I have been subletting an apartment in a Mitchell Lama (sp?) building. I've been here for 15 months. My original roommate, who moved out last year, was here for ten years. I recently found out that since I am not related to the tenant (nor was my former roommate), this is an illegal sublet.
To compound matters, the tenant is now moving back in (apparently she has not lived here for 10 years). That's all fine. I am not happy about the short notice, but it is what it is. However, I have one problem: When my original roommate moved in ten years ago, she and her roommate paid a sec. deposit to the tenant. To ensure that they would receive their deposits back (the tenant is elderly and not too reliable), whenever someone moved out, the incoming person would pay the outgoing person the security deposit.
Fast forward to me. I am the last woman standing. Since no one is moving in when I leave (except the tenant, of course), I have no way to get my security deposit back. Meanwhile, the tenant never had to return the deposit she got ten years ago.
I know none of this is legal or illegal since there is no lease and it's an illegal sublet -- apparently. However, do I have any recourse if the tenant refuses to pay me my security deposit when I move out? And if there's no legal recourse, what would happen if I reported her to the Housing Authority? Would the consequences be severe enough that simply threatening to do that might prompt her to cough up my deposit?
Thank you. Thank god I'm moving back to Chicago where the rental market is sane!