How do I file a small claim? And what do you think of this situation?

Question

Its kind of complex but Ill try to make it short.
We moved out of our lease early but we got a subleasor to take over our lease. We painted a stripe on a single wall when we lived there and the subleasor loves it. Our lease ended and our landlord sent us back our security deposit. 90 dollars was deducted due the the painted wall. He said it is going to cost him that much in labor and materials to paint the wall (this stripe was literally 5 feet long and 1 1/2 foot wide. He also deducted 25 dollars for a light bulb fixture that was broken in the basement (the basement was accessible to both residences of the house, it was a duplex.) We truthfully did not break the fixture, Im pretty sure the subleasor broke it when she was putting stuff downstairs to store) Can he deduct that from our deposit?
I want to take him to small claims for the 110 that he owes us, how do i do that? what do you think about the situation?

Answer 1

You painted a five foot long stripe on the wall and your subtenant smashed a light fixture, and all they are billing you is $110? Pay the money. Just a personal opinion.

Answer 2

While filing a Small Claims Court claim in fairly simple (go the County Court house, Small Claims Court Division, and ask for the form, write it up and pay the filing fee), winning one is not. You would have to prove by the preponderance of the evidence that the fees were not reasonable or you did not do the damage. You would need to estimates from other sources as to the fee for painting over the stripe on the wall (at least 2 estimates, 3 would be best) and if they come in under the $90 amount, you should at least try to resolve the matter out of court and request the difference back from your landlord the difference between the highest quote and $90, as that is likely all the Judge would award you in Small Claims Court.

If you legally sublet the apartment, you are still liable to the landlord and could request the $25 from the subletters if you have evidence they broke the fixture.

You do not indicate if your lease allowed you to legally sublet; if not, then you would be responsible for anything that happened in the apartment during the lease. If the sublet was not a legal one, you would have no recourse in trying to sue the people you sublet the apartment to for the fee for the light fixture.

If you lose, you are out the filing fee, which varies depending on where you live, which could range from $35-$100.

Answer 3

Well, the repainting is certainly something your ladlord can deduct, and 90 bucks is not unreasonable. You may have a case with the light fixture, but depending on where you live, it can cost 15 to 50 dollars just to file your case in small claims court. I'd say let it go and move on.

Answer 4

Depending on where you live. Good luck in finding an Attorney for Renters. Yes they can charge 15.00 for cleaning the oven. .75 cents for every pin hole in the apartment up to $3.00 a pin hole. What ever the manager or owner charges. They all seem to get away with it. Check it out . Take your very small loss. Look at it as you got out of there early. Way before the lease was up. Look at it as never trust anyone taking over a lease in your name. wow you are so lucky on that part too.

Answer 5

sounds like it doesn;t worth the hassle./