Well um 20 years old trying to move out of my moms house. I thought I find somewhere I could relax after a long days work. The guy agreed we could do a month to month rental agreement type thing I was cool wit that but then he started to scare me there he started asking me to pay an extra months rent to help him out to get his car out of the shop not even a week goes by before I called dude and told him I would not need to stay there all hell breaks loose when I told him I could not stay and asked for the money back we got into a heated agruement he told me he contacted legal advise and he did not have to give back the money oh by the way I made the arrangements w/ him a good two weeks before September 1st when I was to move in I feel like he needed the money because he had financial obligations and spent it and now that I have come back to ask for m money he doesn't have it should I try going to small claims court :confused:

What's important is how much notice you gave, on month to month you have to give 30 days notice. So he can keep the rent for September if you didn't move in or only stayed a week or 2.

I am gathering from what you are writing that you never moved in.

If he found a tenant by September 1st to replace you, you can take him to small claims court. But you need to prove that you gave him the money either with a cancelled check or a receipt from him for the cash you paid him. If you don't have that, you are pretty much left hanging in the wind and will have difficulty getting a judgement. A judge needs to see proof of payment. If the guy wasn't able to find a tenant, you are out the money. You had a contact, whether verbal or written, that you were going to move in Sept 1. He took the apartment off the market for you. Doesn't matter if you changed your mind after a week and he had two weeks to find a new tenant. If he couldn't find someone, it would be viewed as your breaking the contract and you would be financially obligated for September.

Purchase a copy of Every Tenant's Legal Guide from Amazon and don't contract for a rental dwelling again without reading it.