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Landlord Security Deposit Issues
Cognisseur
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
My girlfriend lived in a house off-campus for the last 2 years with 4 other people. They had a really sleazy landlord. They never got any information about where their security deposits were being kept (illegal) and he was pretty much impossible to reach (never picked up and full voice mail box) so anytime something went wrong they’d have to wait 3-4 days for him to call them back. The embodiment of sleaziness came when their house got broken into through the basement during winter break. The landlord claimed it was just some drunk friends of theirs, who broke it and stole their stuff during a party, and refused to fix it until they showed him the police report and threatened legal action.
Anyway, fast forward to now. They moved out May 28th. By New Jersey law, they should have gotten their security deposits back by June 28th. My girlfriend kept calling him near the end, and he kept lying (saying the law is 30 business days) or stalling. She complained with the off-campus housing bureau who sent him a letter about her complaints. Since he didn’t reply within 2 weeks and he already had 3 complaints against him, they removed all of his listings from their site for the next 2 years. So there’s a small victory in all of this.
So finally, end of July, almost a month past the legal deadline for the security deposit, they get their checks, and a letter about what was deducted for year 2 (apparently he only send the letter about year 1 deductions to one person who moved out and didn’t say anything). In a pretty pathetic attempt to make it look legit, he puts “June 27th” on the typed up letter to make it look like it’s not a month late. Unfortunately, he forgot the envelope has the date on it, so it's post-mark stamped on July 28th. Maybe he'll try to argue it took a month to go 3 blocks.
So, of the deductions, here are some I thought didn't look right:
1. He charged them $700 for water. Their lease does specify that they pay the water bill but they were never given any bills for it. Over the phone, the landlord explained to my girlfriend that due to past problems with other tenants(???) he just takes the money straight out of the security deposit rather than giving them the bill. I’m pretty certain that’s illegal too, since he’s just taking their money and not showing any bill whatsoever.
2. Their lease specifies “At the expiration of the Lease the Tenant will be charged a professional cleaning fee not to exceed $200.00.”, which he charged $200 for naturally, but according to New Jersey law, “Landlords cannot charge cleaning fees to tenants who leave their apartments broom clean. Landlords often try to deduct such fees, as well as fees for painting or other normal wear and tear fees.” Even if he says it on the lease, if it's illegal to do, then it's illegal to do, right?
3. There’s $140.00 for “broken or missing fire alarms”. I’m fairly certain my girlfriend’s room-mates didn’t steal fire alarms to take back home with them, so I can’t even begin to imagine what this is in reference to. Is a dead battery a “broken fire alarm”? I’m guessing they may be screwed here since they didn’t take photos/videos of the place before they left to make it clear what was there and whatnot.
4. There’s $50.00 for “garbage left in the basement and back yard”. I’m not sure why stuff in the basement wouldn’t be covered by the $200 ‘cleaning fee’. As for the back yard, the neighbor’s trash routinely blows onto it, and the landlord has acknowledged this, so sometime between them moving out and the landlord coming to check it out, a breeze must have gone by.
And that’s only Year 2 deductions. The landlord is dropping the Year 1 deductions off sometime this week according to him (trying to stall as long as possible I’m guessing).
Some of the tenants only lived there year 1 and some only year 2. My girlfriend tried to contact all of them and some never got any deposit back at all (surprised they didn’t notice until now). So, things aren’t all that peachy. I know my girlfriend should have filed a civil small claims court case a while back but no one expected it to get this bad I suppose. I guess she should file one now though because it doesn’t look like this guy is going to make this easy. However, we’re moving to New York City in 10 days, and start graduate school in 3 weeks. If this goes to small claims court and isn’t put to court before August 31st it will get quite complicated. Even if it does, it’ll likely involve a lot of train riding.
So here are my questions:
1. Of all the stuff I mentioned above, what stuff is illegal, what stuff is pursuable, where do the various burdens of proof lay?
2. According to New Jersey law, “The Rent Security Deposit Act states that if the court finds that a landlord wrongfully refused to return all or part of a tenant's security deposit, the court must order the landlord to pay the tenant double the amount of the security deposit if it is not returned at all, or double the amount that the landlord wrongfully deducted from the deposit.”
When I help my girlfriend file the small claims court case, I believe they ask for what I want, right? So what do I ask for? Double the deposit because it was delivered so late? Double what was wrongly deduced (how do I even calculate that?). Do I include anticipated transportation fees? Some amount of money for hours spent consulting lawyers and researching information?
