Landlord won't give our security deposit back.

[Cattlegod]

Originally posted by: wyvrn

Originally posted by: Cattlegod
Bump for update:

Update 1/8/08

In an event to get confirmation that he will not give any of our security deposit back, we thought the next course of action should be to get written evidence from him that he will not be giving our security deposit back (he never specifically said that he will not be giving it back). Here is our reply to the note containing the list of items above, I will update as soon as we get a response.

Mr. and Mrs. [Landlord]:

We have reviewed the list you provided detailing the costs associated with repairs and home improvements to the house we formerly leased at [address]. We are curious as to why we were not informed of any charges sooner if you had intended to keep any portion of our security deposit. We wrote to you on 11/2/2007 requesting the status of our security deposit. Carrie replied that when the final water bill was received, the water bill would be deducted from the security deposit and then given to us. We were not notified of any intention to keep any additional amount of the security deposit above and beyond the water bill until we requested a status update of our security deposit again on 1/3/2008. Do you intend to keep any portion of our security deposit outside of the final water bill during the term of our residence? Please respond by the end of the week so we can resolve this soon.

Did you file in court?

Not yet. We didn't want to until we got confirmation that he has no intention of returning our security deposit. I wanted to cite the laws stating that he owes us the whole thing and he needs to pay up in 1 week or we will take him to court, but my housemate didn't agree. He thought it would hurt our cause by being too aggressive and putting our landlord on the defensive.

 

[AlienCraft]

You will need to pound home the part about he may not deduct for normal wear and tear as the law allows...

.607 Security deposit; permissible uses.

Sec. 7.

A security deposit may be used only for the following purposes:

(a) Reimburse the landlord for actual damages to the rental unit or any ancillary facility that are the direct result of conduct not reasonably expected in the normal course of habitation of a dwelling.

(b) Pay the landlord for all rent in arrearage under the rental agreement, rent due for premature termination of the rental agreement by the tenant and for utility bills not paid by the tenant.

You will need to turn the heat up if you want your money back.
Do a small claims court filing and make him prove to a judge why it's not normal wear and tear he's charging you for.

 

[silverpig]

Ooh, I look forward to the resolution 🙂

 

[HannibalX]

450.00 for a single room repaint? That's insane. If his painters charge him that much, I am in the wrong business!

 

[StageLeft]

That note you wrote seems a bit contrite. I would have taken a harder stance, but the ends are the important thing, so still here's to hoping you get it back 🙂

 

[NoShangriLa]

Do you have the original contract and inspection list that were sign off by you & your landlord?
Kiss you deposit good bye if you don't have one.

Did you acquired an inspection list that were sign off by you & the landlord after you cleanup/repair the rental unit?
Kiss you deposit good bye if you don't have one.

Did you at the very least take any pictures of the rental unit after clean up?

[add] My bad, didn't see the rest of your post. The law in your state clearly different than the Province I'm in.

If you use the title "Without Prejudice" at the beginning of your letter or email that any negotiation that you offer will not be use as negotiation in court.

 

[edro]

Oh this is gonna be good.

Nice detective work.

You are the winner so far.

 

[SampSon]

I own properties and have dealt with security deposit disputes.

It would help to know if the landlord owns many properties, as if he is a property manager, or if he only owns a couple properties.

You need to read your entire lease agreement. You need to note all dates on notices and lease agreement papers signed.
It would really help if you had photographic evidence of the condition you left the aparatment in. You must assume that the landlord has documented the unit
before and after the repairs have been done.

The land lord is using the highest acceptable estimates it would take to clean and refinish an apartment. The numbers are outrageous and you should call up some random contractors and get a written rough estimate documented. These numbers your landlord presented would never hold up, anywhere.
Their list is most likely overstepping most bounds. You should review your lease agreement, but holding you responsible for the flower beds, replacement of brackets for blinds, scrubbing of drippings on bedroom walls prior to painting etc is ridiculous. These types of expenses are accounted for in a typical operating income statement and should not be passed along to the tenant. If this property is mortgaged then there should be an operating income statement on file.

You need to officially file a claim in small claims court. The summons will be delivered to them and they will understand that you're serious about this.
If they decide to go all the way to court with this, they will need to provide the actual estimates for the work provided by the contractors. These should be dated prior to them sending you this half-assed list of repairs required. Keep in mind they could have a crooked contractor write up an estimate and put a false date on that would jive with their claim. You should get estimates on paper to defend your claims if need be. They don't need to be detailed, just something semi-official from a licensed/bonded contractor on paper. You need to have a copy of your lease agreement with you, with both landlord and tenant signatures on it and make sure you've read the lease and understand it.

You will really wish you had photo evidence of the condition of the apartment as you left it. Though even without that you should bring the landlord to court.

 

[syee]

I think someone mentioned it earlier on, but you said you were all paid up until October, and they decided to come in mid September and "clean" anyways.

Isn't this technically "trespassing"? Sure - the owner has a right to see their property, but that should require they give some kind of notice, and cleaning, etc should definitely NOT occur until the tennant has had a chance to clean it. If it were me, I'd give them crap for trespassing on your property (yes, it's technically yours since you paid rent which is essentially the right to live there and do pretty much as you please as long as it's within the lease agreement).

I'd tell them to get lost and tell them it's their own problem for going in early. They should be lucky you don't turn around and get on them for trespassing on your property without your consent. Also a lot of the stuff they put on there is BS - especially the one regarding pulling weeds from the flower bed! 😀

Like everyone else before you said, take it to small claims court - at least there's going to be the law telling them to "f" off and lay down the crack pipe rather than back and forth bickering...

 

[striker12112]

Ahhh threads like this make me want to read threads from the last page to the first. What happened man? I am in MI and in the same exact situation. My small claims case for 2x deposit is tomorrow 🙁

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[norseamd]

good luck

 

[chimaxi83]

Ahhh threads like this make me want to read threads from the last page to the first. What happened man? I am in MI and in the same exact situation. My small claims case for 2x deposit is tomorrow 🙁

Do they also make you want to check the date?