Any advise or direction would be GREATLY appreciated!
Hello all,
I need some direction. I currently live in Texas in an apartment with a roommate. Our lease is up at the end of may and I am moving but my roommate is planning on staying. She went and talked to the leasing office and says she was told the deposit would "stay with the apartment" so would not be refunded until she moves out. I have looked through the Texas Property code, and this issue, of course, is not addressed at all. She also says that she was told that it doesn't matter anyway because unless the apartment looks exactly like it did when we first moved in, which is IMPOSSIBLE, the deposit would only be like $50... I need some advice, or someone to point me in the right direction on where I can find something on this issue. I will be talking to the management on thursday (they are always closed by the time I get off and I am not going to work on thursday), but I want to have some facts and information to back up anything that I say. So what do you all think????
All things considered $50 is pretty small compared to the rent (I assume). As long as she is willing to deal with closing out the utilities, emptying the apartment etc, I'd call it a good deal.
If your cash is very limited, maybe consider splitting the deposit with her when she gets refunded.
Who paid the deposit and how much was it?
Are you both on the lease and does the lease state that you are jointly and severally responsible?
Will she be signing a new lease, in her name only?
Leases have different significance depending on local laws, in my state they are a contract and enforceable as such but in some neighboring states they have a different status.
I can tell you that if I have tenants who are roommates and if one moves out and the other wishes to stay, we do a walk through just as if they were vacating. Any damages that are chargeable are noted, as are any repairs or general maintence. The damages are deducted from the deposit and each is returned half of the remainer. The tenant who is staying then pays a new deposit with their new lease. This allows full closure of the joint lease before a new lease is signed.
Different laws, different management companies, will handle things differently.
Talk to your management office and find out. You don't knwo what your roommate may have told them.
We can only learn to love by loving. - Iris Mudoch, British writer
If you put up your half of the deposit then it is only fair that you get it back. Just because your roommate is not also moving doesn't mean you should be out in the wind on your part of it.
One who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; one who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.
- Chinese proverb
We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.
- Anais Nin
The deposit was $300 and we both paid 1/2. We are both on the lease and she said she will be staying in the apartment alone until september when someone else is supposed to be moving in... The lease is over on 5/31/10, so she will be at least signing a renewal, and I don't know how that works when only one of the 2 people on the lease wishes to renew... WC, I hope my apartment complex is like you, that is only fair if you ask me. roycoreyus, I am actually the one that has to handle the utilities as they are in my name (I will be getting them transferred)...Just for clarification, I am not breaking the lease, the lease is up and I am deciding to move. I will be talking to the leasing office staff on tomorrow and I will be sure to update you all on what they say. Thanks VERY much for your input. Anyone else who has any knowlege in this area, your input is welcomed!
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