Jersey City - landlord impropoerly withheld part of my deposit (apartment, renters)
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So, after giving my landlord 30 days notice, I moved out of my apartment (an eight-unit building) on December 31st, 2010. Before leaving, I spent several hours cleaning the apartment (refrigerator, stove, oven, floors, all of the rooms), and left it clean enough that someone could've moved in right away if they wanted to. Then I took pictures (time-stamped) of the freshly-cleaned apartment. Here's what happened next:
1. The landlord failed to abide by N.J. law, which requires landlords to return security deposits within 30 days after vacancy. I had to send him an e-mail to remind of him of his obligation, and I finally got my deposit (but not all of it--that's coming up) the third week of February.
2. Along with the check (which--this is important--he sent via regular mail), he included a statement in which he informed me that he was withholding $175 of my deposit because the apartment was found, upon inspection, to be "very dirty". He claimed that both the bathroom and the kitchen required "deep cleaning," and that the refrigerator had to be emptied. Now, remember, I took pictures after I was finished cleaning, and my pictures prove otherwise.
3. I wrote him a letter informing him, diplomatically, that a terrible mistake had been made, and I included the relevant pictures. I sent all of this to him via certified mail, return receipt. According to the post office's tracking site, they left the "come and get your letter" notice for him on February 25th. (Let me state right now that I don't necessarily believe that he's the one who inspected the apartment and lied about its condition, as he lives in Florida. I'm guessing that he had one of his designates inspect the apartment, and that person misrepresented the condition of the apartment. The landlord is, however, in NJ from time to check on his apartment--and I think his mother lives in NJ, too--so it's possible that he himself could've inspected it and misrepresented the facts solely in order to keep some of my deposit.)
4. To date, he has not retrieved the letter and pictures. Why, I'm not sure. It's possible that he's out of town (his father lives overseas, and I know that he sometimes visits him, and as I said, he's sometimes in NJ checking up on his properties), so I'm not not necessarily assuming any devious intent yet. If the item isn't picked up within 15 days, the post office will return it to me. (Given that this is March 18th, I'm guessing that it should be on its way back to me now.)
As you might imagine, I am not amused. I'm curious, though: What next steps would you take from here, or what do you think about this situation? Would you attempt the certified mail, return receipt a second time, or would you immediately move to contact him via e-mail. I'm interested in replies from both renters and landlords.
Oh, and if I don't get a response or get my money back, I fully intend on suing him in small claims court for as much as the law entitles me to. (After all, I thought I was being a nice guy by forgiving his breach of law when he didn't return my deposit within 30 days, but now, he's kept my money unjustly.) Granted, it's "only" $175, but (a) it's the principle of the thing (either he or his designate deliberately and grossly misrepresented the condition of the apartment,and I have pics that back me up), and (b) I'm currently unemployed, so $175 isn't chump change for me.
Why dont you just call him? sometime a phone call resolves a lot of miscommunication. But if he's intentionally withholding money from you, then your only option to get it back is suing him in small claim. NJ is a tenant state, so you should have a good chance of getting your money back + additional for the trouble given you have detailed records and photos.
Seems my landlord is trying something like that. I told her in Feb. that I will not be renewing my lease and wanted to go month to month.
She said fine and that she will list the apt on Craigslist and will inform me when she will be bringing prospectives to view the apartment which is no problem. Now remember she told me this in early February.
I get a call this week from her broker asking me when the apartment will be vacant and I told him I'm moving on the 23rd and it will be available on the 31st after making sure it's clean So actually April 1st. He seems shocked but said that shouldn't be a problem. Oh and I paid March 1st rent at the new rental amount.
The next day I speak to my landlord and she tells me that she thought I was leaving in May and she might have to keep my deposit because she didn't list the apartment because she didn't want to "RUSH" me.
I'm like I told you that I was moving in Feb so why should you keep my security deposit for April 1st when I won't be living there. It's not my fault you didn't list the apartment. Then she's going to tell me that "she'll figure it out". What you mean you will figure out if you're going to give me back my security.
