Ex roommate wants to take me to small claims. Does she have a case?

Ok the story is I got a roommate after 1 month into my lease. They moved in and lived there for 7-8 months and everything was perfect. Payed rent on time and was very responsible. Only problem is that they never signed a lease nor a written contract. Basically everything was verbal and some through email. After they moved out they wanted there security deposit back. Of course I knew about it but I only gave half because I was afraid of the bill for the repairs of the apartment. Now to get a check up on my apartment to get the detail list of how much it would cost I had to wait till my lease is up and empty the apartment. I told them this and they agreed to wait till this happens. It's been 5 months and they emailed me saying they are going to take me to small claims if I don't give them the FULL deposit back which is 250. Now I told them that I can't and won't till I do this check up on the apartment because to me I think they are responsible for the repairs as much as I am since they lived there almost as long as I did.





So my questions:





1. Do they have a case? We don't have any contract, they never signed a lease, and I did give half after they moved out but holding the 250 for repairs. I will give however much is left.


2. If I don't move out and renew my lease how do I get a runthrough the apartment to see how much it would cost to repair so I can give them a detail list to show them I am not ripping them off. It says that I have to fullly move out to do a runthrough of the apartment.





I am being very nice about this but they are acting up thinking I'm not giving them the deposit back which I am. Already gave them half and I'm just holding the other half just in case. My last apartment the security deposit was 400 and the repairs came out to 525. The apartment was in good condition but still charged me hella lot so from that I am being cautious.





Any suggestions, answers, and advice would be greatly appreciated!|||You haven't identified the state you are in - which is a problem because landlord/tenant law varies based on the state. But without knowing which state's laws to apply, I would predict that they have an EXCELLENT case.





In most jurisdictions, landlords only have a very limited time to return the full deposit unless there is a written agreement to the contrary. In your situation YOU are the landlord and you did not have any type of agreement that a portion of the security deposit is non-refundable so 100% of the deposit is refundable. When a landlord fails to provide the tenant with an itemized list of the damage and the repairs within a specific period of time, the tenant is entitled to 100% of the refundable portion of the deposit.





Five months is WAY too long in every jurisdiction that I am aware of. You don't get to hold onto their deposit unless or until you move out. You don't get to unilaterally withhold 50% of their deposit until you can get around to telling them how much you are going to charge. You were absolutely required to give them an itemized list of what you were withholding the deposit for at the time you gave them back half of the deposit.





I'm sorry because I understand where you are coming from and I know this isn't what you want to hear, but you are going to lose if they take you to court. Not only is the court going to order you to refund their money, you are also going to be ordered to pay them for their filing fee.|||1. They can only go by the verbal agreement that was made.


2. The landlord should provide you a list of what needs to be repaired whether you move or stay.|||depending on where you are, they not only have a case, but an excellent one. you have to read the laws on tenancies to know.





you ask your landlord to do this, exactly as if you were going to move out.|||i would consider this, did they damage any property before they left? this includes minor wear and tear, carpet spills, paint chipping, scratches on hard flooring, even holes from pictures in the walls. All landlords will consider those things when they evaluate and do the walk through, probably why you had to pay more than your security deposit for the last apartment. Personally, i'd ask the manager what they're looking for when they do a walk through, and do one yourself. For most repairs, you can go to home depot or Lowe's to find the cost of the equipment needed to make the repairs. Most should be reasonable, like paint or some puddy. others are going to be more expensive, like if they put holes in your walls due to an angry fight?? you then have to pay for dry wall and plaster and paint. I think half is reasonable. I probably wouldn't give anything back. and if they took you to small claims court, the judge is going to be asking for something that proves the living situation was agreed upon, down to the detail, including security deposit... i don't know of all state laws or too much about renting property, but from experience i can tell you, a judge is most likely not going to award them the full thing back. Half the time people leave an apartment, normal wear and tear alone gobbles up the security deposit, and in some cases like your previous one, require more money than what was already paid. i say screw em!