What Legal arguments would a Landlord being sued attempt to keep tenant's security deposit? (real estate)

[MaybeOutOfMoneySoon]

We were lucky enough to keep our all our rent receipts except the first one, but of course the 1st month's rent is obviously paid or we could never have gotten the apartment keys. We have the other following 11 rent receipts and we have the Security Deposit Receipt(SD), which amounts to another month's rent. We gave with the 1st Rent and SD and both are mentioned as being given to the Landlord in the lease agreement. We received a letter from the Landlord 2 months before our lease expired asking us to renew our lease because they've "enjoyed" us as tenants. These facts everyone agrees too. Yet for over a year now the Landlord has refused to return our Security Deposit and we now have sued and we will be in court. I think our case is solid, but the Landlord is an Attorney and apparently all his Attoney friends are helping him with his side. We have nobody on our side but you folks. Any comment stated will be of help with attached citations of any regulations, codes, or Common Laws specifically to defend against pure lying by the Landlord. Will The Landlord find a Leagal loophole? What kind?

[kmann-sherborn]

I'd call the Mass Tenant Rights Association and see what advice they can provide. I've heard of landlords trying to do this plenty of times because they figure either the tenants don't have the money to fight them or they won't bother going to court over that amount of money. Try & do a search on this landlord to see if you can find it if they've done this to other tenants. Best of luck.

[MaybeOutOfMoneySoon]

Thank you.

[ogre]

I'm uncertain from reading your post, but it sounds as if you have moved out. In that case, you're entitled to have the security deposit returned, minus the cost of any damage the landlord claims you caused.

Claiming that you caused damage is the obvious tactic the landlord could use to keep the deposit. One way for tenants to make this tactic less successful is to make out their own list describing any damage to the apartment at the time they move in and have the landlord sign it. That's good for future reference, but of course won't help with this situation if you did not make out such a damage report when you moved in. However, the letter asking you to renew your lease lends some veracity to a claim that you're entitled to a return of the security deposit, since it seems unlikely the landlord would have described you as a good tenant if you had caused damage.

One possible tactic you could use in your favor could work if the landlord did not handle the security deposit properly. By law in MA, the landlord is required to put that money in a bank account, pay you the interest, keep records on the account, etc. If the landlord does not follow the exact procedure required by law, you are entitled to a refund of the deposit, period, even if you've caused damage. If you've casued damage, the landlord could still sue for this cost after returning the security deposit if he has failed to handle the deposit properly and has to return it. This means that even if the landlord failed to handle the security deposit exactly as the law requires, and thus had to return it, another tactic he could use would be to sue you for damage he claimed you caused, especially if neither he nor you provided a record of damage already existing at the time you moved in and signed by you both. Still, that letter describing you as a good tenant should at least make it difficult for the landlord to get a judge to believe any claim that you caused damage.

[shiver]

Massachusetts Law About Tenants' Security Deposits - here's a page with links to the security deposit laws.

Massachusetts Security Deposits

Sec Deposit rules are pretty strict for landlords. It's actually the reason why some landlords don't even bother with security deposits and stick with first and last month's rent.

What's the reason the landlord told you that he was keeping it? If you have all your rental receipts then I'm assuming that he's claiming damage. There's a random provision in most leases in regards to Real Estate taxes, but I can't imagine it being the entire sec deposit. Under the law, if he's keeping your sec deposit, he's supposed to send you a list of the damage within 30 days of you moving out.

There's quite a bit of info on this topic online so spend some time doing research. Also, call the housing court. They may some info as well.

[MaybeOutOfMoneySoon]

No. Here's what Happened. We went into Small Claims Court and we had all our past months rent receipts that were certified by our bank as having been cashed by the landlords bank. However, a single rent check was a carbon copy of a written check for one of the month's rent, but we looked at this as more than adequate for proving all rents were paid since the dispute was simply that the Landlord was keeping our Security Deposit. We show certified proof from our bank that the Landlord's bank cashed our Security Deposit Check and that's the only contention being disputed by both parties. When the Landlord seen that he had zero reason now for withholding our Security Deposit for a year and 90 days after we vacated because we absolutely had no damages to the apartment that the Landlord was counter-suing us for we felt this finally was over and we'd prevail; however at court the Landlord insisted that all the rent checks be certified and now argued to the Magistrate that he was entitled to keep our Security Deposit because he wouldn't accept our carbon copy of the written check as proof we paid him the rent, although he never mentioned during the time we rented that any month's rent was lacking except the last month which we did have a ceritified cashed check by him to show the court that he was lying about that issue. So after court our bank said that they had the last cerified check and we sorry that it wasn't with the others we took to court but that before the end of the day they'd be happy to speak to the Magistrate and personally let him know that the Landlord did cash this check too. We also sent into the Magistrate a hard copy of this last rent check too. Now there isn't any thing for us to do except wait and see if the Landlord will return our Security Deposit by Order of the Court or if the Court will allow the Landlord to keep our Security Deposit. The Landlord is also an Attorney and this was our first time either of us ever were in court for anything. What if we lose all together, isn't this a crime knowing the court allows the Attorney to steal our money with their blessings? I think if that happens then we'd go turn the Landlord into the IRS for Tax invasion because he'd certainly be enriched by our money illegally and would never have reported it on his taxes so that's one thing. Then the Attorney General's Office would be notified to investigate the Magistrate who would be complicit in Obstruction of Justice by ruling in favor of the Attorney who had no way of winning this case without an illegal ruling.