# How do you file in small claims court to get a security deposit back **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 17, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-file-in-small-claims-court-to-get-a-security-deposit-back/823112 "2018-10-17T22:02:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-file-in-small-claims-court-to-get-a-security-deposit-back/823112/21 "2018-10-19T13:04:00Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > That’s maybe a touch too pessimistic. Obviously, your chances are better if something is in writing, but courts have ruled on oral contracts for centuries. It just comes down to who is more convincing to the judge. Oh, I know legally an oral contract is binding. I was talking more about reality. There is a saying that “an oral contract is worth the paper it’s written on”. That is the reality of it, your odds of winning decrease dramatically. And even if he did prevail in court, that does not mean he would get his money nor does it mean the tenant will be evicted. The calculus is roughly: small chance of winning \* small chance of reward \* lots of time = not worth it. That’s what I meant by “forget it”. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-file-in-small-claims-court-to-get-a-security-deposit-back/823112/22 "2018-10-19T13:29:34Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I’d rather get him evicted, getting my $300 back seems like a huge hassle. > > I’ve been to his property management company twice already. However I don’t think they’ve done anything. But I’m hoping if I’m enough of an annoyance, they’ll decide he isn’t worth the effort and either evict him or not renew his lease when it expires. Like **muldoonthief** says, the property management doesn’t care about your troubles. And it is probably going to be harder to get him evicted than it is to get your money. Revenge is not what civil court, or small claims court, is about. It is going to be difficult-to-impossible to get your $300 back. Punishing him for being a crappy room mate even more so. The best outcome that can be reasonably expected is that you learn “next time, get it in writing”. [“Vengeance is mine; I will repay” says the Lord](https://biblehub.com/romans/12-19.htm), or if you’re an atheist, “karma is a bitch”. If he ripped you off and screwed you over, sooner or later he’ll do it again and it’ll blow up on him. I’m glad you’re not homeless. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-file-in-small-claims-court-to-get-a-security-deposit-back/823112/23 "2018-10-19T16:55:20Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I’d rather get him evicted, getting my $300 back seems like a huge hassle. > > I’ve been to his property management company twice already. However I don’t think they’ve done anything. But I’m hoping if I’m enough of an annoyance, they’ll decide he isn’t worth the effort and either evict him or not renew his lease when it expires. This isn’t likely to work. Here’s the thing: the property management company has a professional relationship with their tenant. You’re nobody to them. If I’m the landlord/property manager in that situation, I’m going to ignore the first visit because it’s none of my business. I’m going to maybe go ask the tenant about it on the second business, and he’s going to say something like “Oh, man. I’m sorry about that. I tried to help him out by giving him a place to crash for a few days and he broke my \, then got mad when I tried to make him pay me back, so now he’s on a mission to ‘get even’ with me.” On the third visit, I’m going to tell you that your complaint has been noted and any further communication about it should be in writing (because you’re wasting my time. I have actual paying tenants with issues to deal with.) It can be _very_ frustrating to be wronged and for there not to really be any legal recourse. But the best thing you can do _for you_ is to chalk this $300 up as a life lesson and move on. Revenge is going to cost you a lot more in the long run than it will cost him. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-file-in-small-claims-court-to-get-a-security-deposit-back/823112/24 "2018-10-19T18:31:45Z")
Were you subletting or were you a roommate? Subletting refers to the situation where the tenant has left the apartment (perhaps temporarily) It is entirely possible that he was not authorized to sublet, but was authorized to take on a roommate which would involve you paying some portion of the rent. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-file-in-small-claims-court-to-get-a-security-deposit-back/823112/25 "2018-10-21T20:51:57Z")
We didn’t even imagine we would get our last security deposit back. The place was filthy when we moved in, and knowing what we knew about the owners, we expected nothing. We weren’t going to make it move-in ready, but we didn’t want to leave a nightmare. The landlady shut the water off before we were out :eek::mad:, so we didn’t even care about any nightmares we left. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-file-in-small-claims-court-to-get-a-security-deposit-back/823112/26 "2018-10-21T21:09:40Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Were you subletting or were you a roommate? Subletting refers to the situation where the tenant has left the apartment (perhaps temporarily) It is entirely possible that he was not authorized to sublet, but was authorized to take on a roommate which would involve you paying some portion of the rent. I was a roommate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-file-in-small-claims-court-to-get-a-security-deposit-back/823112.md?page=1)