tenant refusing to pay utilities?

Question

I am subleasing a room in a house to tenant. This tenant has recently moved out, and we refunded him the total security deposit on good faith. He is now refusing to pay his last utility payment for a month when he was still living in the house, even though the terms of the lease state that he is responsible for his share. Additionally, he was paid the security deposit back by the new roommate taking his place, and it has come to light that he has charged her more than he paid for his security deposit- essentially stealing from her.

Do I have any course of action to get the utilities from him or the money he extorted from the new roommate?

This is in California.

Answer 1

You could sue him in small claims court, if it's worth the effort. Depends on how much money is at stake.

You hopefully learned some valuable lessons in being a landlord: never, ever refund a security deposit until you're 100% there are no charges against it and handle the tenant turnover yourself - why in the world did you leave the old tenant to collect a security deposit from the new one?

Answer 2

I'd take him to court, but was this a legal rental? You may want to make sure of that first. For example, what bank was his security deposited in? How much interest was he paid on that? You may just want to learn from the mistake of giving back the deposit until all the utilities are paid.

Answer 3

Small claims court is the venue you'll want to look into in California. Get all of your documentation together and a notarized statement from the new tenant. No lawyers are allowed in small claims, and the filing fee is pretty low. You can pick up all the paperwork you'll need easily enough from any stationary/office supply store.

Good luck

Answer 4

Take him to court. make sure you have full documentation of the contract, utility bills, etc. Should be a slam dunk.