Advice Needed Regard Security Deposit

Hi. Hoping for some advice regarding my options to secure the return of a security deposit I paid for the rental of a vacation home. Here is a brief summary of the issue.

I rented a vacation home in the Pocono region of Pennsylvania for the week between Christmas and New Years last year (1999). I secured the rental with a $500 bond, which was to be returned within 4 weeks after vacating the premises. I have this agreement in writing. We spent the week there and left the place in better condition than when we arrived.

Anyway, it is now June and despite numerous e-mails and phone calls (no one ever answers- just a machine)asking for a return of my deposit or an explanation as to why it hasn't been returned, I have received no reponse.

So, am I out $500 or do I have any legal remedies? The owner lives in New Jersey, but the home is in PA. If I sue in small claims, it would be in PA, right? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much!

[This message has been edited by blindvision (edited June 01, 2000).]

You can sue landlord in PA where home is (under the longarm jurisdiction statute) or in NJ where the defendant is. If you sue in NJ, the NJ court will have to apply PA law. Double check this with the rental contract. It may specify that you have to sue in one state or that one state's laws apply.

Sue in small claims in PA unless the contract requires otherwise. Under PA law, you are entitled to $500 + costs. You may also be entitled to attorney fees. You can read the section on small claims court, freeadvice.com, for more info.

Good luck


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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.

Tracey -

Thanks very much for your reply. One more question. Is the fact that this is a vacation home rental and not a lease situation mean that the typical PA statute for security deposit return does not apply? I do not have a formal rental contract, but rather a letter of agreement, so there is no stipulation on how to handle lawsuits.

Thanks again,
Terry

I think a court will probably interpret this as a simple contract, like when you rent a hotel room. However, if you can declare to the court that this was a *residential* lease for one week (and pass the straight face test when you do so), you can sue the landlord under Title 68, Pa.Statutes, Section 250.512. In that case, you get double your deposit back.

There are good arguments either way. Your contract was like a lease in that you had to pay a refundable security deposit, and it's probably illegal to require a security deposit for renting a hotel room. If you can find a law making it illegal to collect a security dep. for a hotel room, you can argue that landlord had to intend a lease, since treating the contract as a hotel rental would be illegal. The lease was residential because the property rented was intended to be used as a residence.

OTOH, your contract differed from a residential lease in that you never changed your permanent residence. You merely changed your domicile. In this case, you don't get the double refund a residential tenant would get.

You might visit the local law library and ask the librarian to help you find any cases construing what a residential lease is, and whether hotels/condos can charge a security deposit.


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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.