Disagreement over how to handle a charge that was made to our security deposit

I recently moved out of a house that I shared with three roommates, and we all moved into a new house together. Our lease ended on August 31st, but our new lease didn't start until September 1st - so we were all going to be 'homeless' for the night. We moved all of our possessions out on the 31st, and cleaned the house. Two of us stayed at a friend's apartment, but the other two decided to sleep on the floor of the old house on the night of Aug 31/Sept 1, because they had nowhere else to go, and they left early in the morning on Sept 1st.

The twist is that the two of us who stayed at a friend's apartment ended up leaving our caged pets with our other roommates while they slept at the old house, because it was more convenient that taking them with us. We had intended to take them, but got lazy at the last minute and left them with our roommates because the opportunity was there. If our roommates hadn't of been staying there, we obviously would have taken them with us.

Apparently, just after midnight, while my roommates were trying to sleep at the old house, an associate of our landlord stopped by the house to do a walkthrough, and caught them sleeping on the floor.

When we got our security deposit back, a large amount had been deducted for "overstaying." My roommates seem to think that the two of us who did not stay over are responsible for paying part of the overstay fee, because we left our pet cage overnight with them. But we don't think we are responsible for their decision to stay over, and sort of think they're only asking this of us because it was a large deduction.
By h_c_m 15 years ago :: Roommates
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