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Three weeks ago I put a $500 deposit down as a hold on an apartment for me and a roommate friend of mine. One week later my roommate, who I included on my application and who never filed his own application as the online form indicates as a requirement, backed out on the place and I promptly informed the company that I was withdrawing my application and asked for a refund of my money. I was told by my contact that the check had been sent to the property owner who may not be willing to refund my money as the unit would have to be put back on the market (though at the time the unit was still listed on the hotpads and postlets websites and I have printed and retained dated copies of this as proof) and may not rent in time though if it did the property owner might be more inclinced to give me my money back.
At this point I asked for the property owners contact information. This request was never fulfilled, nor have my subsequent emails been addressed and my phone calls never seem to make it past voicemail.
Since then the postings on craigslist.org, hotpads and postlets have all been taken down which, in conjunction with the timing of the thing (it's now the first of september), leads me to believe that the apartment has been rented either to the former tenants (who were still in the process of looking for a new place to live when I was looking at this rental and, according to the landlady, were still responsible for paying the rent for september if they didn't find a renter as a result of their failure to give a 22 day notice of their move) or to someone else.
It seems clear to me that these people are trying to give me the run around in hopes that I'll give up on my $500 so my question, before I threaten them with legal action, is whether or not I have a leg to stand on when it comes to court proceedings.
Oh and yes, I do have a string of emails to verify the majority of this story.
What did the contract that you did sign say? I hope you signed something when you put the deposit down. Usually the landlord will force you to pay a fee when put the property on hold if you do not sign a lease within a specified period of time afterwards. This is to compensate the property owner for the lost revenue while the property is taken off of the market. The last time I changed my mind, I paid a $100 fee.
If you kept the contract and it did not specify a specific amount or specified no amount at all, I would just take them to small claims court to get the money back and possibly more. Seems like a pretty easy issue to resolve if you have the contract.
We only take a deposit on signing the lease. If an application is approved the tenant has a 24 hour window to sign the lease and if not done the tenant looses their application fee and the right to rent from us, unless the unit/home is still available but it gives us the right to keep advertising it.
Once the sec. deposit is paid (with signing the lease or even without) we give the tenant a paper stating the sec. deposit is non refundable unless the tenant moves in the home. At that point the sec. deposit will become refundable.
In some case we have to take the homes of the market for a few weeks and we don't do that without a sec. deposit paid, even if the lease is not signed yet.
We have signed leases for all properties and we don't do anything verbal, just to avoid issues.
I hope the way we do business might help you....
IMO you have a strong case to get your money back since it was not taken of the market as you have the proof. Small claims court might be your option...
To the OP, just send them a certified letter demanding your entire deposit back by x date, or you will take them to small claims court. The certified letter isn't probably necessary, but it looks serious and official.
If they balk or try to tell you they're going to deduct x amount of money, tell them if they don't give all of the money back, you will take them to court and then when you win, they can also pay for your court fees, which the court allows.
It's calling the bully's bluff. Works like a charm. And if it doesn't, then follow through by filing in small claims court for the full amount. You'll get it all back, plus ask for your court fees to be reimbursed by the LL if you win, which is also allowed.
And the thing is, let's say the judge even agreed that you did have to pay them say $100. He'll also award you your court fees back, which are usually around $100. So, win win.
I have an apartment lease Contract that I haven't signed yet. I still have 40 days to move in. Can I cancel this (contract) ?
Yes, most likely. Landlords have to mitigate damages in almost all states. This means a landlord must make a reasonable effort not to lose money, and to re-rent the place asap.
Even in a state where it's not technically required, a judge would likely say that since you haven't even moved in, and the landlord still has 40 days to rent it, he's most likely going to let you out of the contract.
Here's a link if you want to read a legal article about breaking leases:
Three weeks ago I put a $500 deposit down as a hold on an apartment for me and a roommate friend of mine. One week later my roommate,.......backed out on the place and I promptly informed the company that I was withdrawing my application and asked for a refund of my money.
I'm not sure it works that way. You paid for a service, which is for them to hold the apartment for you, stop showing it and remove it from the market, and this gives you piece of mind that the place is yours until you can manage to meet and sign the lease.
You failed on your end of negotiations (backing out), but the service has already been provided. You don't get your holding/deposit money back.
I don't think it matters that the ads stayed up, because they may have gotten calls from interested parties, and they would tell them that the place is reserved, therefore losing potential tenants.
I don't see how you are getting screwed over here, nor how you can take anybody to small claims and not get laughed out of the courtroom. So long as the contract that you sign (deposit contract) is the standard which is used. This has nothing to do with a lease, that is an entire different matter.
Remember, they didn't fail on this deal, you did. So you come out the loser. It sucks, but its how these situations are interpreted. I'm sorry you had to lose your money to learn this lesson.
This is standard and legal in my area. If I am holding my rental for someone I only do so with a deposit. When the lease is signed and they get the keys I apply the deposit to the first months rent.
If THEY back out, the deposit is non-refundable. If I don't fulfill my end of it (something happened and I don't quite have the rental ready on the right date), then its not their fault, its mine.
The refund has to do on who is defaulting on the holding agreement. In this case its the potential tenant.
This is standard and legal in my area. If I am holding my rental for someone I only do so with a deposit. When the lease is signed and they get the keys I apply the deposit to the first months rent.
If THEY back out, the deposit is non-refundable. If I don't fulfill my end of it (something happened and I don't quite have the rental ready on the right date), then its not their fault, its mine.
The refund has to do on who is defaulting on the holding agreement. In this case its the potential tenant.
This is where it would help to know where the OP is located. In CA no deposit can be non-refundable, and there can be no other non-refundable fees (other than the application fee which can't be more than around $40 - forget the new maximum).
But, that's not true for all states, so OP - where are you?
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