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Old 04-12-2012, 08:17 PM
 
2 posts, read 3,482 times
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I searched the forums but could not find any specific forum that talked about this. If there is one I apologize.

Long and short is that I have been living in an apartment for a little less than two years. There have been tons of drama but until we have a copy from the building and health inspector I am going to avoid getting into that.

My questions is this: When we first moved in we paid our rent + security deposits in two separate checks. Within thirty days of paying the full security deposit we never got a letter regarding the status of our deposit. No information regarding the bank, account number, type of account, interest rate, or anything else. We asked sporadically within the year and three quarters we've been living here for information via text and phone calls but have received no response and no proof it was ever deposited. We are planning on moving out (the LL gave us thirty days notice to leave (that's another story)) and I was wondering if, if we chose to take them to small claims court, could the LL win the case as long as he gave us the deposit money within thirty days of moving out? There is no damage to the apartment and we plan on cleaning thoroughly and taking photographs along with having either an inspector or friend take separate photographs along with signing and dating it. Though I have tried to look up the laws it does not state what happens or what a tenant should do if he/she was never provided any information regarding their security deposit. Can the LL still be sued for double the security deposit if he/she can pay the money or must they show proof that it was put in within thirty days of receiving the full amount? In short, is the LL giving the deposit back before the thirty days are over after we move enough or can we sue because they failed to provide the information after numerous inquiries into it/within a timely manner? I have a feeling that the LL is not going to pay us back and I was wondering if anyone knew what process we should follow in order to find out if we have any semblance of a case? If we send a certified letter and they provide the account info but the bank history shows that it was not deposited until a year after we provided the full amount does that give us cause to take them to court or does all that matter is that they deposited the money prior to us moving out?

Reader's digest version: We move into an apartment and pay security deposit and rent. We never receive bank form to fill out nor do we ever get notice our money was deposited into bank account. We have asked numerous times for information and/or account history with no response. LL has ignored all inquiries into it and has history of either being late with returning deposits to previous tenants, tenants have seen bank statements showing money was withdrawn, and we have gotten no information whatsoever. We suspect (are not certain) LL spent our deposit money and never put any money into an account. LL has given us and our lawyer a letter giving us 30 days to leave (later mailed a certified copy) and still no info on our deposit or the account. When we leave can we sue for mishandling our deposit even if he returns our deposit (without interest earned) within 30 days? Does the time it took to put our deposit into an account/give us information about the account hold any relevance to whether or not we have a case? If the LL refuses to give us our deposit back then I figure we would have a case but if they don't then can we still go to court since we were never given any notification about it whatsoever? Any advice would be helpful, especially if someone can cite laws that show validity.
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Old 04-12-2012, 09:42 PM
 
291 posts, read 974,675 times
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I've found this to be a decent resource for security deposit related law--you can also pull the statutes to check out the annotations if you want further info.

LSNJLAW - D: Chapter 3: Security Deposits

Here's the law itself:
www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/codes/publications/pdf.../sdepsit_law.pdf

I'm a bit confused as to why you'd want to sue your landlord if he gives back your security deposit within the permitted time frame? I'm just not clear on what damages you'd have if you got your deposit back within the 30-day time frame--the time, inconvenience and expense of filing a lawsuit doesn't seem worthwhile, unless I'm missing something or there is more to the story.

In any case, one thing the law mentions (as set forth in the above link) is that, in many cases, if your landlord hasn't followed the law as far as notifying you about your security deposit, you can demand that he apply it toward your rent. So if you haven't paid your last month's rent yet, you can always send a certified letter telling him to apply the deposit. That might alleviate your concern about not getting your deposit back.
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Old 04-13-2012, 04:55 AM
 
Location: Midwest transplant
2,050 posts, read 5,923,161 times
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Contact your county housing agency. They know the tenant~landlord laws for NJ. Also might want to try the Office of Attorney General.
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Old 04-13-2012, 04:58 AM
 
50,337 posts, read 35,975,050 times
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What would your damages be for mishandling it as long as you get it back? You want to sue for the $2.17 you might have earned on it in a standard savings account?
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Old 04-13-2012, 08:49 AM
 
14,780 posts, read 43,543,561 times
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This is the PDF of the actual law, the relevant part for this case is the last paragraph on page 2.

http://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/code...depsit_law.pdf

Your situation is a little complicated, so let's break it down...

When you make a security deposit, the LL must inform you within 30 days of where the money is deposited (PLEASE NOTE...it is considered "notice" if the information is printed on the lease, so double check to see if it is there), the account number and the interest that it will bear. Then either annually by January 31st or at lease renewal the LL must re-inform you of this information and pay you any accumulated interest.

