Property damage done by roommate. what can i do?

[lemonade5m]

I am on a joint lease with two other people and I moved out of the house because my roommate's dog did about 500 dollars worth of damage to my property while living with her. I am still on the lease and have been paying rent. I have sent my roommate a letter stating that she needs to reimburse me for the property that was damged and she refused. I have all the articles that were destroyed and well as reciepts for items that needed to be cleaned. I also told her that I would not pay rent until the issue of these expenses were discussed. My monthly rent is less than the amount of the damage. Can she take me to small claims court and expect to win if I don't pay rent? Could I counter sue her for the damages?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I'm not sure why you don't sublease your apartment if you can, but you may also want to see whether you can compel your roomate to remove the dog. You should take pictures if you can. You may also have a right to recover your monthly rent from your roomate due to her potentially constructively evicting you by keeping the dog there (at least I would make the argument that while the dog is allowed to roam free, your belongings are open for punishment.)

She can try to take you to small claims on the damage but it is probably best if you file first. Additionally, while your roomate may want to try to recover rent from you, the real problem is the landlord, who can sue you and her jointly for the entire amount of the rent due.

I am on a joint lease with two other people and I moved out of the house because my roommate's dog did about 500 dollars worth of damage to my property while living with her. I am still on the lease and have been paying rent. I have sent my roommate a letter stating that she needs to reimburse me for the property that was damged and she refused. I have all the articles that were destroyed and well as reciepts for items that needed to be cleaned. I also told her that I would not pay rent until the issue of these expenses were discussed. My monthly rent is less than the amount of the damage. Can she take me to small claims court and expect to win if I don't pay rent? Could I counter sue her for the damages?