23-year-old tenant takes roommates to small claims court after they kicked her out over her cats and refused to return her $700 security deposit: 'They owe me the $700 PLUS the $180 court fees'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jul 24, 2025 2:00 PM EDT

When a group of people agree to live together, they should establish expectations and boundaries from the start. It doesn't necessarily have to be an official document, but all parties should have the opportunity to verbalize what it is they expect from one another so that everyone's needs can be met. This is, of course, easier said than done, and no one here is arguing that one conversation is going to cover issues that might arise down the road. Still, it helps bring everyone on common ground before more problems come to the surface.

For this 23-year-old, she was asked to move in with an ex-coworker and her fiancé. The 23-year-old had cats, and her new roommates had dogs. However, their place was large enough for both to coexist peacefully, and they agreed upon a specific arrangement at the beginning of their lease. As time went on and the author's shy cat began to relax more, the couple started to act like their third roommate and her two kittens were infringing upon their space despite the fact that she and her pets were never violating their agreed-upon arrangement. Eventually, it got to the point where the couple asked the author to leave. That's where the story and the subsequent petty revenge really starts…

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    Cheezburger Image 10533321216
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • What this couple vastly underestimated was how the precision and confidence that the author had once she knew that she was being manipulated. She documented everything, and when she had proof that her roommates were trying to avoid giving her money that was rightfully hers, she told them that she would take them to small claims court. The couple, once again underestimating her, thought she was bluffing. It turns out that they thought wrong!

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    Alrighty I f23 had roommates Fern f23 and Eric m23. Fern was an ex coworker and reached out to me, we talked and were both trying to move out. She and Eric are engaged, and have two large dogs one being a puppy. They
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    wanted to rent a house that had a yard but couldn't afford it without a roommate and asked me to become a roommate. I have two cats and we all agreed all animals were okay.
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    In October we all moved into a nice house, three bedrooms upstairs and one larger one downstairs with a wall connected to the living room. I had the
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    downstairs bedroom, fern took one bedroom as an office, fern and Eric took one bedroom as a bedroom, and then they took the other upstairs bedroom as a getting ready area? Idk.
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    One of my cats Mario took very well to the change, he was cautious for about a week but then did great. Luigi my other kitty had a tougher time, he only stayed in my room and rarely
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    came out (the dogs mainly stayed in the living room). Luigi began to come out occasionally after a month but would run away when approached outside of my bedroom. I bought gates for
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    doorways that allow cats through to that when needed we could keep the dogs away from the cats.
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    Essentially Luigi finally became comfortable in the house and explored upstairs. Fern saw him in her office and lost it. Since the whole upstairs is their space |
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    offered to buy a gate for the stairs that way that cats won't go upstairs, that seemed fair to me. Well she said no because she'd fall? That honestly made no sense but okay. So I then offer another solution, they close the doors to the rooms upstairs, that
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    way the cats cant go in and there is no gate. Fern said that is not possible because it gets to cold upstairs. The "solution" she offered was my cats only stay in my room and the living room (which they didn't love. become the dogs). Before they had been allowed in the kitchen
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    which is the pathway to the cat tree which Fern refused to allow in the living room. My cats were trapped while her messy and untrained dogs went everywhere.
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    I told her she was being ridiculous and unreasonable and I had offered two great solutions and would pay for the one the required it. She said those were not solutions and if I didn't like her rules then I could get out.
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    I started tearing up because honestly she and Eric had been so nice before, I was just shocked that they switched up so quickly.
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    She then then said "what your going to cry about it now?" Like b hhh I losing my housing situation yes I am. Any way mid December is when the argument went down and I took my cats to my parents cause I didn't know if they were safe there because of ferns unexpected behavior. I
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    packed all my stuff up and moved into my parents. Mid January we amended the lease to remove me from it. It actually cost $300 to do that and since they wanted me out I said they should pay it,
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    they refused but I said I would pay the $300 fee if they give me the $700 portion I paid to the security deposit that I would never see again. They agreed to
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    that and said they would pay me on the specific date I signed off the lease. Those were the only conditions and all over text message.
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    Come the day I sign off the lease in January, they text me that I will not be receiving any money from them because I lever the room a mess. Ok that's fine, I took a video/photos of the room the day
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    I vacated. I had vacuumed and taken all of my stuff. I texted them that I would see them in court and they laughed and said their was no way I could afford court and that I would have ZERO case.
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    I proceeded to take them to small claims court. They avoided certified mail service which cost $90. I then had to pay $90 for process servers (people that will testify they served fern and Eric).
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    Cheezburger Image 10533324800
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    Today came the day and I was so nervous but felt that I would win. I got to the courtroom early, watched the people before me act all catty disrespectful to each other and honestly saw the magistrate react so I decided I would do my best to remain calm and on the facts when i spoke.
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    Fern and Eric show up two minutes late, and we begin. I share that when I asked if I payed the $300 vacating fee would they pay me back $700 they texted me and I quote "of course that is your money". I told the magistrate
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    that the lease and my states law dictate that a landlord has 30 days after a tenant vacates to create an itemized list of damages that I was responsible for, and I had never received any such list and therefore cause no damage. I mention I have photos
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    of the room as I left it and then have to show fern and Eric the photos before I show the magistrate.
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    They get their turn, fern says "well I changed my mind because she left the room in disarray, it smelt like cat urine and had stains all over". She then
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    referenced my photos to the magistrate and said you could see stains in the photos. The magistrate analyzed the photos and the texts confirmation that I would be paid under the specific conditions. He said in the photos
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    a landlord would not see any damage and the only thing he sees on the carpet is vacuum lines. That was amazing.
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    Towards the end the magistrate asks if we have any else to add before he makes a verdict. Fern popped up and mentioned that I had not been kicked out and that I left in December all of a sudden? Hmm weird, the
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    magistrate said i wasnt claiming to be kicked out. I confirmed that was not my claim and reaffirmed my claim and mentioned I left in December because I did not know if my cats would be safe with people who didn't like/want them around so I just took them to my parents just in case. That
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    did not matter lol. Either way he makes his verdict and states I have the burden of prof and they owe me the $700 PLUS the $180 court fees.
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    So I typed this in my notes. because I couldn't share until after the appeal period.. good thing I waited because they decided to appeal. Before we went before a magistrate, this time we go in front of a judge.
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    Fun facts about their puppy: they did not let it out enough and it would inside a lot and often outside my bedroom door. They didn't like them going out in bad weather bc it made the carpets
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    and white furniture dirty, overall they just didn't seem like the best puppy owners. Once both dogs ran away (because they let them off lease in the front yard) and luckily they weren't hit because we are near busy roads, but they did go to a greenhouse and roll
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    around in manure. The dog always jumped which I was fine with but it was annoying since they lost it over my cats existing. The other dog was super friendly and generally listened.
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    After the appeal: today was the appeal, I showed up and waited and waited. Apparently they canceled the appeal so I win, yay!
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    And very surprisingly they paid me today as well.im very happy to say this period of life where they are apart of mine is completely done and had a happy ending :))
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landlord dogs bad roommates tenant petty revenge petty roommates Cats apartment
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