Paid 1st, last, and security and never moved in. Landlord won't give money back! (lease, tenant)
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I have a question I'm hoping someone out there can answer. I took a job in Salt Lake City and the company put me up for a month. Found a house to rent starting the 1st of May and gave the woman a check for $500 to hold it, one week later I gave a check for $2200 for 1st and last months rent. Two weeks later I decided that the job was not a fit for me, the date was April 26th. I spoke with the owner of the house and she said that she had spent the money and didn't have it to give back to be but when she did find a renter she would refund $1100. I'm moving back to Denver in a week and not sure what to do about getting back some of this money. I realize I should lose May but come on...she should give me back at least $1600 of the $2700 I gave her. This person is unemployed and obviously spent the money which I think is against the law. Would appreciate any insight to this, small claims is out since I'd have to come back and that would mean spending even more. I never signed a lease but I do have my cancelled checks as proof.
First of all and just to get it out of the way, she's perfectly entitled to spend the money as long as she can produce what's owed when it's due (such as a security deposit). If some of the money you gave her was for a security deposit then that should be returned to you immediately since you never moved into the unit. And she's absolutely entitled to keep May's rent since you're legally on a month to month agreement. Just as well you didn't sign a lease or things could have been a lot worse.
Your best bet right now is to read the Utah landlord tenant laws and see exactly what they say as each state words things a little differently. If those laws aren't listed in the first "sticky" on this forum page then just google, "Utah landlord tenant laws" to find them. Once you're on firm ground (and hopefully you have receipts as well as the cancelled checks with notations on them stating exactly what they were for) then send a certified return receipt letter to the landlady and advise her that in accordance with state law you expect to have such and such returned to you. You should also be aware that if she rents out the unit to someone else prior to June 1st you are legally entitled to the return of pro-rated rent for May since she cannot legally "double dip" on rent. Hope that helps to get you going and good luck.
Thanks for the reply STT! When I told her that I should get my security back (since I never lived in the rental) she said that it was not a security deposit but a good faith deposit. I told her I wouldn't be moving in sometime in late April and she said that she didn't have the money to give back to me. Also since there wasn't a lease am I not entitled to the last months back regardless if she rents it or not? I think I need to talk to a lawyer but that will cost even more. I know someone who owns rental property and he says I'm entitled to all of it back since I didn't sign a lease. And if it was a "good faith deposit" shouldn't I get back the $2200 for the rent?
Did you read your state landlord tenant laws or are you just relying on what your friend says? You CAN do some simple legwork yourself using the information readily available. If you still can't figure it out and need legal counsel, contact your local Legal Aid office and ask their advice. Good luck.
STT Resident gave some good advice. Especially the part about writing her a certified letter, asking for her to return the money and quoting the laws for your state in the letter. It sounds like this is a time sensitive situation for you. If it were me I would already be at the post office today sending the letter off.
Since you do not have a lease, you are entitled to $1,100.00 refunded within 30 days of the date you gave her the WRITTEN notice that you were not going to occupy the premise. That represents the amount of rent paid that falls past the 30 day notice period.
It sounds like the $500 was a holding deposit used to secure the rental. That is non refundable unless you have something in writting that says it is refundable. A Holding deposit is just that money you are paying to hold the premise so nobody else rents it. Had you occupied the unit, that holding deposit aswould have converted to advanced rent payment and would have created a credit on the second month. But since you cancelled the move in, the landlord is entitled to that entire amount without any refunds.
So the last issue is the other $1,100.00 paid to the LL. This is where you will need a lawyer to advise you because, since the LL had and kept the $500 holding deposit,does that mean the 30 day notice rule would not apply and you get all the paymenst made back less that $500? Or, does it mean that the $500 was forfeited because you didn;lt occupy but the notice that you are not occupying was under 30 days, so is the LL also entiled to the first month prorated rent? This will depend a lot on how Utah law is interpreted in the COURTS, so you may need to see a lawyer on this.
No matter what, the LL has only 30 days to refund the money and provide you a written statement to the accounting of that money. So you can act now or wait until 30 days have gone by and sue the LL in small claims (if the don;t give you that written notice) and hope the judge rules favorable on all parts for you. Either way you will get the last months rent of $1,1000 back, plus a required $100 civil penalty from the LL and all your courts cost.
I glanced through the Utah LL/tenant guidelines and couldn't find anything that addresses this situation. My best guess would be that STT is right and she is entitled to spend the money as long as she can produce it when required. I couldn't find any reference to escrow accounts or requirements for deposits to be held separately from rents, or any such.
I also couldn't find any reference to holding deposits / good faith deposits or how they are typically handled in Utah.
It is possible that it is legal for her to keep both the holding deposit since you flat out changed your mind, plus enough rent to cover until she rerents it, up to 30 days, since a verbal lease is usually considered to be a month to month lease.
But that is totally a guess. I would suggest calling a rental attorney in SLC and asking for a free phone consult and asking them your question. They would have the experience with local rules to know the answer and how to deal with it.
Oh, and unless your friend who owns rental properties owns them in Utah, I believe they are wrong. State law varies a lot when it comes to rentals.
Thanks for the replies everyone. I think it's going to be hard to collect on this. She moved in with her father over a year ago (she hasn't worked in that time and lives off unemployment) and I don't have that address. However I did send her an email and she did respond, so I have that much in writing. It was only two weeks between the time I gave her the $2700 and finding out that I was being transferred to Denver. And yes I did search the Utah LL/tenant guidelines but couldn't find any info regarding this matter. *sigh* I'm calling a lawyer tomorrow but small claims is out since it would cost quite a bit to come here to fight it. I think this woman is relying on that and is just trying to rip me off for the full amount. :-( Bad experience here in SLC for me.
My step daughter paid 750 security deposit on 9/23. On the 28 she called the landlord to tell her she could not move in on 10/1. No lease signed. This is for an efficiency at the tenants home. Tenant spent the money and will not give it back.
My step daughter paid 750 security deposit on 9/23. On the 28 she called the landlord to tell her she could not move in on 10/1. No lease signed. This is for an efficiency at the tenants home. Tenant spent the money and will not give it back.
Read the state landlord tenant laws on deposits (linked in the first "sticky" on this forum). In most states, if it was a "security" deposit it has to be returned. If it was a "holding" deposit the landlord in most cases can only withhold from it reasonable charges to re-advertise the unit. Once you've read the state statutes, send the LL a return receipt certified letter demanding return of the deposit. If no accounting is provided and the deposit's not returned, your stepdaughter needs to file a claim in Small Claims court.
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