Dear SJ.Com

[Madhavok]

I'm going to do my best to make this story short. Moved into a new place with two friends. $700 security deposit required by all three. Roommate A gets kicked out because he/she can't pay rent on time after getting into some trouble. Note: Roommate A has a pretty good paying job out here in ski bum land. So landlord takes money out Roommate A's deposit to cover his ass. Roommate A has late fees up the wazoo, topping over $1K. Landlord then takes money out of mine and Roommate B's deposit to get him back to square one.
So now the $700 I was hoping to get back to get into a new place has turned into a whopping $200. Ya, not too pleased. Roommate A is currently living with a significant other, paying rent on time, who knows. I'm good friends with the significant other and I really don't want to talk about the situation to the signifiant other. Landlord has been trying to get in contact with Roommate A on the fees and all that other stuff. Has brought up taking her to small claims court. Roommate A ignores the landlord like he/she has done since this mess all started five months ago.

Do I talk to Roommate A, confront her about the situation? We are pretty good friends if that means anything. But to me, this is business. Money is money.
Do I talk to the significant other because I truly feel he/she has no idea about the situation and how much Roommate A ****ed us over and that he/she is getting the run around and I'd hate for that to happen to the significant other.
I'm thinking talk to Roommate A, but like in the past, Roommate A will just ignore it and hope it goes away.

Landlord is super busy, in L.A. right now with his future wife, doing shows and whatnot. So contact with him is kind of hard.

Sincerely,
Effed in 970

 

[forever_town]

Lesson No. 1 why you should never move in with friends. When the **** hits the fan, the friendship almost invariably suffers.

I would strongly suggest trying to talk to Roommate A first. If you're even harboring the thought of small claims court or any kind of situation, one of the things you're probably going to get asked is if you tried to resolve the situation with the roommate first. If Roommate A blows you off, then you can mention that if it indeed goes to court.

 

[PeteyPirate]

The roommate is the one who owes money. I'm not sure why you would talk to anyone else.

 

[Write-brained]

Nah, just ignore the problem. Don't talk to anyone about it. I'm sure it will all fix itself and you'll get your $700 back for being so nice.

 

[Ace]

I don't understand how you can have roommates but separate deals to pay the rent with the landlord. I

 

[Angola!]

I don't understand how you can have roommates but separate deals to pay the rent with the landlord. I

I what?

I'm waiting patiently to read the rest of your post.

 

[Ace]

I was going to say if you pay as one, you can always beat the crap out of a foot-dragging roommate. But I thought better of it.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

I don't understand how you can have roommates but separate deals to pay the rent with the landlord. I

Yea, I've never seen the separate deals either.

So if I read the original post right, it's $2100 security deposit? That's ****ing insane.

 

[sportschick]

I've seen separate deals, but it was back in college.

 

[Rhody31]

This just happened to my girlfriend.
She had put up all of the 1500 security deposit because her company paid for it. Her and two friends moved out last March and she still hasn't seen any of the money. It turns out they signed a ****ty lease and now money's being taken out. I told her if she gets 900 of the 1500 back, she needs to tell her roomates they owe her 200 each.

If the landlord took their expenses to cover other stuff, then your security bid loss was 500, which you would split three ways, so your roommates owe you a combined 334.

 

[luckyducky]

Talk to roommate A. Give him/her a time period to get back to you/get it taken care of. If it's not taken care of, and you want the SO to be "in the know", then fill him/her in on the deal. If you decide not to, let the landlord whoop his/her ass, but also consider fighting the landlord on taking your part of the deposit. Because if you all have individual agreements with individual deposits, it might not be legal/acceptable for the landlord to pull money from you to cover the dip****.


And yes, friendships often fall through because of stupid roommate issues. My ex-roommate and I were good friends, but when she moved out with just a couple weeks' notice, then took seven months to get herself off the lease so I couldn't fill her room, all while demanding her half of the deposit back ... yeah, not gonna be talking to her anymore. [/rant]

 

[Madhavok]

I know I need to deal with the issue with Roommate A. That'll come once Roommate A gets back from vacation. I'm actually housesitting their new place now while watching their dog.

