So buckle up this might be long but I’m so frustrated with this situation I find myself in. Also not sure how controversial this is but it might divide people. I moved out of my apartment I shared with a girl named Arielle. I moved out in July even though our lease ended in October but continued to pay rent till she found a new roommate. We split August’s rent and Marie(the new tenant) paid September’s rent. They then signed a new lease for this year starting in October. So at this point I am no longer on the lease. The rental company told me they would not do a walk through and they could not give partial security deposit back. I’d have to wait till they move out to get the deposit back. So this is my first problem and question. What if they trash the place? I’m not on the lease so how can it be taken out of my deposit since Marie wasn’t required to put down a deposit? What if Arielle moves out but Marie stays with a different roommate and they stay for 5 years? Will I still not get my $805 security deposit? Now, the apartment manager told me to work something out with the girls. We all discussed it and decided Marie would pay me the money and when they move out she would get the money addressed to me. This was supposed to be paid to me on October first. Midway through October I hadn’t heard anything. I reached out to Arielle and she agreed I should have received payment and gave me Marie’s contact information. I have now been in contact with her and have all of our correspondence recorded. She has given excuse after excuse as to why she can’t pay me. Midway through December I told her she could make 4 payments of $200 for 4 months if that’s easier for her because I understand $800 is a lot (even though I was required to pay a deposit of $800 before I moved into the apartment and no one cared if it was a lot of money then). She agreed that these payments would start on the first. So I texted her on the first and I didn’t ask. I just told her I’d give her my Venmo so she could make the payment. She left me on read. So now I am looking at who I need to threaten with legal action. One person I’ve talked to says I need to sue Marie for the replacement deposit but a lot of my friends and family think I should be going after the rental company. If I take any of these to small claims court it would cost me $75 which I don’t necessarily want to pay but I’d still be getting a lot of money back. What do you guys think? I’m so frustrated with this.