Thanks guys. This is a messy situation, but hopefully it can be resolved justly.
Anyway, fast forward to now. They moved out May 28th. By New Jersey law, they should have gotten their security deposits back by June 28th. My girlfriend kept calling him near the end, and he kept lying (saying the law is 30 business days) or stalling. She complained with the off-campus housing bureau who sent him a letter about her complaints. Since he didn’t reply within 2 weeks and he already had 3 complaints against him, they removed all of his listings from their site for the next 2 years. So there’s a small victory in all of this.
So finally, end of July, almost a month past the legal deadline for the security deposit, they get their checks, and a letter about what was deducted for year 2 (apparently he only send the letter about year 1 deductions to one person who moved out and didn’t say anything). In a pretty pathetic attempt to make it look legit, he puts “June 27th” on the typed up letter to make it look like it’s not a month late. Unfortunately, he forgot the envelope has the date on it, so it's post-mark stamped on July 28th. Maybe he'll try to argue it took a month to go 3 blocks.
So, of the deductions, here are some I thought didn't look right:
1. He charged them $700 for water. Their lease does specify that they pay the water bill but they were never given any bills for it. Over the phone, the landlord explained to my girlfriend that due to past problems with other tenants(???) he just takes the money straight out of the security deposit rather than giving them the bill. I’m pretty certain that’s illegal too, since he’s just taking their money and not showing any bill whatsoever.
2. Their lease specifies “At the expiration of the Lease the Tenant will be charged a professional cleaning fee not to exceed $200.00.”, which he charged $200 for naturally, but according to New Jersey law, “Landlords cannot charge cleaning fees to tenants who leave their apartments broom clean. Landlords often try to deduct such fees, as well as fees for painting or other normal wear and tear fees.” Even if he says it on the lease, if it's illegal to do, then it's illegal to do, right?
3. There’s $140.00 for “broken or missing fire alarms”. I’m fairly certain my girlfriend’s room-mates didn’t steal fire alarms to take back home with them, so I can’t even begin to imagine what this is in reference to. Is a dead battery a “broken fire alarm”? I’m guessing they may be screwed here since they didn’t take photos/videos of the place before they left to make it clear what was there and whatnot.
4. There’s $50.00 for “garbage left in the basement and back yard”. I’m not sure why stuff in the basement wouldn’t be covered by the $200 ‘cleaning fee’. As for the back yard, the neighbor’s trash routinely blows onto it, and the landlord has acknowledged this, so sometime between them moving out and the landlord coming to check it out, a breeze must have gone by.
And that’s only Year 2 deductions. The landlord is dropping the Year 1 deductions off sometime this week according to him (trying to stall as long as possible I’m guessing).
Some of the tenants only lived there year 1 and some only year 2. My girlfriend tried to contact all of them and some never got any deposit back at all (surprised they didn’t notice until now). So, things aren’t all that peachy. I know my girlfriend should have filed a civil small claims court case a while back but no one expected it to get this bad I suppose. I guess she should file one now though because it doesn’t look like this guy is going to make this easy. However, we’re moving to New York City in 10 days, and start graduate school in 3 weeks. If this goes to small claims court and isn’t put to court before August 31st it will get quite complicated. Even if it does, it’ll likely involve a lot of train riding.
So here are my questions:
1. Of all the stuff I mentioned above, what stuff is illegal, what stuff is pursuable, where do the various burdens of proof lay?
2. According to New Jersey law, “The Rent Security Deposit Act states that if the court finds that a landlord wrongfully refused to return all or part of a tenant's security deposit, the court must order the landlord to pay the tenant double the amount of the security deposit if it is not returned at all, or double the amount that the landlord wrongfully deducted from the deposit.”
When I help my girlfriend file the small claims court case, I believe they ask for what I want, right? So what do I ask for? Double the deposit because it was delivered so late? Double what was wrongly deduced (how do I even calculate that?). Do I include anticipated transportation fees? Some amount of money for hours spent consulting lawyers and researching information?
Thanks guys. This is a messy situation, but hopefully it can be resolved justly.
Cognisseur on
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2. Pretty much, see #1.
Not being a lawyer, this would be my recommendation.
I'm not familiar with New Jersey-specific laws, but you may want to try to get in touch with some sort of tenant advocacy group there (there may be one available through the university).
