Unpaid rent; sold property

[Mark Stone]

Thanks in advance for any help or insight anyone can provide!

Basically I owned a triplex that I sold last month

I was unable to collect rent from one of the tenants for the last full month of rent

He keeps giving me the run around as if he is going to pay it, but he has already paid the new landlord for the new rental month

What options do I have:

Collection agency?

Small claims court?

It is for $1025

I am not hurting for the money, however I would mainly like to leave a mark on his credit score and also not let him get away with this for the mere principal of the matter

Also, would I only need to show a copy of the lease to support my side? I never went ahead and sent him a failure to pay rent notice, bc he was always quite late the last few months I had the property, yet always ended up coming through so figured he would again.

Thanks,

Mark