Ok, I have a small dilemma here. I've been trying to get my security deposit back from my old apartment for at least 8 months now. The deposit was $200, and I would obviously like that back. Duh. The law, I believe, states that the rental agency has 30 days to refund the money, unless sufficient evidence was found that makes the deposit forfeitable.

After quite a few calls to the rental place, the only thing I've been able to discover is that the money is rightfully mine...there was no damage reported to the apartment whatsoever. Anywho. Here's the dilemma. One of my friends suggested I sue...but since I've never done this before, I have no idea how to? Any law students out there? Or anyone that this has happened to? And here's the ethical spin on things...in a society that seemingly sues over anything and everything, am I an ass to jump on the bandwagon?? Or am I entitled?

Lend me your advice!

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2002

Answers

You are entitled to your money....and I would suggest a sliding scale of action to get it. My first step would be to find a friend/neighbor/relative who is an attorney and would be willing to write a letter to your former landlord on letterhead free of charge. Sometimes, a well worded letter from a law firm (even if it's an attorney that doesn't practice civil litigation at all) can be VERY effective. If you get no response to that, I'd file a claim in small claims court. For $200, do the filing yourself and don't hire an attorney. Call your municipal court (generally file in the municipality where you rented the apartment) and they should be able to walk you through the filing process, including deadlines/fees, etc. Have ALL your documentation ready, including copies of your lease and documentation of your repeated attempts to contact the landlord.

I'm in the legal field as a consultant, but I'm not an attorney and have never sued in small claims, but I think that's the gist of it. And to answer you final question, I don't think filing a claim in small claims court is jumping on the litigation bandwagon. youre asking for money that is rightfully yours and not for emotional distress, pain and suffering, etc.

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2002

Catherine's got the good advice. I imagine a strongly worded letter would be enough to prompt them to get off their butts and write you a check to save a trip to small claims court. It's probably just laziness and/or disorganization within the rental company.

You want to hear my recent legal trauma? We put in an offer on a beautiful old house my husband was CRAZY about, along with $1000 in earnest money. We were in the process of applying for a mortgage when I found out there was a 90% chance I was losing my job (and also, I was pregnant). Yeah, they don't typically give loans to people without steady employment, so we explained the situation to the seller's realtor and withdrew our offer. She said we'd have no problem getting the earnest money back.

Well, she was wrong. The seller was an ASSBITCH who refused to give us the earnest money back, saying we hadn't made a "good faith offer." Which was total bullshit. For one thing, we made a special type of offer than enabled him to consider AND ACCEPT other offers while our sale was pending, which is ENTIRELY in his favor, AND we withdrew our offer FIVE DAYS after we made it. He had a freaking OPEN HOUSE while our sale was pending, for Pete's sake. And we put down ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in earnest money, no small sum for us. He KNEW we really wanted the house but had fallen on bad luck. He knew there was no way in hell we could get a loan. Yet he wanted (and thought he was legally entitled to) the earnest money as a compensation for his pain and suffering when the deal fell through.

Please note the karmic screwing this man is courting by fucking with a couple who had just lost a large portion of their income AND found out they were having a baby. Plus our realtor's husband had just died and his assbitch behavior was sending HER into a tizzy.

We had to provide him with proof that we had been rejected for a loan within the time limit specified in the contract, AND an official letter from my employer that I was being laid off, and STILL he balked when provided with both of those because his sister-in-law was a lawyer in Maryland or some shit and she said he was ENTITLED to the money. Finally, when his own real estate company threatened to dump his listing and we were all ready to hire a lawyer to get our money back, he relented and signed the check over to us.

The lesson we learned from this? Fifty bucks is all the earnest money we'll ever offer again.

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2002

I don't think you should feel bad AT ALL about suing to get back money that's yours. I might think differently if your deposit had been under $50, but even then, that's what small claims court is for! And believe me, small claims court is NOT what's tying up the majority of the courtrooms. At least not around here. To me, the kinds of lawsuits that seem to reflect that whole "litigation bandwagon" thing are the ones where people are suing to get money because they've been somewhat annoyed. But where you've paid money? Why should your landlords get to keep it, instead of you?

Uh, I'm an attorney, by the way. I don't do litigation anymore, but I did for about 2 years. I also appeared in small claims court a few times on behalf of companies (who were our clients) who had been sued by individuals. In the small claims courts around here, the most important thing is to bring your documentation with you. Bring your lease, bring your canceled check, bring any letters you have from the landlords or any letters you wrote to them. Anything you have in writing? Bring it. This includes if you write a letter to them NOW, threatening to sue if they don't give you your money back, and get no response to it. Bring that letter, and it'll probably help you in court.

