A roommate broke their 12 month lease when deciding to move back home, they paid the rent until a replacement roommate was found. Replacement roommate was found but no paperwork/subleasing/new roommate agreement was formally documented. The lease was carried over to additional 12 month lease along with their security deposit. Their was never an assessment of damages and returned deposit they just automatically carried the previous deposit over. At the end of the 2nd 12 month lease due to property damage the entire deposit was kept by the reality company. The original tenant that signed the lease that found a replacement roommate and never documented this replacement is now wanting their full deposit back. The orignal tenant lived there roughly 6 months and did cause some of the damages but majority of the damages were after he moved out according to him. The original tenant is demanding his full security deposit back after none of the deposits were returned, does he have any legal standing to be owed that money? Because the way it was handled with him leaving six months in and the deposit being carried over the true amount he originally would have been returned is unknown. What is the best way to handle this situation?

Where do you live? Most state have renter laws that require a specific time frame for a landlord to return the deposit. We can't tell exactly who you are in this story, are you the LL or the other roommate?

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Originally Posted by jayem13

... What is the best way to handle this situation?

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The "original" tenant doesn't have a claim against the landlord other than possibly claiming that the total damages now assessed against the deposit are excessive. He would sue the replacement room-mate, who is in effect his sub-tenant.