Question about renters and security deposits
cas66ragtop
12 years ago
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jane__ny
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoAdella Bedella
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Security deposit rip off!!!
Comments (21)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....See MoreSecurity Deposit question..
Comments (12)OK, well here's a few more pennies worth of my thoughts, and my suggestion, best I can come up with after mulling this over. One concern was that since you gave them $ for a Sec Dep, that they could hold you to come kind of legally binding verbal agreement. But, if they tried to use that argument, I don't see how it could hold up. Please bear in mind I am not a lawyer. I did some searching. The three elements for a binding verbal contract are Offer, Acceptance, and Consideration. You can read more on that here. So in your case (and this is just my humble interpretation) the Offer would have been to rent a room from Tiny Forked River. The acceptance would have been your voluntary agreement to rent that room. The consideration would be the exchange of something of value. Your money in exchange for the use Tiny Forked River's room in a house. But that doesn't set right with me for a couple reasons (more on that below). I checked, and NJ does allow for verbal leases. (If you check NJ Lease Information Bulletin, it says this: A lease is an agreement between a lessor (landlord) and a lessee (tenant) which may be verbal or written. A lease grants possession to the tenant for use of a dwelling unit for a specified period of time in return for rent.) But here is what I have an issue with as far as it having potential to be a verbal agreement. Again from NJ Lease Info Bulletin, under the Terms section: If the lease is verbal the term will began on any day agreed upon by the parties to the lease. So, did you specifically agree on a day that a lease would commence (despite the fact that you signed nothing)? Also, and this could be a technicality, but traditionally a Security Deposit is taken at time of Lease signing, and it's to be held and assigned for specific purposes and uses during term of the lease, according to State law. Sec Dep is typically not used as collateral to "hold" a unit. So if my understanding of verbal leases is correct, it's not the Sec Dep that makes it binding (or would be viewed as the Consideration portion of a verbal agreement). Rather the payment of rent money in exchange for living in the unit would be the Consideration portion of a verbal agreement. You've neither paid any money that you were told was put toward rent, nor have you lived in or had use of the unit, correct? So if that's the case, then the last element of a verbal agreement (Consideration) is missing. You didn't technically give $ to live in the unit and you didn't have access to their unit. Another thing bothering that might shoot down the verbal lease agreement argument is inconsistency. Because other occupants of the unit signed a written agreement. It doesn't make sense, when all parties involved are living under the same roof, that some tenants would have a verbal agreement and some a written agreement when all are under the same roof. If there's some misinformation in my conclusions above (such as you did have access to the unit as your own), please post additional details. If my thinking is pretty close along the lines of what actually transpired, my suggestion would be to send them a letter. Certified so they have to sign for it. Something like this: Tiny Forked River LLC 123 Maple Street, Somewhere, NJ 12345 Attn: Property Manager Please be advised that on (insert date) I gave you my check # ______ in the amount of $_______ for what I understood to be a Security Deposit on a unit I was going to share with others under a written lease agreement. Although others signed an agreement to rent the premises at _________(address), I have never signed any written agreement with you to lease any property you rent out. Since I didn't sign any agreement or contract indicating my agreement and acceptance of rental terms, any contract currently in force on this particular unit (or any other you have) should not include my name as a party to a contract. Also, I have never paid you any rent for use of any of your premises. I have decided to sign a lease elsewhere (even if you haven't you probably eventually will, so I'd toss that in). Therefore I will need the money back to put toward the lease agreement I sign. Since we don't have a lease agreement together, I am requesting that my money in your possession be returned to me in full. I will appreciate having my money returned by (insert date, maybe give them 5 business days after the time it takes for them to receive your letter). Sincerely,...See MoreAnd how about my Security?
Comments (3)You're entitled to your deposit as long as there is no damage and no past due rent. I would make sure your landlord does not intend to keep two+ weeks worth of the Deposit toward rent for this last couple week period, after telling you that you 'don't have to pay rent'. BTW, s/he didn't legally give you enough time. Per NY State landlord/tenant laws, a 30 day minimum notice is required on either party's part for termination of a month-to-month lease. I haven't yet found where sale of the building impacts notice time (i.e. shortens it, which is doubtful). I put in all my leases if the house is sold tenants will be given 30 days notice. Scour the link below, it's an easy read and it addresses SD, what happens when the building is sold, etc. and gives local phone #'s for Atty General offices should you have further questions. Here is a link that might be useful: NY State Tenant's Rights Guide...See MoreQuestion for landlords about cleaning after tenant vacates
Comments (46)There are some inaccurate comments here. Dirt and damage are NOT ordinary wear and tear (which would be something like a smudge behind the sofa on the wall). Your tenant is required to deliver the premises back to you in the same condition in which they were delivered, absent "ordinary wear and tear". Again Dirt and Damage are NOT ordinary wear and tear. Hire a cleaner, have the cleaner put the place in appropriate rent-ready condition, and deduct the cost from the security deposit. Also deduct the cost of any repairs necessary. In some states you cannot deduct the cost of your own time. I don't clean after tenants anymore. That burden is on them. I gave them a white-glove clean property, and they will pay to deliver one back to me, if they fail to do so. You are required to make a written accounting of the security deposit within your state limits - most are 30 days. Some are 45 days. Be sure you do this, as the tenant can recover treble damages from you in some states if you fail to do so. You can most definitely disallow smokers and pet owners in your property. They are not protected classes. Charge every dime it take to put the premises back in order and never allow smokers and pet owners, unless you don't mind extra damage. If you do allow pet owners, maybe one older dog won't do that much damage. I have allowed 2 different 8 year old dogs that were long-term pets with good references over the years. No puppies EVER. No replacement dogs. No smoking ever....See Morebadgergrrl
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