landlord and tenant laws

...the landlord flat out told them that there money was gone and they would have to get it from there former roomates, who had nothing to do with the deposit or lease agreement signed. They do not know who to contact or laws in the virgin islands pertaining to landlord, tenants. Any info would be great!

i am unsure of whether this statement means that the landlord actually refunded the deposit already to the former roommates... if the funds were given to the former roommates and they were not the lease holders, that was improper. but i'd like to think that the former roommates would be honorable in that case and pass the money along. in any case, they may need to sue the landlord in small claims court, but should be sure to file a grievance with the department of licensing and consumer affairs as well - as the landlord should be a licensed business owner.

i had this happen to me twice... once, where a landlord refused to give me my damage deposit because he resented the fact that i reported him to dlca for ignoring a post-hurricane moratorium on raising rental rates after hurricane hugo. it turns out that he did not even have his business license... and another landlord refused to refund me claiming that my pets had left the place in a state, even after i had already paid a professional cleaning company to clean after i had left. this was my plan since i had a previous experience where this should have been done, and my father helped me out - figured i would pay the pros this time! i filed with licensing, who got in touch with them. their son issued all kinds of verbal threats to me as i went to collect my check but i did get it.

someone else with more legal expertise may be able to move this along further... hope this helps.

First of all who was on the lease? If your friend was not on the lease the they cannot legally receive any part of the deposit from the landlord. They must try to get it from their subletting roomates.

Secondly, when someone is really evicted they usually owe rent and damages and it does go through the court procedure so they also owe legal fees if they lost and were evicted.

So you need to find out if they were on the lease and if they were legally evicted. If they were on the lease they should have been mailed a run down of all the charges within 60 days.

The only option if your friend is in the right is to take them to small claims court. I have a hard time believing that they were in the right if they were evicted. I would take what they say with a grain of salt. It is NOT easy to evict someone in the usvi, trust me.

If the landlord gave the deposit to the roommates.....what are the roommates saying?

The roomates still live in the residence and are going to be brought up on charges by my friends for a separate but very serious issue. My friends were illegaly evicted and not for damages, partying, fighting or anything like that, they are very mellow people. I am also curious, it was a private residence with half the house being rented out, does the landlord still need a business license, because if so, I do not think that she had one. The landlord first told my friends that she would give them there whole deposit back, but she had to make the money back first, because she spent it, then changed her tune and said they would have to take it up w the roomates, who still reside there. They moved in and paid there own separate deposit from the roomates, because they did not know them, gave it to the landlord, so isen't that strange that she would say the roomates are responsible for the money when they still live there?

When I was first working in property management stateside, the complex I worked out was across from a college. I've seen and heard every roomate situation. Here's the thing with roomates, once you sign the lease, its a legal document aned you are all treated as one enity. When deposits are returned they will have everyone's name on the lease on the check. Everyone has to be moved out or evicted before damages and repairs can be assessed, this includes illegal tenants (not on the lease).

But who is on the lease? The lease is the legal document that determines everything. 🙂

If you're friends were on the lease ,they are going to also be part of the eviction process, even though they no longer live there. It will go on their credit rating for 5 or 7 years. If they are not on the lease then they will have to try and get it back from their roomates. Which again will mean small claims court if they refuse to pay.

What do you mean illegally evicted? They are going to need proof of that to prove it. With real estate (which rentals are a part of) everything must be in writing. What they were told will not hold up in court when it comes to real estate. If for example a roomate or landlord changed the locks on them, you'll need the police report to back it up or at least a bill from a locksmith showing how you had to get back in to get your stuff.

You do not need a license to rent out your personal property.

The biggest mistake most people make at move out is to not turn in 30 or 60 days notice BEFORE the end date of their lease and so have to pay another month. Please read your leases before you sign them.

Are you sure you have the real story? This situation sounds very very messy and odd. Not all the pieces seem to be fitting together. Please please don't think I'm calling anyone a liar, it just seems like pieces of the story are missing. If you want further help pm me the details if you don't want to discuss this in a public forum.

OK, I THINK I am beginning to understand. The roommates are not being evicted, just your friends, right?

The landlord requires a certain $ deposit in total for the apartment.

So she keeps the entire deposit and tells your friends to get their share back from the roommates. One assumes when the roommates do leave, they will get the entire deposit back.

So far, this sounds correct and proper on the landlord's part. If she gives your friends back their share, she will be left without a full security deposit.

Since there is "bad blood" already between the roommates and your friends, it's not likely the rm's will give them any money. If and when the rm's move out, the landlord should include your friends in the security deposit refund. Make sense?? I would recommend your friends stay in very close contact with the landlord and make sure they are included in the refund. Of course, depending on the roommates' housekeeping and bill paying, there may not be a refund, and unfortunately, if that is the case, your friends lose out too.

I will pass along this info to my friends, thank you all for your replies!