I think it sounds like you were ripped off. I mean,7 months is not a long time~so unless the apartment had actual damages like holes in the wall,you should have gotten your deposit back.
We stayed at one apartment a year,and had significant carpet damage from our 3 year old. We did steam clean it before we moved out,but it still had some stains. We got back our full 300 dollar deposit.
I dont know how you can fix it THIS time,but I can give you advice for next time.

You can request in writing that you must be present when they inspect the apartment. That way you can see exatly what they are trying to charge you for and despute it right then and there.
Also,next time take pictures. that way you will have proof that there was nothing really wrong with the way you left it.
This REALLY works. I had a maintaince man telling me I didnt have an ant problem when the ants had a NEST in my shower wall. So,I took pictures and video taped it. I showed it to the office,and then he couldnt keep trying to get around taking care of my problem. Cuz I told them I would break my lease if they didnt fix the problem,and have them sited for being slumlords.
Hopefully someone else will have more constructive advice on what to do now...

I did a little bit of investigating into CA state laws regarding security deposits from renters and found out that the apartment manager actually screwed themselves. According to state law, the apartment manager/landlord has 21 days to present me with my deposit. 21 days have come and gone and I have yet to receive anything. According to state law, if I do not receive my deposit or what's left of it by the end of the 21 days I am entitled to a full deposit refund. I called this place that gives free legal advice and when I told them my issue they stated that not only do they owe me the full deposit but I can actually take them to court and get THREE times the amount of the deposit. So rather than 500.00 I can actually get 1500.00.

So here is my next question. Should I pursue this to the fullest extent and try and get the full 1500? How should I bring this legal matter up to the manager without getting into a confrontation? They have broken the law and legally they now owe me the whole deposit so what is the nice way of telling them this without sounding like a punk?

You do not bring this up to them. You go directly to court proceedings.

If you bring this up to them, that gives them the opportunity to falsify things in their favor. Do not give them a warning of your intentions.

Ask the 'free legal advice' place how you should proceed. These type of things are usually a small claims court action and you will have to do all the footwork and filing.

If you do bring it up,simply say that you have made arrangements for this to go to court and if they have any questions,they can speak to your lawyer.

They will have plenty of time to "falsify" records. This will be a small claims court issue. In my county it would take 4-6 weeks to get in front of a judge. Least amount of leagle time will be one week anywhere in the US.

Do whatever works best for you, and you feel comfortable with. I would print out the law and request that they pay you your full deposit back since they broke the law. Let them know they have two choices, pay the deposit or pay three times the deposit.

You also have to be caucious as you still are renting from them and probably have another deposit with them.

Here is a follow up.

I sent them a letter via certified mail today to the apartment manager, as advised to so by the attorney. In the letter they were told about the law and also quoted the Civil Code stating about how they have 21 days to send the deposit otherwise I was legaly entitled the the full amount. I also stated that I was seeking the full amount legally owed, which was three times the amount. It came out to 1492.50.

See, here is the thing. I'm not a greedy person. I'm not a lawsuit happy, get something for nothing kind of person. This whole incident would never have happened had they not tried to rip me off. If I would have gottem most of my deposit back, as I felt I was entitled to, I never would have bothered to look up any laws regarding security deposits. I would have accepted my meager 400 dollars and been on my merry way. Due to the greed of the apartment manager and the fact that they were ripping me off I had to do something. I had to see if there was any legal protection from getting ripped off like this and fortunatly there was. Now, they will have to pay much more than I was originaly entitled to and all because they were trying to rip me off.

I only wonder how many others have been ripped off by this same manager.

The law exsists to help people like you who have been screwed over.Dont feel ashamed or like you have to justify it~they were wrong,and now they have to pay.

Just remember its still in the decision of the courts. A Judge should award you the deposit but it may be only your original amount. Each judge has their own views and interpets the law differently.

Best of luck!

Oh, I don't know--I don't think a judge can reinterpret those lines in the housing codes I've seen. The places I've seen that wording, it's pretty straightforward!

Good luck! I hope they act promptly.

http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/getpub.php?pubtype=STAT_CHAP_SEC&year=2006ion=504B.178

This has and is easily interpreted differently. Talking with other landlords and spending time in court I have seen almost identical deposit issues handled differently.

A $500 deposit with $450 in damages left $50 plus interest to be returned. It was post dated the 24th. Judge gave the tenant another $70 for a cleaning issue but threw out the three weeks because he said it wasn't a big issue

Same situation where the Judge doubled the $50 only

Same situation where the Judge did nothing for the tenant

Same situation where the Judge gave the tenant $1000

Same situation where the landlord said they found more dirt and had to clean bathroom where the Judge ordered the tenant to pay the landlord the $50 back plus $20.