If the LL fails to do the first part (inform you in 30 days of receipt of security and the information is not printed on the lease), your remedy is to send the LL a letter stating that the security deposit is to be used as rent and you are legally entitled to interest payments equal to 7 percent per annum from the date the check was given to the LL. You are from that point forward no longer required to keep a security deposit for as long as you live in the unit.

If the LL failed the second part (providing annual notice/statement and paying annual interest), BEFORE you can claim to use the security as rent, you must inform the LL of his failure to comply in writing and then give the LL 30 days to comply. If they do not comply in that time period, then you can follow the same remedy as outlined above.

The ONLY time you can sue for double the deposit plus interest is if the LL fails to return your security deposit plus interest within 30 days of lease termination.

In your exact situation, the only way this LL can comply is to pay you your deposit with interest (it must be 7% per annum since deposit notice was never given) within 30 days of the end of the lease minus any claimable expenses. Any failure to do that means you can effectively sue the LL in small claims court for double the security, plus interest, plus court costs.
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Old 04-13-2012, 02:21 PM
 
2 posts, read 3,482 times
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JerseyJersey, the story is much more complicated (and long winded) but it's not something I want to get to deep into. Suffice it to say that the LL has received a summons to court for not having the property inspected for over thirteen years and they are very shady when it comes to safety, inspections, and money. We have paid the rent up to current so we could not use it for that purpose either.

OCNJGirl: It's not that I wanted to take him to court so much so as I was wondering what the conditions were for taking him to court. I was confused as to the whole "You can use the deposit plus interest to pay for rent." versus the "You can take them to small claims court for double your deposit." I was also unclear as to whether or not the LL had broken any violations by repeatedly denying any information regarding the status of our account.

NJGoat: Thank you as that clarified most if not all questions I had (sorry, I'm very sleep deprived and my mother just passed away a few hours ago so I'm seeing doubles). The LL never gave us any information on where the money would be deposited (it's not on the lease). The LL has never given us any annual information or paid us accumulated interest. We never sent a letter requesting that our security deposit be used for rent as we never had a deficit in rent funds. At this point I guess the best course of action would be to send him a certified letter informing him of his failure to comply and give him thirty days. As we plan to move out within the next week it will be somewhat of a moot point but I have a feeling the LL will try to keep the security deposit while giving no reason as to why and if it comes to that then I guess we we will be taking them to small claims court. If he pays a portion of the deposit back then I take it I would be suing for double the remainder plus interest and court fees?

On a related note can a LL legally put in a lease that a tenant's deposit can not be used as payment of rent? That's one of the the rules in our lease but it seems to go against the whole 'security act'.
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Old 04-13-2012, 02:46 PM
 
14,780 posts, read 43,543,561 times
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Quote:
If he pays a portion of the deposit back then I take it I would be suing for double the remainder plus interest and court fees?
I'm not an attorney, but I am a LL. My advice at this point would be to not send him anything. You are paid up on your rent, so you can't use it for that. I would let him stumble and either not refund the deposit and/or not pay an appropriate amount of interest. Since he is in default of the deposit rules he must pay you a 7% per annum rate. Failing to refund the deposit and all due interest in a timely manner triggers the last part of the provision that you can sue for double security plus interest.

With the facts as presented I think you have a pretty strong case for being able to sue for double the security based on the likelihood that he is going to screw up giving you the security back somehow.

Quote:
On a related note can a LL legally put in a lease that a tenant's deposit can not be used as payment of rent? That's one of the the rules in our lease but it seems to go against the whole 'security act'.
A LL can put anything they want on a lease. Any provisions in the lease that are contrary to NJ state law are automatically invalid and unenforcable.

Many leases contain the provision that "security deposits may not be used for rent" as part of language clarifying what the security deposit is for and how it may be used. It eliminates an issue where if it wasn't spelled out entirely a tenant could claim that they want their security used in place of a rent payment. When it comes to the provisions of the security act, that lease clause is null and void.
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Old 04-13-2012, 02:48 PM
 
Location: NJ
17,574 posts, read 46,030,185 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sufferners250 View Post
On a related note can a LL legally put in a lease that a tenant's deposit can not be used as payment of rent? That's one of the the rules in our lease but it seems to go against the whole 'security act'.
I think that is standard. You don't want a renter to not pay the last month's rent and say that the security deposit should be used. That is not acceptable.

However, that doesn't trump what GOAT posted. If the LL doesn't do what they are supposed to with the deposit then that kicks in.
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Old 04-13-2012, 03:02 PM
 
50,337 posts, read 35,975,050 times
Reputation: 76227
Sorry about your Mom
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