Problem with landlord/ security deposits UPDATE 8/5!!!!!!*******

shadylane

shadylane

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Ok so when i was first looking for an apartment this guy was advertising this place which i took. he had to leave the apartment one month into the lease so the landlord said to simply find a different person to occupy and he would return the security deposit. he found me and i put down 1450 down for security deposit. fast forward to 3 weeks ago. i had to leave early but i found the landlord a new guy. the guy moving in had to pay a 300 dollar fee for doing the switch. this he did not do with the guy at the start of the year when i first moved in.

now it's been 3 weeks and i still have yet to get my deposit back. i keep calling and he says next week, next week. that he needs to check out the place and get word back from the super to get the ok. the thing is the guy that i switched out with already moved in so if he tries to charge me for anything he can't because he should have done that before the guy moving in right? so i don't know what action to take because this guy keeps playing with my balls.

also i'm cool with the super and he said that this guy has a reputation of just holding onto the money and the last lady had to take him to court. and that he likes to try to find something wrong with the place and get the money out of the tenants .

i need this money by next week for a deposit for school. if i do'nt have those 500 i'm fucked and they might not let me back into school for the second year

UPDATE*******************

I decide to email him one more time before taking him to small claims court. i just want to make sure this email doesn't suggest anything and it sounds professional enough.

I understand the fact that you are holding onto my money no matter what. That is fine. I do want to make you aware of the consequences of your actions. I understand you have done this before to numerous individuals and they were force to take you to court to retrieve their money. You have the tendency to issue a check before entering court to avoid that case. I will warn you now, that will not be the case with me. When i do issue you to court we will go into court and settle this. I have spoke to my lawyer and we are in the stages of issuing you to court. You should receive a notification in the mail soon. Now i will give you one last chance to avoid this just in case you didn't receive my phone call messages. Which is something my Lawyer suggest i do to make sure we could contact you by all means.

Here is my address and issue it to the following address.

This check is to be in the amount of 1450.00. I hope you make the right choice and if you are still hesitant to comply i have part of the NJ law that states what i can do in court if you fail to take action early.

RESIDENTIAL SECURITY DEPOSITS

If the landlord does not return the security deposit within 30 days from the date the tenant moves out of the premises, the tenant may sue to recover double the amount due, plus court costs. If the amount sought is $2000.00 or less, the tenant may sue in the Small Claims Section. If the amount sought does not exceed $10,000.00, the tenant may sue in the Special Civil Part. If the amount sought exceeds $10,000.00, the tenant must sue in the Law Division. (Taken from the NJ Judiciary Law)


If you choose to refund my security deposit. Email me back this message no actual response is required just a simple reply of this same exact message ONLY if you have sent the check out.
 
1450 seems like a lot for a security deposit, anyhow just threaten to take him to small claims court, he'll probably still try to keep part of your deposit but going to court and having to provide documentation of damage that doesn't exist will take up a bit of his time and money.
 
How much is the rent on this place if you had to put down a 1450 deposit? Did you have like no rental history and no cosigner or something?
 
[quote name='shadylane']yea he said that i had to put down two months rent cause my dad had ok credit and i didn't have enough credit[/QUOTE]

You got ripped off. Thats not a reason to raise a security deposit. A SD is for incase you pick up and leave, or something needs fixed after you leave. It should never be more then one months rent. You might have to take him to court.
 
[quote name='shadylane']shit. no way i can get the police involved or just take any evidence to a judge and have him do something?[/QUOTE]

Try nicely to get it back for a couple more weeks if nothing. Small claims court it is. Depending on your state it might be over the limit for small claims court.
 
If someone new moved in with no complaints and gave a new security deposit you're entitled to get your full deposit back, assuming you payed all the rent up to when the next person moved in.

He doesn't need to return it immediately though, my old apartment took 60 days, which supposedly is within the law. The 2 months rent, however, may be considered an excessive amount.
 
Yeah, I believe they can wait up till 2 months to refund your security deposit, though I'm not positive on that. But once a new tenant is in, there's no way they can charge you for any damages they find; so if they haven't done a walkthrough already, there's no point in them doing so now. Hell, they would have needed to do it before the new tenant came in to document the condition pre-move-in.
 
I didn't think this sounded like a lot for a security deposit. In NJ, everywhere seems to take a month and a half rent for deposit. You many have a good case since other people moved in, but in general I thought it was pretty easy for the landlord to keep your deposit and screw you over. I was always told to not pay the last month's rent and let the landlord keep the deposit.
 
so i def can get my money back i just need to take him to small claims court?

oh and if he tries charging me for something in the apartment he can't since someone already moved in correct?
 
[quote name='shadylane']so i def can get my money back i just need to take him to small claims court?

oh and if he tries charging me for something in the apartment he can't since someone already moved in correct?[/QUOTE]

of course he can't charge you since that new person moved in. He's basically taking over your lease. I use to help manage an apartment complex and I know how to handle situations like these. First off, you need the person that moved in to reimburse you for the security deposit. Unless the everyone moves out and there's a grace period where they inspect your apartment, they cannot charge you. You need to get it from the person that moved in. It does not make sense to charge you unless the person that moved in complained about damages that you left behind like holes on the walls or etc.
 
You still have some grammar problems:

This sentence for example:

"I understand you have done this before to numerous individuals and they were force to take you to court to retrieve their money."

should be forced.

If I were the guy I would assume you are just bluffing about talking to a lawyer given the way that e-mail looks. Don't meat to be a dick, just telling you straight what I'd think.

Personally I wouldn't talk about what he's done to other people or anything like that - you don't really know for sure about that anyway. Just ask him for your full security deposit back, or you will be forced to file in small claims court. I'd guess the deadline for him to inspect the place and issue you a written sheet of charges due has passed so he probably can't take anything out of it at this point. But IANAL.
 
As ^ said, there are loads of grammar issues in that letter. Do yourself a huge favor - print out a copy and let someone else read it and mark it up. If you can't find someone to do that, read it out loud to yourself and see if it makes sense - I honestly believe that if you read some of what you wrote out loud, you'll see where your grammar mistakes are (or at least I hope so).
 
goodluck on getting your money back. some landlords can be pretty slimy like that but so far ive been lucky to get decent ones. is the high deposit common where youre from? the most ive paid would be around 450 to 600.
 
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