"verbal lease" and repercussions

[Amy Ashford]

I have lived in an apartment in Brooklyn for about a year now. I found it through a friend who was moving out. Upon contacting the landlord, he informed me that I didn't need to sign a lease, unless I wanted to. Not knowing how long I would want to stay, I agreed to live in the apartment without a signed contract of any sort.
Well, after a few roomates and several hundred commutes, I found an apartment in Manhattan and moved last week. I notified him over a month in advance and he agreed to keep my deposit as the last months rent.
My roommate waited until the very last minute to move her stuff out, and consequentially, we ended up with a lot of trash and furniture to put out to the street. I moved on a Monday, garbage day is usually Tuesday.
My landlord had sent his son over that morning to make sure that we had properly cleared the apartment. All of the trash and furniture was already on the street in front of the apartment at this point. His son, who collected the rent and handled things for his dad most of the time, came by, shook my hand and gave the apartment a clean bill of health.
So, I was quite surprised when I got a voice message from the landlord today, threatening to take me to small claims court. Apparently, he had to hire someone to cart away the furniture and trash, which cost him around $500. He wants me to pay this, of course. My question is, with no written lease can this guy take me to court? What should I do?

[queenswoman]

If he has evidence that you lived there either cashed rent checks or receipts he doesn't need a lease.

If he does take you to small claims court he needs to have a receipt for the date that the trash was hauled away, the location, and the dollar amount as proof. If he has no documentation then he it is doubtful that he would win in court.