Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Michigan

Since your roommate was not on the Lease then you would be held solely liable to the Landlord for the rent. If you had any written Agreement between yourself and your roomate regarding her paying a portion of the rent and the money that you loaned her then you would have a clear legal action against her. I am assuming that there is no written Agreement between the two of you so you have a legal hurdle to get over there. You certainly have the option of suing her in small claims court, which handles cases up to $3,750.00. In that case you, as the Plaintiff, would have the burden of proving that she was responsible for a portion of the rent and any money loaned to her. Without a written Agreement you would have to prove it through other means, such as your testimony, receipts etc. I would not recommend that you hold her property to force payment. You would first have to get a Judgment, then file for an Order to Seize Property which needs to be executed by a Court Bailiff. If you keep her property you could be sued for Conversion which would not be good. I would recommend that you start with a letter to her setting out exactly what you feel that you are owed and make sure it is signed and dated. This is called a Demand Letter and shows an effort to resolve the situation prior to litigation. My law firm handles many types of legal matters from Bankruptcy, Real Estate, Probate, Family Law and other general practice issues such as contracts, traffic tickets etc. If you want more information please visit our website at aldrichlegalservices.com.