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Ah, so I misread your post and the stove they're not paying you for is the new stove which you purchased and for which they agreed to pay you $250. Frankly you wouldn't have got much more for it if you'd sold it privately so the offer was realistic. What's NOT either realistic or legal is them refusing to now pay you what they agreed to pay you for the stove. I suggest you write to them (return receipt certified) and tell them that (a) you expect to be paid the agreed-upon $250 for the stove; (b) that this payment is entirely separate from any security deposit deduction; (c) you deny all responsibility for the old flooring which was exposed when the old stove was removed; (d) you likewise deny all responsibility for repair of the window which was already broken when you moved into the unit, and (e) you expect full return of your security deposit in accordance with state law as well as payment for the stove. Further advise them that if any deductions are made from the security deposit you won't hesitate to file in small claims court.
In fact, according to state law (and you should check PA's laws which are linked in the first "sticky" on this page)) a landlord in most states has only a maximum of 30 days to return the security deposit and any deductions must be accounted for and itemized. If your landlord is already outside that time limit then legally you get your entire security deposit back, period. Check those details before writing.
The lease was in NJ, which I believe also has a 30-day law. However, my specific lease said the deposit must be returned within ten days. She said yesterday that it was being mailed today (one day off since the lease was over on Nov. 30), so I expect that shortly.
Once I have the security deposit (which she says is being returned in full), the issue devolves solely to the $250 for the stove. So any certified letter would simply be about the $250. I figure I could either send the letter, wait some specified number of days for a (almost certainly negative response) or I could just file in small claims once I know for sure she's not going to pay me for the stove. Considering I've tried twice to get her to acknowledge that she owes me for it, and twice she's completely rebuffed my attempts at reason (and I have been as cordial as I can be in my correspondence, no nasty language or anything), I'm thinking I might as well just save myself a month and file in small claims court.
Well, the woman has escalated way beyond what I'd expected. Rather than send me the security deposit and nothing for the stove, she's now demanded I come remove the stove within seven days and that she's going to buy a new one and charge me full price out of my security deposit. I guess I'll be calling a lawyer tomorrow.
She's also claiming she's going to talk to her lawyer about some foundation damage caused by water. The sump pump wasn't plugged in when I moved out (an admitted omission on my part - I forgot to turn it back on). But the well had been dry for six months, and I have proof from almost two years ago that I'd warned the landlord about crumbling foundation on the house (on the opposite side from the pump). She's gone bonkers.
As stated... you have no real history with the person you are now dealing with.
From the sound of things... it is doubtful you will come to a satisfactory solution.
Small Claims might just be your best bet to get it behind you...
One word of encouragement... sometimes a letter from a lawyer or being served with court papers is enough to tip the scale in your favor... seen it happens many times.
If your lease says the security deposit will be returned within 10 days (less, by law, written documentation of any deductions) your LL has already breached that clause. The 30 days in state law is irrelevant since your lease states 10 days and in this case supersedes state law. She cannot now make any deductions from your security deposit for a stove or anything else. You've won that by her default!
Did the landlord send written notification that your entire security deposit is to be used for a new stove in the amt of $xxx? (Was this the official notification about security deposit within the 10 day timeframe?)
If you didnt get the official notification as per your lease and state law(within 10 days of moveout per lease, certified mail if state law specifies this, in writing if state law specifies, specific wording if state law specifies)...then you are due the entire security deposit back by default. Let us know and we can give guidance.
Did the landlord send written notification that your entire security deposit is to be used for a new stove in the amt of $xxx? (Was this the official notification about security deposit within the 10 day timeframe?)
If you didnt get the official notification as per your lease and state law(within 10 days of moveout per lease, certified mail if state law specifies this, in writing if state law specifies, specific wording if state law specifies)...then you are due the entire security deposit back by default. Let us know and we can give guidance.
No. Ten days would have been December 10th, on which day I received merely an email stating that she was going to not pay me for the stove and would send back my entire security deposit. THat night I responded stating that I didn't agree with her assessment, but that she should send her accounting to me and I would decide whether or not to take legal action after I saw the accounting (basically, making it clear I was done negotiating). Two days later, on the 12th (two days beyond the 10-day timeframe), she emailed me with the nonsense about deducting the cost of a new stove from the security deposit.
I have never received an official notification (as in, something other than email) of accounting from her. I've seen no specific costs or estimates of costs to justify her original plan of not paying me for the stove to cover alleged "damages." Assuming I get nothing today, she will be at least one week late in returning the deposit with an accounting since there's no mail on Sunday.
Let's try this one more time before we go to the annoyance for all of us of going to court. Please recall our conversations by phone and text message in October, when you said that you did not want the stove. I clearly wanted you to keep it since I have no need for it myself, providing I was appropriately compensated for it per the verbal agreement I had with [the landlords]. You and [the landlord] spoke, and then on October 31 you put in writing (via email) that you would pay $250 for the stove. I accepted this, and in good faith left the stove at the property per a now written agreement for payment.
Your contact of December 3 and 10 stated you would not be paying me for the stove, an act that, based on written communication, not verbal, is in breach of contract. In addition, we are beyond the 10-day period in which you were to return the security deposit according to the terms of the lease, which you acknowledged on October 31, another violation.
Per standard landlord/tenant law, you are required to give me an accounting for amounts deducted for repairs. Vague sums are not valid accounting.
That said, I will concede to the repair of the window since we did not do a walkthrough when I moved in to the property. However, I am quite sure, as is my counsel, that the tile in the kitchen is another matter. Why don't we try a compromise? I will grant you $100 for the window, and you will pay $150 for the stove along with a prompt return of the security deposit. That way, as mentioned above, we all avoid the hassle of court.
Regarding the foundation damage to the house, I have written proof from 2011 that I contacted [the landlord] with my concerns about the foundation. He acknowledged the problem. If you like, I would be happy to forward you that email conversation.
We'll see what they say. I'm not hopeful, but I figure it's worth one more try to avoid lawyers and court. I'm giving them one last chance to avoid paying me double the security deposit, court fees, and for two stoves.
Well, I never heard back from them. But I talked to an actual lawyer in NJ (my friend's brother does family/real estate law) earlier this week about the situation. He advised me to take the email I sent offering terms and turn it into a letter of release, get it notarized, and send that by certified mail. I did that Thursday, and gave the woman until the 28th to respond. And I sent it directly to the actual landlord, not the step-daughter I'd been dealing with. The lawyer thought perhaps an actual letter in their hands offering to have the whole situation resolved might sway them.
I sure am glad that my need for the deposit isn't pressing, though, since it's a significant sum of money they've yet to return to me.
I also wonder if they've already bought a new stove, and if so what they did with the one I left. The lawyer I spoke with said I should absolutely not remove the one I'd bought from the property as the step-daughter demanded: that doing so would complicate matters even further.
Well, I guess we'll find out late next week whether they're going to settle or whether I have to file in small claims. At any rate, I'm not going to think about it again until after Christmas. I want to enjoy my holiday!
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Well, the woman has escalated way beyond what I'd expected. Rather than send me the security deposit and nothing for the stove, she's now demanded I come remove the stove within seven days and that she's going to buy a new one and charge me full price out of my security deposit. I guess I'll be calling a lawyer tomorrow.
