Roommate and his deposit?

My roommate had a lease with me that expired November 2009. He's still living with me, but has not signed another lease. Not the smartest move on my end, I realize. When he moved in, in May 2009, he placed a $1,000 deposit. Since our contract has expired, is he entitled to the deposit? He's currently late on rent and I want to give him 30-day notice to move out. I'm just unsure my options at this point. I do not own the house we live in as I've a separate contract with the owners. However, my contract states I'm responsible for the entire amount of the lease. My contract expires 5/1/2010, thankfully. I really want to move out and get my own place, but the $1,000 that my roommate placed down, I no longer have. I was struggling at the time he moved in and it was absorbed with my bills. The worst that can happen I think is he'd take me to small claims court to try to get the money back. I could repay him in installments. Any advise on how I can get out of this pickle would be so appreciated. It's really stressing me out.|||Your roommate is your subtenant. When his lease expired, he became your month to month subtenant.





He is entitled to the return of his security deposit less damages within a specific number of days AFTER he vacates - removes all of his possessions and moves out. Your state's laws will have the answer as far as how many days you have to return the security deposit.





If you do not follow your state's laws regarding the handling and return of the security deposit, you can be sued. Some states allow the tenant (roommate/subtenant) to sue for 3x the deposit if the landlord (you) do not follow the laws.





No one can give you a legally accurate answer without knowing what state you reside in. Provide your state and you will get specific answers.|||I'd agree with the first commenter. Since he hasn't moved out yet, you don't owe him the deposit yet.





However, the purpose of the security deposit is to cover any damages that he may have caused. Since he is late on rent, you could probably deduct the late rent from the security deposit.