I've read through many of my states statutes and find next to nothing straight forward.

I was under the impression that the law is the law. If the law states that I am entitled to a full refund of my deposit then how could a judge not follow the law as it is written in the books?

Final follow up:

Had a meeting today with the apartment manager and she agreed to a full refund of my deposit. Apparently she wasn't aware of the 21 day limit to send deposit refund and was also unaware that I could actually take her to court for three times the amount.

We had a nice, friendly talk about why I felt I should get my deposit back and put the ball in her court. I told her that if she gave me back my deposit I would not pursue this any further and we could just call it even. She was very reluctant to do so and I reminded her that if we had to go to court and the judge awarded me 1500.00 then HER boss would not be happy to learn that she could have avoided the whole mess by just giving me the original 500.00. Well, she seemed to see my point and we agreed to drop the whole issue for the complete return of my deposit.

The moral of the story? Don't try to screw some people over. They might just fight back.

Thank you guys for your support.

Awesome! Way to work the system!

Excellent outcome! Always nice to read a happy ending.

Just remember to videotape the walkthru when you leave this current apt., or you may go thru the whole thing again.

Oh How about a 100 from a 1100 where i have no kids and never ate home. The only thing that happened is that my cheap land lord had us mail the rent payment so i would mail it by the 25th and he still would call me on the 30 th saying he did not get it on time so he would make me send two checks plus he remodeled the place while i was living in it.Every time i had to wake up to see a strange guy on my bedroom saying good morning so during the last month my husband got into an argument with him ( he called him names.. letsbe honest) and asked him to leave the house. Now we ended up with iron spots on carpet while i don't have an iron a whole on the wall? my husband has a business and we pretty much live in it we just go home shower and sleep. I was stupid cleaning the whole apartment even he did not clean it that good when i moved in.1000 for cleaning ? i was stupid not taking pictures when i left i thought the world is still good. WELL IT IS NOT. now i don't know what to do talk to him? my husband wants to take him to court i am scared of all of that i would just let it go and just pray that he will never enjoy a good day in his life with my money.. what would you advise me?
Thanks

Why were you sending two rent checks in the mail? If your first one was late, your landlord could tack on a late fee, but unless it was completely lost in the mail on multiple occasions and you had to do a stop payment on your checks, you shouldn't have sent in two checks on those months, unless of course the second check you refer to is a late fee. (Sorry, I'm confused about that one.) Anyway, your ID does not say what state you are in, but you should check your state's landlord/tenant laws. In my state I have 45 days as a landlord to give a "security deposit accounting" to the tenant. The only time I am not required to do this is if the tenant does not leave a forwarding address with me (in writing). I have to start with total deposit paid, itemize all deductions, give a description for each deduction, and then list the net amount I'm returning. $1000 is excessive for cleaning if the place was not trashed. However the "iron" spots on the carpet and hole in the wall are another matter altogether and could easily account for why the money was retained. (Again, sorry but am confused. Since you say you don't own an iron and were seldom home, are you saying you suspect the landlord of doing this himself?) Ask your landlord for a detailed accounting of what the money went toward. Odds are there is a law in your state as well that requires this of him anyway. To take it a step further: If you provided him with a forwarding address, and he has not provided an itemization within the required time limit allotted by your state, regardless of whether there are damages or not the law might well indicate that he has to refund the entire amount to you (some state laws are set up that way).

Thanks for writing back. Well I guess I trusted him. When he called and said that he did not receive the first check by the fifth I worried about my credit I suggested that he stops by and I will issue him another check and cancel the first, he stated that he is busy and since I sent it on the 26th it must be back on its way to me. 4 days later I e-mailed him to see which check he got he said he has both and he will use the second one for next months rent, I just asked that he doesnt cash it before the 25th and he did not. The month that followed the same story happened again but this time I got the first check back and the problem was he changed his address on the 30th and I sent the check on the 25th I believed that the check would get there before that time (on the same zip code). Oh well, I know nothing about the law here in VA and I work a lot even week ends so these days I spend the nights searching for help online. When he and my husband had that argument about the window replacement and privacy invasion, I called the non emergency line seeking advice and they advised me to read my lease... I never did. For my deposit I had to e-mail him after 3 months cause he would never answer my calls his wife answered me saying that he was about to e-mail you about your new address (even though I left it under the door as he asked me to along with the keys). Also the day I left I called him to come take a look at the apartment he said that he is out of town, I Insisted and he stated that I will have to pay for everyday I keep the keys I dont have to worry just leave him my address and he will mail me my deposit back I did what he asked STUPID me. I received his check Friday should I seek an attorney even though I have no evidence except the e-mails?

