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in a PA rental, the LL allowed us to move in early, but when, after the cleaners had come through, we pointed out dirty things like the bathrooms (toothpaste in the sink, hair in the tub) and kitchen (fridge, sink & oven- had foil like someone just made a pizza), he said i guess people have different standards of clean. he said he could have the cleaners come back but we couldn't have access to the property until afterward or we could suck it up and clean the place ourselves since we were allowed in 10 days early without charge. while we were cleaning, something else came up in discussion that we did not agree with. seeing our discomfort, he said, "i could always give you your money back". when we accepted the refund offer the next day (via text) he went totally unresponsive to texts, calls, emails. the only thing we had on the property was patio furniture and plants. nothing was moved in, but we did turn on the electricity when the previous tenant said it was turned off. when we went up with a friend and removed our outside belongings, i saw the LL and when attempted to engage him, he told us we had 5 minutes to get off the property or we were trespassing and he would call the police. then he said i had four and half minutes to leave and to text him a forwarding address. we left.
we had a signed lease that was to begin october 1st. we gave him 1st month rent and security deposit on sept 20th which he cashed on sept 22nd. he kicked us off the property sept 23rd and i emailed him our forwarding address and requested he honor his offer to refund our money which we had accepted the day before via text. it is 10 days later and we have not heard from him.
it is a shame because he seemed so normal- had beers with us, offered us storage in his barn at no extra cost, talked about movie nights.. maybe he is acting this way because his feelings are hurt.. but it seems like we have no choice but to file suit since he is being dishonorable. had he not offered us the refund, we would have sucked it up for a year then moved (like normal people)...
Send him a return receipt certified mail letter documenting the events and asking that your deposit be returned within 10 days of the date of the letter. If the letter is refused or not picked up the PO will return it to you stamped accordingloy and you retain it unopened to produce in court if it comes to that. If you haven't heard from him in a couple of weeks go and file your suit in Small Claims court. There are some loose ends in your story so before you file anything it would probably be a good idea if you checked with a lawyer and show him/her all the paperwork/texts/emails that you have.
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