The three of us signed three separate leases, all of which were pretty generic, and threw down $700 for the security deposit which was a surprise.

I was thinking we'd get ours back with no issues since rent has been paid by us on time each month with no concerns. So, why wouldn't he just go after Roommate A about the money he is due instead of taking it out our deposits..? Oh well, I'll just try to have her give me $500..if possible. ugh.

The reason for the significant other is because he/she thinks she just split because of wanting to be closer to work. Not the fact Roommate A skipped on two months rent, was continuously late, and in doing so, ****ed me.

 

[Write-brained]

I know I need to deal with the issue with Roommate A. That'll come once Roommate A gets back from vacation. I'm actually housesitting their new place now while watching their dog.

The three of us signed three separate leases, all of which were pretty generic, and threw down $700 for the security deposit which was a surprise.

I was thinking we'd get ours back with no issues since rent has been paid by us on time each month with no concerns. So, why wouldn't he just go after Roommate A about the money he is due instead of taking it out our deposits..? Oh well, I'll just try to have her give me $500..if possible. ugh.

The reason for the significant other is because he/she thinks she just split because of wanting to be closer to work. Not the fact Roommate A skipped on two months rent, was continuously late, and in doing so, ****ed me.

So the guy's on vacation?? JHC, you're getting bent over.

 

[Madhavok]

You're telling me. Landlord in L.A. Roommate A in North Carolina. Lease is up end of October.
Weak sauce.

 

[a_rosenthal]

Next time, sign three individual leases. That's what I've always done for my roommates. If joe schmo doesn't pay, everything comes out of schmo's end. Not mine.

Take your friend to court if you want your dough back.

 

[JR]

You need a lawyer.

Sounds like your landlord is stealing your money.

If there were thre individual leases, I'm not sure he had any right to take your money because your roommate defaulted.

 

[mustangj17]

I wouldn't care who I had to talk to. Five hundred dollars is enough to say **** it man, you owe me five hundred bucks. Tell him to pay you installments or be cool about it but he owes you.

 

[luckyducky]

You need a lawyer.

Sounds like your landlord is stealing your money.

If there were thre individual leases, I'm not sure he had any right to take your money because your roommate defaulted.

I think so, too, JR.

 

[slappy4428]

I know I need to deal with the issue with Roommate A. That'll come once Roommate A gets back from vacation. I'm actually housesitting their new place now while watching their dog.

The three of us signed three separate leases, all of which were pretty generic, and threw down $700 for the security deposit which was a surprise.

I was thinking we'd get ours back with no issues since rent has been paid by us on time each month with no concerns. So, why wouldn't he just go after Roommate A about the money he is due instead of taking it out our deposits..? Oh well, I'll just try to have her give me $500..if possible. ugh.

The reason for the significant other is because he/she thinks she just split because of wanting to be closer to work. Not the fact Roommate A skipped on two months rent, was continuously late, and in doing so, ****ed me.

JR's right. If you all signed separate leases, they have no right to take your security deposit for the roommate's problems.

 

[mustangj17]

I know I need to deal with the issue with Roommate A. That'll come once Roommate A gets back from vacation. I'm actually housesitting their new place now while watching their dog.

The three of us signed three separate leases, all of which were pretty generic, and threw down $700 for the security deposit which was a surprise.

I was thinking we'd get ours back with no issues since rent has been paid by us on time each month with no concerns. So, why wouldn't he just go after Roommate A about the money he is due instead of taking it out our deposits..? Oh well, I'll just try to have her give me $500..if possible. ugh.

The reason for the significant other is because he/she thinks she just split because of wanting to be closer to work. Not the fact Roommate A skipped on two months rent, was continuously late, and in doing so, ****ed me.

JR's right. If you all signed separate leases, they have no right to take your security deposit for the roommate's problems.

All the leases I signed in college were together, so everyone was responsible. You had to make sure you didn't live with a deadbeat.