Security Deposit Question

[Glennwood]

Hello, here is a real life scenario that my roommate and I are trying to determine.

Roommate Z has been at apartment for 8 years and when lease was signed with new roommate C his (roommate Z's) security deposit was rolled over from previous lease by landlord.


Roommate Z contributed $400 to security deposit.
Roommate C contributed $500 to security deposit.
Total Security deposit $900

Objective: Make sure both roommates pay equal amounts of US Dollars for any damages taken out of security deposit.

Roommate Z proposes that Roommate Z gets 44% of left over security deposit and Roommate C gets 56% of security deposit based on the percentage of the total $900 that was contributed.

Roommate C proposes that Roommate C gets $100 off the top of what is returned in the security deposit since he contributed $100 more and then split the remaining amount giving half to roommate Z and half to roommate C.

Which of the above methods ensures that both Roommate Z and Roommate C each pay the same amount toward what is taken out of the security deposits. Please explain your rationale in detail as neither roommate is great at math. If there is a better way to achieve the above objective please propose that also. Thank you for your time.

 

[stapel]

Which of the above methods ensures that both Roommate Z and Roommate C each pay the same amount toward what is taken out of the security deposits. Please explain your rationale in detail as neither roommate is great at math. If there is a better way to achieve the above objective please propose that also.

If the entire deposit is kept, yet Roommate C is ensured a hundred bucks back, clearly this "split" would not be regarded as "fair" by most objective observers. But the "correct" answer will depend upon the parameters provided by the homework assignment. For instance, how is "better" defined?

When you reply, please include a clear listing of your efforts so far, specifying where you are getting stuck in completing the homework solution. Thank you!

 

[Glennwood]

Agreed on the scenario that if the entire deposit is kept Roommate C getting $100 back is not correct. In the case that the entire security deposit is kept I would think that roommate Z should give roommate C $50, so that each person "loses" $450 total. Would you agree that if the entire security deposit was kept this would mean that each roommate would have paid the same amount?

Assuming the new parameter that the security deposit returned is great than or equal to $100. Which method in the original question would ensure that each person pays the same amount toward the part of the security deposit that is kept?

By using a ratio (percentage) one roommate believes that would cause each person to pay the same amount. The other roommate believes that he would be getting a larger percentage of a smaller total dollar amount leading to that person contributing more then the other roommate.

If the entire deposit is kept, yet Roommate C is ensured a hundred bucks back, clearly this "split" would not be regarded as "fair" by most objective observers. But the "correct" answer will depend upon the parameters provided by the homework assignment. For instance, how is "better" defined?

When you reply, please include a clear listing of your efforts so far, specifying where you are getting stuck in completing the homework solution. Thank you!

 

[stapel]

How about the guy who paid less in the first place pays the other guy fifty bucks. Then they're "even". Whatever is kept from the security deposit can then be split evenly between them.

 

[Deleted member 4993]

Geezzzz...
A contributed 500, B contributed 400; ratio A:B = 5:4

Say 270 is kept, so 630 is returned:
A gets 5/9 * 630 = 350, B gets 630-350 = 280; over and out.

I don't think that is fair!!

Of the 270 kept - A is paying 150 and B is paying 120.

Why should A pay more than B in this situation?

 

[left-brain]

I don't think that is fair!!

Of the 270 kept - A is paying 150 and B is paying 120.

Why should A pay more than B in this situation?

Unless there are damages beyond the aggregate value of the deposit, A and B are not paying anyone - usually, payment of a security deposit is complete at the time of signing a legal contract. The only one paying anything when tenants move out is the landlord paying the tenants a refund of their deposit. The goal is to distribute whatever the landlord decides to refund, not ensure that house mates pay even amounts. Whatever A and B have paid has already been paid; if payment was uneven x years ago, it will be uneven x years in the future.

Security Deposit. (n.d.) West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. (2008). Retrieved July 31 2014 from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Security+Deposit