Deposit Dispute with Ex Tenant?

Question

Hi,

The Tenant that signed the lease is a church member(Pastor). He left the property without informing us and another member who started residing there payed the rent on time. He lived there for an year and we realized he is overusing the property
and always more than the family members are staying aboard.
We asked him to vacate and listed a set of damaged items that need to be fixed. After he left we realized he hasn't fixed anything and the deposit covered most of the fixes. He is taking us to small claims court now.
He didn't pay the deposit nor did he sign the lease. He didn't leave us with his change of address, so we didn't know where to send the letter saying that the deposit covers the damages. By the time we realized that we can send the letter to our rental home itself it is past 21 days.
He is taking us to small claims court saying that we haven't responded within 21 days.
Do we stand a chance if we contend

Answer 1

The pastor who moved in originally abandoned the property, you owe him nothing. Even if the original tenant informed you that he found someone to replace him, his departure makes him forfeit the security deposit, but disallows the landlord from pursuing unpaid rent still left on the lease.
The person who replaced him gained designation as a tenant after you cashed his rent checks, but since no lease or rental agreement was signed, he is not due any of the rights the previous tenant was due. You do not owe him a letter explaining the deposit covered the damages so you are not "past due". If he in fact takes you to court I expect it to be very entertaining to see him prove he is due a deposit he never paid based upon an agreement made between you and someone else. You in fact might want to consider counter-suing this guy for the damages he left behind. After all there is no deposit, paid by him, to cover these costs.

You will win without question! I only wish I could be there to see it.

Answer 2

The lease was null & void when the church pastor moved out. The guy that moved in doesn't have a chance in court. The judge would laugh at him. What rights does he think he has?

It is not his lease, it is not his security deposit, he is a squatter, which is against the law in most states. He didn't need to leave you a change of address if he was living there illegally.

I would laugh all the way to court.

Answer 3

You need to counter sue him for all the damages.

The deposit was paid by the pastor, and would apply to his 30 days notice. Since you didn’t get one you get to keep the deposit in leu of the rent you lost during those 30 days.

The new tenant wasn’t a tenant because he didn’t have a lease, he did however assume the property, which makes him liable for the care of the property.

Which makes him responsible for all the damage done, and he didn’t give you a deposit to cover any of it.

Answer 4

essentially you evicted someone that wasn't supposed to live there, correct? So, technically, your "squatting renter" was trespassing, even though he was paying the rent. --just because he paid does not mean that he had a legal right to be there.

He doesn't have a leg to stand on....no lease in his name, no receipt for deposit in his name.

The thing about small claims is that since people file the suit on their own, they do it without the benefit of an attorney. If they would have hired an attorney, this suit would have never been filed.

Don't worry. But if you really feel unsure, take your paperwork to an attorney who gives free consultations. They will tell you if it's a case that you need to be worried about (and it won't cost you anything)

Answer 5

I agree with Brian. I would counter sue for ALL of the damages. He paid NO deposit. The previous tenants deposit was not his, and the previous tenant forfeited his claim by leaving w/o notice.

Be sure to counter sue, because this solidifies your claim that he had no right to the money in the first place.

This guy doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Answer 6

The fact that he wasn't the one who paid the deposit or signed the lease should kill his small claims case. However, the original tenant could sue you.

Do you have any proof that you told the guy to make repairs before he left?

Answer 7

I'd think you could make a real good defense, since he didn't leave you an address to send the info to, and especially since you did give him the list before he left. Don't push that he didn't sign the lease - he lived there, you knew it, so that doesn't really count.

Good luck.