Landlord will not return deposit

[devore]

We were "evicted" a month ago because I found the landlord in our apartment upon returning home from an errand and confronted him about it. He said that if we didn't like that he could come in when he wanted that we could leave. An argument ensued and he served us with papers via a lawyer 30 minutes later. We always paid our rent on time. We had managed the four-plex for more than a year and had put our own time and money into fixing up the yard. The landlord gave no reason for eviction. My husband was busy studying for the LSAT and didn't want to fight him at the time. So, we moved. We had to be out in 15 days. We sent him a letter certified mail with our new address and a request for the deposit. He has not sent that to us. He refused to walk through the apartment with us to inspect it, but I did have it thoroughly cleaned and videotaped in case such a matter as this arose. How can we get our deposit back? We are in Utah. On November 1, it will have been 30 days since termination of the contract, which was a month-to-month contract. We paid a $500 deposit, $400 of that is supposed to be refundable. We know he has the money because a new tenant just moved in and paid a $500 deposit. How do we get this back? Also, we have a few other problems with him that we'd like to discuss with anyone if you have time.

Thanks

 

[HomeGuru]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by devore:
We were "evicted" a month ago because I found the landlord in our apartment upon returning home from an errand and confronted him about it. He said that if we didn't like that he could come in when he wanted that we could leave. An argument ensued and he served us with papers via a lawyer 30 minutes later. We always paid our rent on time. We had managed the four-plex for more than a year and had put our own time and money into fixing up the yard. The landlord gave no reason for eviction. My husband was busy studying for the LSAT and didn't want to fight him at the time. So, we moved. We had to be out in 15 days. We sent him a letter certified mail with our new address and a request for the deposit. He has not sent that to us. He refused to walk through the apartment with us to inspect it, but I did have it thoroughly cleaned and videotaped in case such a matter as this arose. How can we get our deposit back? We are in Utah. On November 1, it will have been 30 days since termination of the contract, which was a month-to-month contract. We paid a $500 deposit, $400 of that is supposed to be refundable. We know he has the money because a new tenant just moved in and paid a $500 deposit. How do we get this back? Also, we have a few other problems with him that we'd like to discuss with anyone if you have time.

Thanks<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

L was trespassing and evicted you illegally. If the property in in Utah, you need to check the L/T laws that apply. L may be overdue in returning your deposit or explanation of deductions.
What are all your other problems? Please be brief and to the point.