How to handle deposit when one tenant moves out and another in?

[Misty Alderman]

Hi Bigger Pockets Community!

Have a question on how to handle a security deposit and new lease term for a rental. Last year, a boyfriend and girlfriend duo moved in.The girlfriend has graduated college and gotten a job so has moved out; the boyfriend would like to remain another year to finish school, and bring in a roommate. So it will be just the boyfriend and the roommate for the next lease term.

My question is: How do I handle the current deposit? Do I need to return it to both boyfriend and girlfriend and then receive ½ back from the boyfriend and collect ½ from the new roommate? Or can I just return ½ to girlfriend and collect ½ from the roommate, keeping the other ½ “on file” from the boyfriend?

If the boyfriend girlfriend were moving out and I was dealing with new tenants, I would make a claim for a couple hundred dollars out of their deposit (they didn’t put pads underneath their furniture as specified in lease, and the hardwood floors we refinished before their move in are scratched as a result; we laid a pallet of sod for them that was well established for a few months, but they didn’t water it when it needed it due to lack of rain, and “neglect of landscaping” in the lease as well), but I don’t want to make things awkward for this next term with the boyfriend by putting a claim in for this term.

We do joint leases, but might individual leases work better in this situation? What would be the process as far as claiming damages go when someone is already in place? And the “move in” process for the new roommate?

Thanks a lot for your assistance and insight!