Also, in case you're worried about the expense of filing a lawsuit, you should know that (at least in Chicago), a tenant who sues to get back a security deposit that's been wrongfully withheld (as well as tenants who sue under the landlord-tenant act for various other wrongful acts) is entitled to recover DOUBLE their damages, plus all court costs. (And the burden is on the landlord to tell you that you've caused damage which will be deducted, so if they don't tell you within a certain amount of time that they're going to deduct from your deposit? Then you're entitled to get the whole thing back, even if they end up proving that there was damage. If they didn't tell you, they don't get to keep your money.) So if there's a $50 fee to file your suit, you're entitled to get that back. You may also be entitled to recover some multiple of your deposit. And! You are probably also entitled to interest which accrued during the time that your landlord was holding your deposit!

Around here (it's a big city, so I don't know if this is the case in other places), there are a few people at the courthouses that will help non-lawyers find and properly fill out the forms you'll need to file, especially for small claims court.

Good luck! Landlords who keep security deposits SUCK! :)

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2002

I be that pesky middle position of JD with no bar. YECH. sucks ass. no love for the stupid law student. Anyway, most law schools have clinics where law students who are supervised by "real live lawyers" who can help you with your case for free. So if there is a law school in your area, call it.

Getting your money back isnt' jumping on the bandwagon.

In most places, a landlord has to send you a letter explaining why he's keeping your deposit if he is indeed keeping it. Anyway, the important thing is to bring all the paperwork you have. If you still have a copy of the lease, bring that. If you have written letters about your deposit, bring copies of those. If you've called, try to have a record of when you called.

IF you personally haven't written him a letter, write a letter yourself explaining that you haven't received your money back and that you moved out months ago. In court, the "I dont' recall" answer can bite you in the butt and then it's up to the judge to who to believe.

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2002

Kim, if you are in the Atlanta area, here are some public legal resources listed at Emory's law school site.

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2002

"The law, I believe, states that the rental agency has 30 days to refund the money"

This is going to be a state law, and will depend on where you live. In MA, where I once lived, the laws allowed for greater security deposits and a 30 day limit on refunds, compared to here in Michigan, where the laws allow 90 days for refunds, the security deposits are far more limited, and there's a lot less consumer protection.

Whatever the case, for $200, you do need to go to small claims. You're definately not wrong for suing for money that's rightfully yours. Make sure you have lots of documentation.

If you're still in college, see if you have a student housing office. While most people go to see them for rental listings, they're primary purpose is to help people like you (er... that is, tenants that are being screwed).

Good luck! You deserve to get your money back. Tell us what happens.

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2002

I used to be a professional landlord, but it was in Nebraska. I'm not sure of the specifics in Georgia, but the first thing you MUST do is send a letter CERTIFIED MAIL to the landlord. In many states, the landlord's asses are covered unless you can prove that there was a written request for the deposit. Every property manager knows what certified mail means. I highly recommend to anyone renting that any and all of your correspondence with your landlord be sent certified mail. It's a little thing, but it means a lot.

Your local housing authority is a good place to start. Call the city housing office, or just call any local government office and explain the situation so that they can refer you to the correct office.

Tell your story. If you need to file a complaint, they will coach you through it. If you need to sue, they'll help you go about it.

Your landlord knows his/her rights, and wouldn't be sandbagging you if he/she didn't think that they could. You must show them that you are not going to be scared off. Good luck!

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2002

Thanks guys...all of this is great advice. Looks like I've got my work cut out for me, but I know it'll definitely be worth it. And WG, thanks for the Emory info. Yes, I'm in Atlanta, where the state law is 30 days max for getting your deposit back. Too bad I moved out way back in April 2001 and still have yet to get a cent! Crazy, huh?

I'll definitely keep you guys posted...I've got to get to work on writing my letter to the leasing company. Need that documentation! The leasing company that took over at my old apartment complex (a month after I moved out) has been helping me through this as well, and told me that I'm entitled to three times my monthly rent. If that's the case, then this is definitely worth it. Hell, it's worth it just to get my $200 bucks back...but if I'm entitled to more by law, who an I to say no? Thanks guys.

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2002

Oh, and Robyn, thanks for the certified mail bit. I had no idea!

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2002