Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Illinois
Distribution of Security Deposit
My three roomates and I payed a $2000 security deposit when we signed our lease. Once our lease expired, we were to receive the money back minus any costs of cleaning, repairs, etc. All three of my roomates moved-out several months before the end of the lease and left most of their furniture and left the apartment in an extremely dirty condition. I single-handedly cleaned out everything (over the course of three weeks) and also removed all their furniture (couches, desks, dressers). I then kept all of the returned security deposit. Now my roomates feel they are entitled to their share of the deposit, even though we probably wouldn't have gotten anything back if not for my efforts. Do they have any legal right to it?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Distribution of Security Deposit
Yes they do. You may be able to deduct your expenses associated with cleaning, removing their furniture, etc. You would need to determine what current market value is for such services that you completed yourself and any bills to prove what you paid, if anything for the rest of the work. Then deduct those expenses and return their share. That is the right way to do it in my opinion! Remember if they skipped out on rent, you may also be able to deduct those amounts.
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