Small Claims Court and Verbal Agreements
March 25, 2018 10:57 PM Subscribe
I stupidly leased a room to someone for a year, with a 30-day verbal agreement should he need to move or I needed him to move -- as 'giving notice'. No written lease. There was also a verbal agreement re the utilities, a set amount per month.
He stiffed me on part of the rent and month and half of utilities (just up and moved out), and I want to go to small claims court. Can I?
Meaning, is it a waste of time to do small claims court when all there was was a verbal agreement between us.
He also took items from my home and still has my house key and left the area he was renting a shit hole. Ugh.
I have canceled checks for each of the prior months (for his rent payment and utilities payment), but that's it. Also some email exchanges between us ABOUT the utilities. The money is kinda minor but the principle of this whole thing pisses me off.
Meaning, is it a waste of time to do small claims court when all there was was a verbal agreement between us.
He also took items from my home and still has my house key and left the area he was renting a shit hole. Ugh.
I have canceled checks for each of the prior months (for his rent payment and utilities payment), but that's it. Also some email exchanges between us ABOUT the utilities. The money is kinda minor but the principle of this whole thing pisses me off.
It sounds like you have written evidence to me (the emails, the checks).
You can definitely win and get a judgement- this type of person usually doesn't even show up to court. The difficult parts will be:
1) Tracking him down to serve him, if you don't have his new address and
2) Actually collecting the money once you get the judgement.
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:32 PM on March 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
You can definitely win and get a judgement- this type of person usually doesn't even show up to court. The difficult parts will be:
1) Tracking him down to serve him, if you don't have his new address and
2) Actually collecting the money once you get the judgement.
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:32 PM on March 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Sorry this happened. I've also been stiffed by a tenant and 8 years later, thinking about it it still annoys me, but in my case I didn't think it was worth pursuing (the amount he stiffed me was pretty small, maybe $250, and I just didn't think it was worth the hassle).
Going forward, when you sublet, you can prevent this kind of thing even without a contract by:
(a) asking for deposits on rent, utilities, and possible damages, or
(b) scaling the rent so it's more expensive up front and cheaper at the end of the lease (like if the person is renting for 4 months at $400 per month, you could charge them consecutive rent amounts of $800 + $600 + $200, + free. That way if they bail out early, you've at least profited a bit.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 1:16 AM on March 26, 2018
Going forward, when you sublet, you can prevent this kind of thing even without a contract by:
(a) asking for deposits on rent, utilities, and possible damages, or
(b) scaling the rent so it's more expensive up front and cheaper at the end of the lease (like if the person is renting for 4 months at $400 per month, you could charge them consecutive rent amounts of $800 + $600 + $200, + free. That way if they bail out early, you've at least profited a bit.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 1:16 AM on March 26, 2018
Best answer: I know two people who have taken disputes to small claims court and won, but neither was able to enforce the judgement and both remain unpaid years later (one was even a lawyer). So even if you have a great case, small claims court doesn't give you a way to force him to pay. Someone who acts like this is unlikely to become a person with a conscience just because a judge tells him he owes you money.
I'm sorry this happened. Injustice is frustrating as hell.
(Also, this guy steals. Change your locks.)
posted by FencingGal at 8:34 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm sorry this happened. Injustice is frustrating as hell.
(Also, this guy steals. Change your locks.)
posted by FencingGal at 8:34 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
As Samuel Goldwyn once said An oral contract ain't worth the paper it was written on.
Yeah, no. Check with Kim Basinger about this when you have a few minutes.
It's true that if he doesn't show up to court and you have checks and so on, chances are very good that you'll get a judgment in your favor. Will you ever be able to collect? Highly unlikely. So it pretty much comes down to how much time and frustration you're willing to sink into this. Unless you're talking about money you really can't afford to lose, I'd probably let this one go.
posted by holborne at 8:53 AM on March 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Yeah, no. Check with Kim Basinger about this when you have a few minutes.
It's true that if he doesn't show up to court and you have checks and so on, chances are very good that you'll get a judgment in your favor. Will you ever be able to collect? Highly unlikely. So it pretty much comes down to how much time and frustration you're willing to sink into this. Unless you're talking about money you really can't afford to lose, I'd probably let this one go.
posted by holborne at 8:53 AM on March 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thank you, everyone, that replied. Appreciate the time and feedback.
Woke up this morning, read your feedback and decided to just let it all go. Although may I say publically about this dude: What an asshole.
A friend once told me some advice that I reflect on often when different issues, small and large, pop up in life, he said: "If you have a problem that can be solved with money, you don't really have a problem."
posted by zenpop at 11:35 AM on March 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
Woke up this morning, read your feedback and decided to just let it all go. Although may I say publically about this dude: What an asshole.
A friend once told me some advice that I reflect on often when different issues, small and large, pop up in life, he said: "If you have a problem that can be solved with money, you don't really have a problem."
posted by zenpop at 11:35 AM on March 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
Let it all go except for the lock changing ...
posted by kalapierson at 9:25 PM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by kalapierson at 9:25 PM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
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