LL Gave My Prepaid Rent to New Tenants

[Burt L.]

As I had to move quickly and give 30 days notice, I paid the October rent and gave notice I was leaving, keeping the utilities in my name. New renters were found in ten days and moved in on October 15th. The landlord asked me if they could move in before my month had expired. I replied that they could, if I was reimbursed for half the months rent.

The new tenants moved in and the LL said that the rest of my months rent was given to the new tenants because they paid the rest of the months utilites and that was my responsibility. LOL.

I directly asked the new tenants if they got a free half-months rent for paying the utilities for the first part of their tenancy, and they said the agreement was they got a free-half months rent if they would buy paint and repaint some of the house (after my three-year tenancy). At issue is $725.

Obviously, the LL misrepresented this, and I plan to write asking to have it returned or I will file in small claims. My security deposit was returned, avoiding trust account issues. The LL is also a Colorado realtor, where the property is. I had surguries in November and December so am now getting back to this.

I see such phrases at the site as "It costs alot of money to be right", etc. and to avoid court and the energy it takes. I doubt the LL would even make the trip, but I think $725 of my own money is worth a few hours. There are two properties here, now held in LLC's that I believe I could file a lien on after obtaining judgement.

What might I be overlooking in my non-independent analysis?