My landlord of over a year (a man that owns a house that rents out rooms) decided he wanted to live alone. He provided a 30 day eviction letter citing that I owed him a deposit for the room. There was no deposit when I moved in. There is no lease. It was a month to month cash only situation. When searching for a place to live he instructed me to pay necessary fees and deposits to secure an apartment. Close to 4 days before moving out he presented me with a document saying how much he thinks I owe as well as claiming a couple of my personal belongings as collateral. I refused to sign this document because I did not feel it was necessary to sign over my items as collateral. He went ballistic and told me to be out by the end of the day. I moved my things and he has now threatened to take me to court. My questions are 1. Can he charge a deposit upon moving out? 2. Can he potentially win this small claims court thing with no lease? No signed agreements? No personal information of mine and no signatures of mine whatsoever? If so what are my options? What should I be worried about?

First, only a court can issue an eviction order. Your landlord can only give a vacate order by terminating your tenancy. Without a lease, he can give you 30 days notice without providing a reason.

No he cannot keep any of your belongings as collateral. No, he cannot force you to move by end of day. But since you did vacate, that is all moot.

If he can show that you had a rental agreement, by showing you were making rental payments, he may be able to hold to paying for the time you were in the unit. He can also hold you for any provable damages to the unit. But that's all.

All rent payments were cash. Twice a month. No receipts. There was never a rental agreement at all. No papers or documents. No move in checklist, no deposit required for move in. No damages where done to the room. I'm not so much worried about the state of the room as I am about this post facto deposit he made up 4 days before moving out?

Thanks for the quick response. Any additional help would be great if you (or any others) have it. Thanks!

You lived there, I'm assuming he can prove that. He show regular deposits in his account that equal the rent. You may think there is no damages, but usually some can be trumped up.