Am I responsible? I am not even on the lease

[nolease]

I was renting in NYC month to month without a lease. The landlord held the original deposit and lease from 4 or 5 years ago and never bothered to renew. He was basically an absentee landlord; he did not care as long as he had the checks. This was a month to month situation. Upon entering the apt I had to pass my deposit to the renter who then passed it onto the former tenant. This was what was explained to me as a “rolling deposit”. I stayed at this residence for three years then opted to move to NJ with my boyfriend. Not wanting to give up this rental, (great space) I thought that we could move back and occupy the entire 3 bedroom floor after saving money.

I decided to post ads on Craig's list and find replacements. This worked perfectly and the rolling deposit went on and on. It came to a point where I had a discussion with the roommate who was there the longest and asked him to screen and find roomies as I continued to pass the checks to the landlord, (mostly as a favor so the rent would not go up). On May 4th one of the roomies started a fire which damaged the apt. This forced all three roomies to find another residence. Now they all want their deposits back and I do not have them as they went to the previous roommate. I even went to the Landlord and asked him for the deposit (as he holds the original) he said that there was “too much damage was caused and rent lost.” I asked him to write that in an email but he refused.

I am now being brought to small claims court by the two former roomies and being sued for their deposits totaling 2,275. The issue I have is that even though one roommate wrote me a security check which I passed on to the previous roommate. She has a check and since no one else could take her place due to the fire she is holding me responsible. The other roommate wrote a check to someone other than myself and is claiming that they were representing me. I honestly do not have their money so any advice before court?

[TenantNet]

Is this a comedy sketch? Seriously, you got involved in a rolling scheme and now it's biting you. Only hope you have is that the other roommates who are suing you might also get equally screwed.

All of you should learn a lesson. Also, anyone that posts or gets a place on Craig's List ... well it's a risk.

Maybe in the future you'll be more careful with your transactions.

[brooklynblondie]

I think you can countersue, and add the landlord to the proceedings. You should get him involved, so the court can decide who's liable, if anyone.