Late Rent

What is the name of your state? Maryland
I live in a single family home in Maryland. I am late paying my rent this month. My landlord took my security deposit out of the savings account to pay the rent and told me that I had to now repay my security deposit. Two days after she did this she went and filed a failure to pay rent in rent court. Can she do this? Second part is that she is telling me that she is going to take me to civil court to have me evicted for breach of lease since my rent was late. Isn't that like double jeopardy? How can she take me to rent court when she used my security deposit to pay it and then turn around and say she will still evict me for breach of lease because I was late?

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally posted by tdawn9272
What is the name of your state? Maryland
I live in a single family home in Maryland. I am late paying my rent this month. My landlord took my security deposit out of the savings account to pay the rent and told me that I had to now repay my security deposit. Two days after she did this she went and filed a failure to pay rent in rent court. Can she do this? Second part is that she is telling me that she is going to take me to civil court to have me evicted for breach of lease since my rent was late. Isn't that like double jeopardy? How can she take me to rent court when she used my security deposit to pay it and then turn around and say she will still evict me for breach of lease because I was late?

My response:

Easy. It's BECAUSE she had to use the deposit to pay HER mortgage on the house. Do you think that house is there for free? You don't think she has her own bills to pay?

What is the matter with you?

This is simple. You didn't pay your rent, there is no more deposit for when you're late AGAIN, and you're a bad risk.

You'll be out in no time.

IAAL

Thank you so much for your response. However, I do not think that being late paying my rent one time in five years makes me a bad risk. I also went back and searched it after posting here and a landlord cannot take a tenant to rent court for a security deposit. Also, there is no mortgage on the house. It was left to her by someone.

Thanks again for the nasty attitude

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally posted by tdawn9272
Thank you so much for your response. However, I do not think that being late paying my rent one time in five years makes me a bad risk. I also went back and searched it after posting here and a landlord cannot take a tenant to rent court for a security deposit. Also, there is no mortgage on the house. It was left to her by someone.

Thanks again for the nasty attitude

My response:

You said, "Also, there is no mortgage on the house. It was left to her by someone."

That's none of your business! Her house is there to "make" money - - not to have you take advantage of the fact that she doesn't have a mortgage! And, you don't think she had property taxes to pay, or insurance, or maintenance, etc., etc.?

Additionally, how would you know whether she hasn't borrowed against the equity in the house, and now has a mortgage?

Really, lady - - what is the matter with you?

She's not taking you to court because there's no deposit. She's having you evicted because you STILL haven't handed her the damn rent money! Simply, and for whatever reason, you're a bad risk. It doesn't matter what you were like 5 years ago. It's "what have you done today" that counts.

Start packing.

IAAL

Obviously, my dear, you are no lawyer. Just someone who likes to pretend that they are. She is, in fact, taking me to court for the security deposit. I have a receipt from her that she mailed me stating that she used the security deposit for payment of March rent and that I needed to reimburse the deposit account. So, exactly what would you call that, if it's not taking me to court for the security deposit? And please let someone else reply to my post if you cannot refrain from the abusive behavior.

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally posted by tdawn9272
Obviously, my dear, you are no lawyer. Just someone who likes to pretend that they are. She is, in fact, taking me to court for the security deposit. I have a receipt from her that she mailed me stating that she used the security deposit for payment of March rent and that I needed to reimburse the deposit account. So, exactly what would you call that, if it's not taking me to court for the security deposit? And please let someone else reply to my post if you cannot refrain from the abusive behavior.

My response:

There's no "abuse", and I am an attorney. You just don't like your world being shaken, and being told you are wrong.

You may have a receipt from her for having taken your deposit to pay the non-existent rent, but the fact remains you STILL haven't given her the rent money! I've already said that to you - - but you aren't reading. You just think you're right.

Well, when the judge orders your eviction, we'll see who's right.

IAAL

It makes absolutely NO DIFFERENCE WHATSOEVER if a Landlord is fitlthy rich or dirt poor--the fact of the matter is simply YOU OWE THE MONEY, and failure to pay what it is you owe will result in the termination of your rights to occupancy & possession...basically, you may end up being evicted & facing homelessness, as it is nearly impossible to rent anywhere (and mortgaging is COMPLETELY out of the question any time there is a LL judgement against you!).

Therefore, it is ALWAYS best to spend your time & energy trying to come up with the money to pay your bills/rent than it is to argue with those (IIALiable) for example) who provide you with the ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS...just because it is NOT the answer you wish to hear, it does not change what the LAW states is factually correct.

In answer to your question regarding "going to rent court for collection of security deposit"...Your LL has already answered the question for you--you have not paid your rent & eviction is the next legal step the LL must take in order to collect the past due balance from you or reclaim possession of the home. ***S/he must replace the money taken from the Security Deposit (read the Security Deposit laws for your state--legally, a LL must account for every dime of the SD & s/he is bound BY LAW to replace the money--and that would be, MONEY S/HE COLLECTS FROM YOU since this is after all money to pay YOUR rent...) S/he is not legally responsible for you, assuming you are not his/her minor dependent.

And BTW, you would not believe the headaches AND THE EXPENSES involved in owning rental property...have you checked the price of insurance LL's are required to purchase for rental properties??? I am sure you would see things much more clearly if you were actually looking at the facts of the matter rather than seeing things as you WANT to see them!!!

