H
HornGuy75
Guest
I am a New Jersey resident. My ex-roommate and I signed a lease in September, 2000. She moved out before the lease was up and never gave me or the landlord any forwarding information. When we first moved in, she didn't have enough money to pay the deposit so I paid her half as well as my own, in addition to the first month's rent. She never paid me back in full. She would pay me a few dollars here and there, but I would apply it to the utility bills she would never pay her share of.
Recently, she discovered that I was moving out at the end of the lease. She's suddenly surfaced and contacted the landlord and me to get the half of the deposit that she never really paid for. I explained to her that I would deduct all the utility bills and phone bills and phone installation charges for which she never paid from the deposit. I told her that I would give her whatever's left out of the 50% she never really paid for.
She told me tonight that she spoke with her lawyer (whose services she has retained from her current conviction of auto insurance fraud - doctoring up a photo inspection because she was irresponsible and never had one done and then had an accident) and her lawyer told her, supposedly, that she's entitled to 50% of the deposit - regardless. Her name is on the lease, but she moved out before it was over. She did pay her half of the rent through the end of the lease in order to get out. She never returned her set of keys, so the landlord had to replace the locks. The landlord says that since I was the one who paid the deposit, then he was writing one check and that was it. His lawyer advised him that he can not write two deposit checks - one for each of us since her name does not appear on the account, which would make sense since I paid the deposit.
Does she have a legal right to take what is not hers? I paid her half of everything (except the rent itself, which does not include any utilities). The total bills including all the food she would consume totals at least $1000. I told her I would deduct what she owes me and give her the difference, although she never really paid me, per se. I used any monies in excess of the rent money to put toward her share of the utilities. But she wants the entire 50% and I'm stuck with past bills. What can I do??
And now what do I do to protect myself? Is there a procedure for this?? Do I have to sue her for the money? I have all cancelled checks for the utilities and deposit so it supports my claim that I paid for everything. I even paid the electricity bill in full each month, even though it was in her name as the billing responsibility. Please advise! Thanks!
[Edited by HornGuy75 on 07-22-2001 at 11:47 PM]
Recently, she discovered that I was moving out at the end of the lease. She's suddenly surfaced and contacted the landlord and me to get the half of the deposit that she never really paid for. I explained to her that I would deduct all the utility bills and phone bills and phone installation charges for which she never paid from the deposit. I told her that I would give her whatever's left out of the 50% she never really paid for.
She told me tonight that she spoke with her lawyer (whose services she has retained from her current conviction of auto insurance fraud - doctoring up a photo inspection because she was irresponsible and never had one done and then had an accident) and her lawyer told her, supposedly, that she's entitled to 50% of the deposit - regardless. Her name is on the lease, but she moved out before it was over. She did pay her half of the rent through the end of the lease in order to get out. She never returned her set of keys, so the landlord had to replace the locks. The landlord says that since I was the one who paid the deposit, then he was writing one check and that was it. His lawyer advised him that he can not write two deposit checks - one for each of us since her name does not appear on the account, which would make sense since I paid the deposit.
Does she have a legal right to take what is not hers? I paid her half of everything (except the rent itself, which does not include any utilities). The total bills including all the food she would consume totals at least $1000. I told her I would deduct what she owes me and give her the difference, although she never really paid me, per se. I used any monies in excess of the rent money to put toward her share of the utilities. But she wants the entire 50% and I'm stuck with past bills. What can I do??
And now what do I do to protect myself? Is there a procedure for this?? Do I have to sue her for the money? I have all cancelled checks for the utilities and deposit so it supports my claim that I paid for everything. I even paid the electricity bill in full each month, even though it was in her name as the billing responsibility. Please advise! Thanks!
[Edited by HornGuy75 on 07-22-2001 at 11:47 PM]