Needing a little guidance

[ibnatasha2u]

What is the name of your state? Washington State

My husband, sister and I rent a three bedroom house. My sister is on a fixed income and my husband and I both work, but barely make ends meet. So we all decided to get a room mate to help with rent and utilities.
The room mate lived with us for two years. No major issues, a few disagreements here and there at first, but the last four to six months got bad. Not anything huge just stuff like not picking up around the house or leaving laundry in the washer or dryer for days at a time when someone else needed to use them. Petty stuff really, but it got to be something every day all the time. So we asked him to move, and he did.
He left his room in the most foul and disgusting mess. I'm not exaggerating when I say it will take a hazmat team to clean it out. I swear he never cleaned it for the two years he lived in there!
There is garbage knee deep, two liter pop bottles filled with urine (yes urine). The smell when we opened the door was enough to make us gag! We know we will have to replace the carpet and most likely paint the walls!
Unfortunately he was not on the lease/rental agreement. We sublet to him. So it is all on us to clean up his nasty mess.
We have not started the clean up yet as he just moved out and we were trying to get him to come clean up his mess himself.
We have taken pictures of it all, but that's all so far.
My question(s) is/are,
1. Can we take him to small claims over the cost to clean this all up?
2. Can we ask for punitive damages?
3. If yes to either or both questions what do I need to do to get it started.
Thanks.

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state? Washington State

My husband, sister and I rent a three bedroom house. My sister is on a fixed income and my husband and I both work, but barely make ends meet. So we all decided to get a room mate to help with rent and utilities.
The room mate lived with us for two years. No major issues, a few disagreements here and there at first, but the last four to six months got bad. Not anything huge just stuff like not picking up around the house or leaving laundry in the washer or dryer for days at a time when someone else needed to use them. Petty stuff really, but it got to be something every day all the time. So we asked him to move, and he did.
He left his room in the most foul and disgusting mess. I'm not exaggerating when I say it will take a hazmat team to clean it out. I swear he never cleaned it for the two years he lived in there!
There is garbage knee deep, two liter pop bottles filled with urine (yes urine). The smell when we opened the door was enough to make us gag! We know we will have to replace the carpet and most likely paint the walls!
Unfortunately he was not on the lease/rental agreement. We sublet to him. So it is all on us to clean up his nasty mess.
We have not started the clean up yet as he just moved out and we were trying to get him to come clean up his mess himself.
We have taken pictures of it all, but that's all so far.
My question(s) is/are,
1. Can we take him to small claims over the cost to clean this all up?
2. Can we ask for punitive damages?
3. If yes to either or both questions what do I need to do to get it started.
Thanks.

1. Yes. Clean it up, making sure you have good receipts for everything. Bring before and after pic's of the room. (before he moved into the room and after he left)
2. doubtful
3. Go to court and file your suit. Make sure he is properly served.

Did you have permission from your LL to sublease? Did you never do a bi/yearly inspection?

 

[Taxing Matters]

What is the name of your state? Washington State

1. Can we take him to small claims over the cost to clean this all up?

Yes, you may sue him for the reasonable cost to clean up the mess he left behind. Get plenty of evidence of the extent of the mess and what you had to do to clean it up. But even if you get the judgment, does this person have anything you can attach to collect it?

2. Can we ask for punitive damages?

You can ask for it, but you are extremely unlikely to get it.

3. If yes to either or both questions what do I need to do to get it started.

See the Washington state courts small claims court page.

