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Landlord suing Tenant for damages

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Dyerseve

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York State

Hello,

My girlfriend had a one year lease that concluded at the end of March for a house in New York. She put a $3200 security deposit down and took pictures of the house before moving in. Before the end of the lease, she gave a written letter to the landlord stating she would not be renewing. Before leaving the house, she and the landlord did a walk through to verify that everything looked alright and that there was no damage, which he agreed with. She moved into her new house and never received the security deposit from the landlord. She sent him a certified letter, which he signed for requesting payment of the security deposit more than a month after she left the house. Today, she received a letter from her former landlord stating he was suing her in small claims for $800 in damages. She has pictures of the house upon entering and leaving it to show the condition of the house did not change while she was there?

What can we do? I truly believe the landlord is doing this simply because she's young and he cant afford to give her the security deposit back, hoping she'll drop it. We desperately need advice. Thank you in advance.
 


BL

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York State

Hello,

My girlfriend had a one year lease that concluded at the end of March for a house in New York. She put a $3200 security deposit down and took pictures of the house before moving in. Before the end of the lease, she gave a written letter to the landlord stating she would not be renewing. Before leaving the house, she and the landlord did a walk through to verify that everything looked alright and that there was no damage, which he agreed with. She moved into her new house and never received the security deposit from the landlord. She sent him a certified letter, which he signed for requesting payment of the security deposit more than a month after she left the house. Today, she received a letter from her former landlord stating he was suing her in small claims for $800 in damages. She has pictures of the house upon entering and leaving it to show the condition of the house did not change while she was there?

What can we do? I truly believe the landlord is doing this simply because she's young and he cant afford to give her the security deposit back, hoping she'll drop it. We desperately need advice. Thank you in advance.
Was this walk through signed off on by the LL ,and does she have a copy?

If not , the LL and her will have to show the court their evidence(s) , and the court will decide .
 

Dyerseve

Junior Member
Sadly BL, it was not signed off on. And unfortunately I had to work that day so only her and her mother were there when he did the walk through. And I know her mothers word wont hold any bearing in court.

I got more details after posting this. Her LL apparently sent a letter threatening to sue if she did not send him an addition $800 on top of her security with "quotes" of costs for the damage, which I know is also a big pile of S*** because he did all of the work on his own because he's too cheap to pay someone else to do it for him.

I'm trying to locate a tenant advocacy group who I can meet with because neither one of us can afford an attorney right now.

Thank you for the responses so far. Any others who might have been in this situation please feel free to shed some light on the subject.
 

Alaska landlord

Senior Member
It is unlikely that the landlord would go into major repairs and associated cost about the damages done to the apartment during the initial walk through inspection. Actual damages are not accessed until a thorough inspection can be done on the unit. Tenant damages are often hidden or masked by the tenant in hope that it would be overlooked. This is often the case when a tenant has an unauthorized pet in the rental.

Your friend can elect to pay, or fight this in court. The landlord will bring in his evidence and your friend can defend herself.
 

BL

Senior Member
http://www.oag.state.ny.us/bureaus/real_estate_finance/pdfs/tenants_rights_guide.pdf

You say NY State , but I'm including NYC in case you meant NYC.

http://www.housingnyc.com/html/resources/attygenguide.html#1

Reasonable time to return deposit in NY ( about 30 days is reasonable).

As was stated she needs to file a counter suit , appear,and present her case with her evidence .

Today, she received a letter from her former landlord stating he was suing her in small claims for $800 in damages.
If the LL does not file soon ,she should go ahead and file her self for the full amount.
 
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