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Old 08-29-2013, 08:17 PM
 
7 posts, read 15,264 times
Reputation: 10

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I subleased an apartment this summer from a tenant from May 15-Aug 15. I signed a lease with the landlord, some management company that runs the building, for the months of June, July and Aug. The tenant remained on a lease with the landlord for this period as well.

I paid rent to the management company for those three months. However, the tenant and I agreed that he would pay rent to the company for the month of May, and I'd personally pay him half the rent. We also agreed that I would pay rent for the month of August, and he'd pay me half the rent.

He is back in the apartment, moving out in two days and refuses to pay me the remaining half of the August rent because of a moldy shower. The management company fixed the mold situation free of charge, although he claims it took them 4 days to get to it and that they didn't do a good job. How can I get my rent reimbursement?
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Old 08-29-2013, 08:44 PM
 
Location: Upper East, NY
1,145 posts, read 2,990,505 times
Reputation: 563
Tell him the situation was rectified with no financial impact and he has no basis for withholding a rent refund anyway.

if he doesn't budge, you have to threaten to sue him- keep all the emails and papers.

if he still doesn't budge, tell him what the downside is of being sued- that his name in the court system messes up his background checks for future rental applications

if he still doesn't budge, sue him in small claims
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Old 08-29-2013, 09:28 PM
 
7 posts, read 15,264 times
Reputation: 10
Unfortunately there was no formal, written agreement between he and I for the half-month rent payments to be made. He also makes no direct reference to the August portion of the agreement in any of our emails.

The amount is roughly $500-600. Is that worth it to take him to small claims court? I'm not too familiar with the fees and whether or not it is difficult to get a judgment paid.

I've threatened him with legal action but it seemed to have no affect.
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Old 08-29-2013, 11:39 PM
 
639 posts, read 1,954,432 times
Reputation: 1324
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShelleyBill51 View Post
Unfortunately there was no formal, written agreement between he and I for the half-month rent payments to be made. He also makes no direct reference to the August portion of the agreement in any of our emails.

The amount is roughly $500-600. Is that worth it to take him to small claims court? I'm not too familiar with the fees and whether or not it is difficult to get a judgment paid.

I've threatened him with legal action but it seemed to have no affect.
I would refuse to move out until he paid you half the rent. He isn't going to know how to evict you, and the property management company likely won't get involved right away. You don't want to stay long enough for them to start evicting you, but if you bluff him he may just pay up to get you out.
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Old 08-30-2013, 09:50 AM
 
Location: Silicon Valley
18,813 posts, read 32,267,495 times
Reputation: 38559
Do you have anything in writing about him not paying you because of the mold situation? Any emails from the manager regarding fixing the mold situation? That may be enough to show you had a deal that he's reneging on. If not, maybe you can send them an email regarding the situation, and ask for a written response from them regarding what they did, etc. Then you will look like you're telling the truth in court, if you go that route, in case the roommate lies.

He wasn't personally out any money because of the mold, so he has no right to charge you for it.

If you take him to court, it's usually less than $100 to file. Ask the court to have the roommate reimburse you for your court costs if you win. This is normal.

If you lose, you're out the court fee and your time going to court. For $500, that would be worth it to me.

If you win, the court tells him to pay you. If he doesn't, then you go through the clerk's office to get judgment and you can garnish his wages. If he doesn't have any wages and doesn't pay you, at least you gave him a consequence by getting a judgment on his credit report. You can keep renewing the judgment, too, so it never goes away unless he pays you.
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Old 08-30-2013, 12:14 PM
 
6,732 posts, read 9,958,200 times
Reputation: 6848
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShelleyBill51 View Post
Unfortunately there was no formal, written agreement between he and I for the half-month rent payments to be made. He also makes no direct reference to the August portion of the agreement in any of our emails.

The amount is roughly $500-600. Is that worth it to take him to small claims court? I'm not too familiar with the fees and whether or not it is difficult to get a judgment paid.

I've threatened him with legal action but it seemed to have no affect.
Where I live, it costs about $500 to file, so would not be worth it. Your local fees are probably available on the county or city website.

Have you asked him what his current concerns are about the shower? Maybe he is worried the management company will charge him for the remaining mold, when he moves out. I have had that happen when it was their fault .

Maybe you and he together can figure out a way to address his concerns, whatever they are, and then he will pay you. You might also ask him if he actually has the money. Sometimes people don't, and are trying to cover.
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Old 08-30-2013, 12:20 PM
 
Location: St Thomas, US Virgin Islands
24,665 posts, read 69,440,049 times
Reputation: 26726
Quote:
Originally Posted by NilaJones View Post
Where I live, it costs about $500 to file, so would not be worth it.
Where on earth do you live that it costs that much to file in Small Claims court? The norm is anywhere between $40-100 and I'm just curious.
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