 

[Ohiogal]

What is the name of your state? Washington State

My husband, sister and I rent a three bedroom house. My sister is on a fixed income and my husband and I both work, but barely make ends meet. So we all decided to get a room mate to help with rent and utilities.
The room mate lived with us for two years. No major issues, a few disagreements here and there at first, but the last four to six months got bad. Not anything huge just stuff like not picking up around the house or leaving laundry in the washer or dryer for days at a time when someone else needed to use them. Petty stuff really, but it got to be something every day all the time. So we asked him to move, and he did.
He left his room in the most foul and disgusting mess. I'm not exaggerating when I say it will take a hazmat team to clean it out. I swear he never cleaned it for the two years he lived in there!
There is garbage knee deep, two liter pop bottles filled with urine (yes urine). The smell when we opened the door was enough to make us gag! We know we will have to replace the carpet and most likely paint the walls!
Unfortunately he was not on the lease/rental agreement. We sublet to him. So it is all on us to clean up his nasty mess.
We have not started the clean up yet as he just moved out and we were trying to get him to come clean up his mess himself.
We have taken pictures of it all, but that's all so far.
My question(s) is/are,
1. Can we take him to small claims over the cost to clean this all up?
2. Can we ask for punitive damages?
3. If yes to either or both questions what do I need to do to get it started.
Thanks.

You will not get punitive damages. You could take him to court but you might not win. Research at your local courts website

 

[ibnatasha2u]

1. Yes. Clean it up, making sure you have good receipts for everything. Bring before and after pic's of the room. (before he moved into the room and after he left)
2. doubtful
3. Go to court and file your suit. Make sure he is properly served.

Did you have permission from your LL to sublease? Did you never do a bi/yearly inspection?

No we did not have permission, and again a no, we never did a bi/yearly inspection.
We have told Property manager after the fact that we had a room mate and that we asked him to move, but not about the horrid mess in his room.
Property Management not too upset since we have always paid our rent in full and on time, do all our own property maintenance, and yard work. Also, the property is being sold to developers so we will be the last tenants to live in the house as it will be torn down for housing development construction. New owners are allowing us to remain until just before they can break ground, somewhere around mid 2022 to late 2023.

 

[ibnatasha2u]

Yes, you may sue him for the reasonable cost to clean up the mess he left behind. Get plenty of evidence of the extent of the mess and what you had to do to clean it up. But even if you get the judgment, does this person have anything you can attach to collect it?



You can ask for it, but you are extremely unlikely to get it.



See the Washington state courts small claims court page.

We have pictures of how he left the room, and will be taking more as we go along with video.
He has a job, makes pretty good wages too. We know where to contact his employer. I'm assuming we will have to garnish his wages to be able to collect.

 

[quincy]

I suggest you get estimates for cleaning, carpet, painting and any repairs that are necessary. You should not expect to recover the full cost for recarpeting the room.

Have you asked your landlord if he wants you to actually replace the carpet and repaint if the house will be demolished after your tenancy ends?

Do you have a security deposit with your landlord?

 

[ibnatasha2u]

Yes I will get estimates.
I have not asked my landlord about carpet and painting, I haven't told her about the mess. Was going to just handle it ourselves since we didn't ask if we could have the room mate.
Yes we paid security deposit and first and last months rent when we moved in.

 

[quincy]

Yes I will get estimates.
I have not asked my landlord about carpet and painting, I haven't told her about the mess. Was going to just handle it ourselves since we didn't ask if we could have the room mate.
Yes we paid security deposit and first and last months rent when we moved in.

If the same type of carpeting is used throughout the rental, you probably will need to match it if you hope to get your security deposit back. I would look to professional carpet cleaning before investing in replacement carpet.

 

[zddoodah]

1. Yes, of course.
2. You can ask for anything you like, but punitive damages are not recoverable in a case like this.
3. Google "[name of our county] small claims court" and/or something as simple as "how to sue in washington small claims court."

 

[adjusterjack]

The WA court website has lots of self help information and links to the small claims statutes:

https://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/resources/?fa=newsinfo_jury.scc&altMenu=smal

The local court website should have forms and instructions.

 

[Litigator22]

I suggest you get estimates for cleaning, carpet, painting and any repairs that are necessary. You should not expect to recover the full cost for recarpeting the room. Have you asked your landlord if he wants you to actually replace the carpet and repaint if the house will be demolished after your tenancy ends? Do you have a security deposit with your landlord?

With all due respect aren't you and others overlooking a critical prerequisite here?

