Rental deposit

[Aubrey]

So our landlord sent us a statement saying they would like to keep our deposit plus an additional month's rent.

 

After we rented the place, I found reviews of the co online, so I knew they'd want to keep the deposit--this is par for the course for them. But I'd never imagined they'd send a bill asking for MORE $$. :glare:

 

Trying to figure out what/how to do whatever needs doing. And annoyed to have to do it. $800 of what they want is a re-leasing fee, for breaking our lease. Which would be fine if we'd broken our lease, but we paid $1600 (2 mos rent while we weren't living there) in order to avoid that. Among other things.

[TravelingChris]

It all depends on what your lease says they can collect. How much notice did you give them in writing? Have they rerented the place? They can't charge you rent and rent from another party.What are they keep rent for? Damages and broken lease or just broken lease? Many states have a department which deals with renter laws. You may want to look online to see if your state or locality has such an office and contact them.

[Brigitte]

It depends on the laws of your state, but usually they need to send you an itemized bill to back up their reasons for keeping the deposit. I would contact legal aid and see if someone there can help you wade through it. That is a whole lot of money. :grouphug:

[StephanieZ]

Read your lease. Then read it again, more carefully. Hopefully you can document the monies you paid, the date you vacated, the condition of the apt upon your leaving, etc with written documentation and/or photos. Then read the local landlord laws for where the property is. Compare/contrast. In many places, there are very specific rules about handling security deposit, and generally "normal wear and tear" is excluded.

 

Good luck. This stinks. The only time I've rented since graduating college was 18 mos about 12 years ago. I knew it all, and my mom was a licensed atty in the state we rented in. Despite photos, nasty lawyer-grams, etc, we *still* ended up losing our whole security deposit b/c at the end of the day I wasn't willing to take the time to sue him.

 

People stink.

 

Good luck.

[Audrey]

Is this the landlord back in TX? IIRC, there is a renter's advisory for TX.

 

Yep... found it here. Just at a quick glance, you probably have some recourse. There are also Legal Aide listings right on the front page.

 

Might be worth a look.

[Samiam]

This comes from TX tenant rights: If the landlord has failed to either provide you with the security deposit or an itemized list of deductions within thirty days from moving out, the law may allow you to collect $100, three times the amount of the security deposit wrongly withheld, court costs, and attorney's fees. If the landlord improperly made deductions from the deposit you also have the opportunity to obtain the same damages and penalties. Section 92.109, Property Code.

 

I know you've been out of TX for way longer than 30 days...so why is this just coming up now? Is this the first thing you've gotten from your prior landlord? If so, he's beyond his 30 days, and you can collect from him.

 

Better spend some time researching your rights. This might vary in TX, but from what I understand, the landlord also has to sue you, in small claims court, for the $$$ he wants, and in the county where YOU live. Not likely they are traveling to CO for that amount of $$.