Landlord wouldn't give my deposit back nor receipt

[cezar9]

Originally Posted by okaydorothy

It is none of your business if the landlord had someone move in or not. Chances are, that if you broke the lease half way thru the month, he had to wait for another tenant to move in on the first of the month, so he would have been out two weeks.
You did him no favors my friend ; you broke the lease, and as such you need to be responsible for that action.

Of course it is my business whether someone moved in before the end of the month. I've technically paid for the whole month. What people don't seem to understand is that if my landlord has not suffered any damages he has no reason to keep my deposit. It is not stated anywhere in the lease that I have to pay 500 for breaking the lease.

[cezar9]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Maybe, maybe not.

Did you provide the landlord written notification of your new address, and just as importants, can you prove it?


Further, the fact that you didn't "trust" the landlord with the last month's rent shows you really aren't that savvy with landlord-tenant law. Landlords aren't allowed to keep deposits in the shirt pockets, they have to keep them in the bank in escrow. The money was safe, and besides the landlord presumably also owns real property that can be liened upon if it was determined he owed you money. Your own circumstance provides less protection for the landlord- should you financially abscond on your duties to him.

I did

[szug-bot]

cezar - most of them are jerks.


i suggest to you that if you take any legal action, go in having ALL DATES AND TECHNICALITIES in order. know exactly when you first made a certain request, when you did a follow up, etc.
it sounds trivial, but a judge who is weary and not interested in cases dealing with less than several grand will throw it out if you arent impeccable with your records.

i think you should just eat it up. you are on the west coast, and it would cause you undo stress and too much trouble. if i were you, i would definitely post a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (if he is incorporated), and give him a one-star rating wherever you can.

[mdavis6890]

This is pretty simple really - your landlord is entitled to use your deposit to cover the rent, and he is entitled to charge you rent until somebody else moves in. Once someone else moves in, he can't charge you rent anymore. He also has to give you a receipt even (especially!) if you don't get any money back. Call him and explain nicely that you just want a receipt that shows where your money went. If you don't get one, look for some cheap legal advice.

Note: I'm a landlord, not an attorney.

Good luck!

[Pitt Chick]

Originally Posted by cezar9

I've technically paid for the whole month.

What?
According to your very first post, you did not PAY him anything at all... technically or otherwise.

Originally Posted by cezar9

I couldn't give my landlord 30 day notice and I only gave him 2 weeks notice. So on the day I gave verbal notice to my landlord I asked him if I could use my deposit in lieu of rent

Security deposits are not to be used for rent, but for damages to the apartment and for breaking the lease.

[cezar9]

Originally Posted by Pitt Chick

What?
According to your very first post, you did not PAY him anything at all... technically or otherwise.



Security deposits are not to be used for rent, but for damages to the apartment and for breaking the lease.

Perfect , so I owe him rent for one month plus 25 late fee and he owes me double or triple my security deposit. It's been 30 days and as predicted the clown hasn't provided me with a receipt. At this point I've moved on and this discussion is purely theoretical. I will "only" report him to the IRS, so he wins this battle but I am not sure if he will win the war.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by cezar9

Perfect , so I owe him rent for one month plus 25 late fee and he owes me double or triple my security deposit. It's been 30 days and as predicted the clown hasn't provided me with a receipt. At this point I've moved on and this discussion is purely theoretical. I will "only" report him to the IRS, so he wins this battle but I am not sure if he will win the war.

No. She means the tenant isn't to use the security deposit for rent. The landlord can if the tenant didn't pay rent. It's such an insignificant amount of money, the IRS won't care. Even if they ask him about it, he'll easily be able to prove he didn't make income off of that. He has plenty of other expenses as a landlord. Let go of your vindictiveness and get on with your life.