What I'm referring to is the OP's legal right or capacity to enforce any such claims against the former occupant. Particularly questionable IMO would be the OP's ability to recover a judgment for the "cost of re-carpeting the room" (Floor covering that may very well fall within the category of fixtures and not mere fittings.)

So, what in your opinion are the substantive law or laws that confer upon the OP the right to independently enforce such claim(s) and thus comply with the universal rule requiring that all actions must be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest? (See: Washington Court Rule CR 17.)

And as a corollary any laws that would protect the defendant/occupant from multiple lawsuits over the same subject matter?

I don't know of any and that is why I am asking.

 

[quincy]

With all due respect aren't you and others overlooking a critical prerequisite here?

What I'm referring to is the OP's legal right or capacity to enforce any such claims against the former occupant. Particularly questionable IMO would be the OP's ability to recover a judgment for the "cost of re-carpeting the room" (Floor covering that may very well fall within the category of fixtures and not mere fittings.)

So, what in your opinion are the substantive law or laws that confer upon the OP the right to independently enforce such claim(s) and thus comply with the universal rule requiring that all actions must be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest? (See: Washington Court Rule CR 17.)

And as a corollary any laws that would protect the defendant/occupant from multiple lawsuits over the same subject matter?

I don't know of any and that is why I am asking.

I was looking at the roommate being responsible for damage caused to property entrusted to the care of ibnatasha2u. ibnatasha2u has a security deposit at stake if the property is not returned to the landlord in the same condition it was in when rented, minus normal wear and tear.

RCW 59.18.130: https://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.130

 

[Taxing Matters]

With all due respect aren't you and others overlooking a critical prerequisite here?

What I'm referring to is the OP's legal right or capacity to enforce any such claims against the former occupant.

I think the answer to that is the OP's standing is based on a breach of contract claim. The OP brought in the roommate and allowed said roommate to live there in exchange for, as the OP put it, providing "help with rent and utilities". That suggests a contract between them. Of course the terms of the contract would matter, but I don't think it too difficult to think that one express or implied term of the deal was that the roommate would keep the room he was occupying reasonably clean and in good condition. If that's the case, then the OP would have a good breach of contract claim here against the roommate for breach of that condition of the contract. Of course, the OP has to prove to the small claims court judge just what the agreement was and, if necessary, convince the judge that there was an implied term concerning how the roommate would keep the room to win. But that's certainly not impossible to do. The OP would also have to prove what his/her damages are, and if the OP needs to re-carpet the room as a result of the state in which the roommate left it, I see no reason why that could not be included in the judgment.

So, what in your opinion are the substantive law or laws that confer upon the OP the right to independently enforce such claim(s) and thus comply with the universal rule requiring that all actions must be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest? (See: Washington Court Rule CR 17.)

And who would be the real party in interest here as it relates to pursuing the roommate? Certainly not the landlord. The landlord has neither privity of contract nor privity of estate with the roommate and thus the landlord cannot sue the roommate for damages caused here. "It is said with much show of reason and sustaining authority that the relation of landlord and tenant never exists between the owner and a subtenant, for there is neither privity of contract or of estate to sustain the relation." Sheridan v. O. E. Doherty, Inc., 106 Wash. 561, 565, 181 P. 16, 17 (1919). While the case is over a century old, that point of law appears to still be good in Washington (and a number of other states, too, for that matter).

The landlord's remedy would be against his tenant, with whom he/she does have both privity of contract and privity of estate. The landlord lacks the privity necessary to hold the roommate, who is at best a subtenant here, liable.

And as a corollary any laws that would protect the defendant/occupant from multiple lawsuits over the same subject matter?

And since the landlord cannot maintain a lawsuit against the roommate the roommate is not at risk of multiple judgments out of this. The landlord may sue the tenant for the damage. The tenant may sue the roommate for the damage, again subject to proving the contract as discussed above.

 

[AlmostThere]

If the same type of carpeting is used throughout the rental, you probably will need to match it if you hope to get your security deposit back. I would look to professional carpet cleaning before investing in replacement carpet.

How old is the carpeting? Once the carpet is beyond what is considered its usable life, the landlord cannot charge you to replace it.