- If we refuse to give him the deposit back, do we have a good defense if he takes this to court?

The deposit stays with the LL until the full term of the lease has been fulfilled. Tenant may choose to reimburse each other as they see fit.