So just ask for double the deposit and nothing else, and if the judge wants to reimburse us for train travel and time spent researching and consulting he'll just take it from the 'double deposit' amount, or do I have to specify it individually for him to reimburse us for it?
As an advisor, it sounds like it would be a good idea... considering a lawyer would be able to answer every question the OP presented.
You typically won't get reimbursed for expenses related to the costs of the lawsuit in small claims court, I think.
Don't worry, I'm consulting with a lawyer too. There's plenty on mine and my girlfriend's sides of the family. Nonetheless, this forum provides a good amount of advice too. Anecdotal evidence, personal accounts, tips that people have learned. Not to mention there's probably a couple lawyers lurking on PA as well.
The landlord cannot contract out of the law -- meaning that you can't enforce the provisions of a contract that are illegal. However, since you mention that they didn't take pictures when they left they're going to have trouble proving that it was, indeed, 'broom clean'.
True enough.
His specific wording of the lease may actually help in this situation because it doesn't state it as some clause like "if the house requires thorough cleaning..." but a flat out definitive "professional cleaning will be hired, no matter what".
There are, however, consumer help groups that can advise you during the small claims process. I'd check with one of those.
In this case I would send the guy a certified letter stating specifically which charges you are disputing in a line-by-line fashion, so it is very clear (when you wind up going to court) what exactly you are asking for. At the end of the letter include something like 'We would prefer to resolve this between ourselves, however we will use all legal avenues available to us.' to make it clear that you will take him to court if necessary.
Don't communicate with him on the phone, at all. Make sure everything is done in writing and that all your mail is certified. This way you have a specific timeline that you will be able to show a judge.
Yeah I found something called Special Civil Part that's made for a few conditions, but mine is among them. I found the forms for it, and they require:
-Defendant's information
-"The reason I'm suing the Defendant"
-Amount I want (2x deposit + fees)
1. We only have the landlord's PO Box. Is that good enough for an address if he has provided nothing else?
2. Can my girlfriend file the complaint without all of the other house-mates signatures but represent all of their interests? Like, can she sue for 2x the total deposit and discuss the unfair deposit deductions from all of the tenants, or can she only sue for one fifth the total deposit that belonged to her?
This is why walk throughs are so important. If you give a security deposit then demand that they walk through when you move in and more out. This way they can't make up shit later.
I'm not saying this is the right way to look at it, but I do think that sometimes it's helpful to consider the value of your time regardless.
Of course, I'm mean and spiteful, and not always rational.
I totally agree, the reason he's doing this is probably exactly as you said, but it is a valuable exercise to take a step back and say, given the situation, is this a battle I want to fight, and can win? Given the facts the OP's provided so far, some of this stuff is going to be hard to prove in his and the gf's favor.
I did a quick google search, you may find this site helpful:
http://www.lsnjlaw.org/english/placeilive/irentmyhome/tenantsrights/index.cfm
New Jersey statues:
http://www.njlawnet.com/njstatutes.html
Not necessarily. In Washington, for example, if the landlord doesn't perform an initial inspection, it's illegal for them to collect a deposit. That's why I say read the applicable laws. This might be a slam dunk in the op's gf's favor.
Also in WA, if your landlord doesn't give you back your deposit along with written documentation of why he withheld any of it within two weeks, you are legally entitled to the whole amount back. WA is very good to tenants.
The exact NJ law on this issue:
http://www.state.nj.us/dca/codes/lt/pdf/sdepsit_law.pdf
"In any action by a tenant, licensee, executor, administrator or surviving spouse, or other
person acting on behalf of a tenant, licensee, executor, administrator or surviving spouse, for the
return of moneys due under this section, the court upon finding for the tenant, licensee, executor,
administrator or surviving spouse shall award recovery of double the amount of said moneys,
together with full costs of any action and, in the court's discretion, reasonable attorney's fees."
So hey, you can sue for the costs of the action, including things like transportation. Neat.
Also, small claims is the way to go here. Here is an article based on New Jersey law:
Basically, all you need to prove is that your GF paid the deposit, your GF's lease expired on x date and she did not receive the money back until after the deadline. In other words, a copy of the deposit check/receipt, a copy of the lease and then the envelope/letter from the deposit he sent. Also, keep in mind that the postmark shows when the letter was mailed, not when the letter was received by your GF. He can say the mail was late all he wants, but the date is when he mailed it off. It's also his responsibility to ensure it arrives before the deadline. The fact that he dated it to try to defraud your GF will work wonders in front of a judge.