hmm, not cool of him to keep both checks in the first scenario, even if he opted to hold the 2nd one till next month, but that's just my humble .02. If he is somehow holding 'late rent' against you in attempts to keep deposit, he can't do that. That needs to be addressed directly at the time of payment (typically via charging a late fee). He can put sec deposit towards rents not paid (in my state, anyway) but not hold it as a 'nuisance' fee for late payment. As an aside, I live in the same zip as two of my tenants. They either mail or drop off check here. Typically it's one day via USPS, however if post office were consistently days late, I would simply ask tenants allow a few extra days in mail and date their check for the 1st of the month. Or drop off at my house.

OK, on to deposit issue. The privacy invasion is a non-issue now and has nothing to do with security deposit. That's fall under category of issue that should have been addressed "at the time". All too often security deposits are viewed as being deservedly refunded in full because of bad blood. Laws are very clear about what deposits are to be held/used for, and in most cases even a lease cannot override a particular state's law on deposits.

So you paid a $1100 deposit, he kept $1000, you provided a forwarding address with keys per his request. You did not receive anything for 90 days and then there were deductions without an accounting, correct? I checked, and Virginia law is much like my state's 45 day rule. Virginia's Landlord Tenant Handbook can be viewed here.
Have to hand it to them, VA is quite clear and provides many venues for help (addresses, phone numbers) should it be needed. They are thorough. Scroll to the bottom of page 17 for Sec Dep info. "The security deposit, any accrued interest and any deductions,damages and charges shall be itemized by the landlord in a written notice given to the
tenant, together with any amount due the tenant within 45 days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession"....If the landlord willfully fails to comply with this section, the court shall order the return of the security deposit and interest thereon to the
tenant, together with actual damages and reasonable attorneys' fees, unless the tenant owes rent to the landlord, in which case, the court shall order an amount equal to the security deposit and interest thereon credited against the rent due to the landlord.....If notice is given as prescribed in this paragraph, the landlord shall have an additional 15 day period to provide an itemization
of the damages and the cost of repair.....Upon request by the landlord to a tenant to vacate, or within five days after receipt of notice by the landlord of the tenant's intent to vacate, the landlord shall make reasonable efforts to advise the tenant of the tenant's right to be present at the landlord's inspection of
the dwelling unit for the purpose of determining the amount of security deposit to be returned. If the tenant desires to be present when the landlord makes the inspection, he
shall so advise the landlord in writing who, in turn, shall notify the tenant of the time and date of the inspection, which must be made within 72 hours of delivery of possession. Upon completion of the inspection attended by the tenant, the landlord shall furnish the tenant with an itemized list of damages to the dwelling unit known to exist at the time of the inspection.

You need to take time to print that out and read it all, I have only pasted partial quotes below. There is much more on the deposit issue. Then make some calls to the numbers provided. I am not a lawyer, only a landlord who has to keep abreast of landlord/tenant laws, and it seems like your landlord has fudged on a few issues. Even if he had legitimate claims for deduction, 90 days is well beyond the time frame allotted by the State of Virginia.

This can all be handled in small claims court. However, I would first send him a letter (Certified) pointing out how he failed to comply (lack of notice to you of inpsection day so you could be present, lack of notice within 45 days of what he was deducting, etc. Quote the Virginia statute that applies. It might be just enough to nudge him to rectify this rather than go to small claims court (where it's typically addressed in my state).

Have to run, rental issues of my own, will check back later.

Oh I can never explain how thankful I am. The certified letter sounds perfect before going to court. I did not know that he had to let me know when he should inspect the Apartment in fact I asked that he comes and he refused stating that he was out of town and that if I keep the key I will be charged late fees. Also I still have his non-cashed $100 check dated July the 14th and the envelope August the 8th and the e-mail I wrote him requesting my Deposit back. I started hating land lords after this experience fortunately; the world is still good to find a land lord to help me. Thanks a million. I will have my lawyer write him a letter and see what happens. Thanks again.

I started hating land lords after this experience fortunately; the world is still good to find a land lord to help me. You're welcome. Understand how you feel, only my view is from the flip side. We want to trust people, but gosh darn it, there's always some schmuck out there that wants to burst our bubble ;D Hang on to those dated items you have! Good luck, I hope it all works out.