If you do not like the answers you received here, then I would suggest running for public office or taking other action that may then allow you the opportunity to make changes to those laws with which you do not agree! Until then, it would be in your best interest to read the Landlord Tenant Laws for your state, and pay close attention to the duties & responsibilities, as well as the legal remedies allowed, of BOTH parties!

You are absolutely right. That is just what I have done. The law in the state of Maryland is that a LL CANNOT take a tenant to court for failure to pay rent if, in fact, the security deposit was used to pay it. The recourse that must be taken is civil court, not Rent COurt because I do not owe rent I owe a security deposit. Whatever the case, my court date is tomorrow, so I will come back and post the outcome of the hearing. Also, I have found out through the research that my LL cannot take me to court for breach of lease if it is dealing with the rent. THat is what rent court is for and they cannot do both. I guess we will see tomorrow what the Judge has to say.

Yes, please do report back to us the outcome tomorrow. Thanks, and best of luck to you!!!

It is a funny thing, going to eviction court...you never really can be 100% sure what is going to happen; and I have seen some interesting cases over the years--regarding BOTH sides of the issues!!! Let us know...

[stephenk]

did you ever pay the LL the rent that you were late with? If no, why not?

I just returned home from rent court. The Judge dismissed the LL's case against me with prejudice. He told the LL that rent court was not the proper forum for repayment of a security deposit. The LL tried to argue that I did not pay the rent and she had to use my security deposit to pay it. The Judge stated that when she used my security deposit for the months rent that it was the same thing as me paying my rent because she used funds that was paid directly to her by me. He said that if she had not used my security deposit and filed for a failure to pay rent then she would have had a case but since she chose to dip into my security deposit she lost her right to file a failure to pay rent. My LL tried to argue with the Judge which just ticked him off so he dismissed the case with prejudice and told her that she could not refile in rent court and she cannot take me to civil court for breach of lease because late payment of rent is not considered a breach of lease, thats why the remedy for late rent is rent court. The only thing that she would be able to do is sue me in civil court for repayment of my security deposit. That is not going to happen because I took the money with me to court today and paid her the security deposit in front of the job, which I didn't have to do. If she had filed in civil court it would have been at least 6 months before she got a court date because the docket is so backed up. So I guess the comments stating that I would "be out in no time" were not correct.

It seems your LL should have brushed up on her knowledge of the Law, and maybe having sought legal counsel she would have taken up the matter in the appropriate court. (It's like I said in my previous post, it is imperative that a person knows ALL relevant information...and this time the LL was arguing her case in the wrong court!)

Verbiage included in a Lease Contract or a Notice must be 100% accurate, and one must follow proper procedure in order to be in full compliance with the Law. In this case, the LL could have likely wound up with a very different outcome this morning IF only she had followed proper procedure, and of course if she had handled other details differently, but nevertheless she could have still done the "same thing" but handled it in a way that would have legally allowed her to be successful in her efforts.

Congratulations, and also kudos for your voluntarily repaying the Security Deposit!!!

Thank you. I never had any intention of not repaying the security deposit. It just irritated me that she was doing the wrong things, there was never any reason to file in rent court and she knew that. She was trying to push her way through the system because she is a LL and I am a lowly renter. Like I said before, in five years I have never been late with my rent. I was this time and I never denied that. I never told her I was not going to pay. I think that after five years she is fully aware that I am not going to skip out on her. She made a big awful mess and wasted the courts time for absolutely nothing.

By the way, the reason that I was late paying my rent this month is because I had surgery for breast cancer that was only supposed to be a 3 day hospital stay. There were many complications and I ended up being in the hospital for 12 days.

[quote]Originally posted by tdawn9272
[b]Thank you. I never had any intention of not repaying the security deposit. It just irritated me that she was doing the wrong things, there was never any reason to file in rent court and she knew that.

>>>I do NOT understand why some people immediately react whenver a situation presents them with "out of the ordinary" events. My X-husband is like that, and rather than thinking and working through a situation in order to most appropriately handle things, like your LL he always ends up making huge mountains out of nothing more than his imagined fears that result in automatic reaction that would be most appropriate ONLY in the event the very worst possible outcome was imminent.

She was trying to push her way through the system because she is a LL and I am a lowly renter. Like I said before, in five years I have never been late with my rent. I was this time and I never denied that. I never told her I was not going to pay. I think that after five years she is fully aware that I am not going to skip out on her. She made a big awful mess and wasted the courts time for absolutely nothing.

>>>Definitely her actions did not raise favor for her in way of good customer service! Have you spoken with her since you left court this morning? Is she going to allow this to create a "stress" between you?

By the way, the reason that I was late paying my rent this month is because


>>>I have found one thing to be consistently true in this business--people can be on time with their rent payments every month for years but you can bet there will come a time without advanced warning they will face issues that will ultimately be forced to pay their rent late for a month or two; and then there are those who, after a few months of struggling to pay by the deadline in order to avoid eviction, finally must face the fact they are no longer able to afford the rent on their home, and they move out.

>>>The current state of the economy has many LL's wishing they had tenants who would pay their rent on time, MOST of the time; and it is unfortunate you had to go through all of this in addition to your recent health issues given the fact that your payment history clearly shows a pattern of responsibility.

I had surgery for breast cancer that was only supposed to be a 3 day hospital stay. There were many complications and I ended up being in the hospital for 12 days.

>>>I know this has been very frightening as well as emotionally & physically challenging for you!!! I hope you are feeling better, and also that you will receive clean bills of health in the future!!!