I also found out that on that the same day I spoke to her, my son called me and asked if I had put the top lock on the door because it was on and the bottom lock wasn't.
We don't use the top lock, so she entered my apartment and too this day she still hasn't called me to say why. I'm still trying to figure out what she was looking for.
If I don't get it back, we will be going to court because you can't hold my security until you rent that apartment.
Why dont you just call him? sometime a phone call resolves a lot of miscommunication. But if he's intentionally withholding money from you, then your only option to get it back is suing him in small claim. NJ is a tenant state, so you should have a good chance of getting your money back + additional for the trouble given you have detailed records and photos.
But i would call first and explain the situation.
If this were merely about miscommunication, I would probably call him, but this seems to me to be a deliberate misrepresentation of the facts--whether on his part or on the part of one of his designates--and in case we have to go to court, I wanted everything to be proper from the get-go.
And even I did call him, assuming that he's not the one who lied about the condition of the apartment, he'd (quite understandably) want to see pics, in which case I'd be communicating with him via mail anyway. It just made more sense for me to go the certified mail route first.
If this were merely about miscommunication, I would probably call him, but this seems to me to be a deliberate misrepresentation of the facts--whether on his part or on the part of one of his designates--and in case we have to go to court, I wanted everything to be proper from the get-go.
And even I did call him, assuming that he's not the one who lied about the condition of the apartment, he'd (quite understandably) want to see pics, in which case I'd be communicating with him via mail anyway. It just made more sense for me to go the certified mail route first.
u sound very knowledgeable and seem to have things well documented. I guess if you don't mind sitting in court for 1 or 2 days than u seem to have an upper hand in getting your money back. Bring the photos and receipts for the certified mail. For me time is money, I wouldn't waste it sitting in court for a couple of days.
If it was me, I would let it go. But if you have the time to go chase down $175 then go for it. At this point, I would just file the claim in small claims court. You've already sent certified mail that he didn't pick up.
Did you tell her in writing that you'd be vacating the apartment as of the end of March? I hope so, because written proof might be of some help to you if you do end up going to court. And just to be safe, I'd suggest that any contact you have with her from this point forward be done in writing (and make copies for your records). I would suggest certified mail, return receipt, just in case. (Even if you have verbal communication with her, I'd follow up in writing--again, with copies for your records.)
As for your suspicion that she was in your apartment: My lay understanding is, if you gave notice, she has the right to show the apartment to prospective tenants; however, she has to get permission from you or give you 24 hours notice before entering your apartment (unless there was some kind of emergency situation). If she did neither, then she entered your apartment improperly.
As for the security deposit: If you vacate the apartment at the end of March, legally, she has until the end of April to return your security deposit (or the security deposit, minus any damages, with a statement explaining the damages, which must be sent to you via certified mail). If you don't receive the security deposit within 30 days after you vacate, then you can take her to small claims court and request double or triple (I forget at the moment which one it is in NJ) what you're owed.
Sue..even its for $175. That is not chump change. Landlords disgust me in general as I had a landlord withhold $750 in security stating same thing.
Also sue for time loss as well. Make it at least double that!
Sue..even its for $175. That is not chump change. Landlords disgust me in general as I had a landlord withhold $750 in security stating same thing.
Also sue for time loss as well. Make it at least double that!
You can sue for more than $175. YOu can sue for 2 or 3 times the amount. So to the OP sue for the full amount, afte ryou have try to contact him one more(call him).
Well, I currently commute from Philadelphia to NYC for my university studies, so I'm busy and exhausted. (After being laid off from my job and exhausting my savings and unemployment, I could no longer afford my apartment, and my only option was to move in with my mother in Philly.) While I certainly understand the point that you both make about the time involved in this, for me, it's the principle of the thing, so I'm certainly willing to make time for it. I believe that landlords do **** like this precisely because they don't count on people challenging them. But when you're wrong, you're wrong.
Also, in addition to being a poor college student, I'm still (unamusedly) unemployed so while $175 may not seem like much money, when you don't have any, it means a lot. I mean, I could pay a couple of bills with that money and lessen the burden on my mother who's been helping me out.
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