(Your bank should be able to provide a record of the cashed deposit check.)
I concur with the foregoing statement.
With regards to everyone's advice, small claims court is the way to go on this issue. Most magistrates don't have much patience or sympathy for slumlords, and he's really pressing his luck with random deductions of utilities from a security deposit. Just make sure to have your paperwork in line, and if possible, get the other roommates to bring their own claims against him.
Out of curiosity, dose the lease your girlfriend signed have any provisions with regards to him being allowed to take money out of the security deposit for unpaid utilities without notice?
This. I work with housing issues, and there are usually non-profit legal agencies that are current in the legal specifics of that state who can help (although sometimes they have pretty specific requirements). Double deposit/etc is a pretty standard. MANY landlords pull this kind of crap,especially people who own high volumes of cheap housing, routinely specifically because they know that their tenants:
1. Won't even know they can call them on it.
2. Probably won't go through the hassle and expense of going through the legal channels even in they are aware the landlord's actions are illegal.
Every landlord I ever had tried to dick me around in some fashion at the end of a lease, even the ones who were great to work with as a tenant. Every. Last. One. It just makes good sense for them to at least try.
yeah sue for 2(x-y)
I moved into my apartment August 2008, paid a security deposit. I never received a receipt detailing the bank account number or anything like that. Last week, I moved out of that apartment. Is it too late to go back there and say "Hey, you never gave me my receipt, I want this deposit back right now". The reason I would do this is to get the cash in my pocket right now, in case they try to deduct any bogus "damage" charges from my deposit, which they will probably return in about a week to me.
Thoughts?
2(x-y)e^rt
This is in no way tricky.
Further, the onus is on the landlord to not only itemize all deductions in writing, but to also prove that these deductions were valid. That's a difficult thing to do even if they were completely valid deductions.
$10 says that this guy went in there, possibly cleaned the carpet, and listed it for rent again. He's just trying to give back as little of the deposit back as possible because:
a) He is a douche bag
b) He does this all the time and young tenants usually can't be bothered to litigate.
c) He never actually put their deposit in escrow, so he would essentially be taking the deposit out of his own "pocket," instead of just transferring the amount from the proper account to the tenant. That's his motive for giving them as little as possible.
d) He is a douche bag
2 years ago, 4 people found a house to live in, but they needed a 5th person to make the rent reasonable. The total rent was the same for 4 or 5 people. Unfortunately, they didn't find anyone before they were told to pay their security deposits. So they paid the $4250 between the 4 of them. Fortunately for them, they found a 5th person, my girlfriend, before they were set to sign the lease. So, rather than returning the initial security deposit and then asking for a 5th from each person, the landlord told my girlfriend to just pay each of the 4 other tenants some amount so that it would be equal, and that it didn't matter because he was throwing the whole deposit in one bank account anyway. She signed the lease, paid the room-mates.
Fast-forward 2 years...and 2 months. When the landlord finally gave my girlfriend the paper with the deductions, she's listed on their just like the other tenants, except she doesn't get any money, because she didn't put any in, and instead she should get it from the room-mates. The room-mates don't have a problem with giving her the money, but this complicates the civil court case.
She therefore has records of giving money to each of the room-mates, but not to the landlord. She's on the lease, but she didn't give him a deposit directly.
I don't know if what he did was legal by having the security deposit funds worked that way, was it? Either way, what does this mean regarding the case?
They need: Copies of the lease
Copies of the receipts for the payment to the landlord
Copies of the letters he sent them, including the envelope proving he sent them past due
Copies of any correspondence by the landlord since if there has been any.
That's it. They win. He can't prove that the amounts he deducted were valid, and he can't prove that he sent them money on time. Chances are he won't even show up to the court date.
Edit: Sorry, you can sue for double your security deposit, so that's nearly $8500. You can also sue in New Jersey for costs related to filing, but it's up to the judge. Since this guy is a total sleeze, he/she might just award that too. We're talking possibly $10,000 between the roommates here. DO IT.
To be honest, our tenant boards in MA are completely useless and complaining about this will do crap. It will turn into a he said/she said and you'll run into issues such as "Why did you wait a year to ask for the receipt?"
But tell me you didn't do something stupid like move-out without doing a walk through with the landlord?