Suing Landlord for Deposit check in NY state.

[telefunken]

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

I'm having a lot of trouble getting my deposit check back from my landlord. I'll briefly describe the series of events, and if anyone who can help, or offer advice, needs more details, just ask.

As stated in my lease, I gave my landlord 2 weeks notice that I would be vacating my apartment at the end of August. I had more or less moved out around August 25th and had moved into my new apartment. However, there were a few things left in the apartment that I needed a friend to help me move. On August 31st, I went to the apartment to do the final clean out. I couldn't get into the apartment because someone had attempted to get into the apartment and broke a key (the wrong key) off in the lock, or did something to the lock, so my key no longer worked (the lock was not changed; it was damaged). I called my landlord immediately, and he didn't answer. I finally got a hold of him several days later and told him the situation. He said it wasn't him who broke the lock, but "Ricky" one of his employees. Ironically enough, I had spoke with "Ricky" a few days before and he blamed the landlord. Moreover, the front door of the building, the entrance from the outside (my apartment was on the 4th floor) had been broken for more or less the entire summer. I called the landlord about this numerous times, no response. The door itself, even when working, was a code violation I know for sure, because it is not a "self-locking" door, as required by NY state law. Regardless of this, the door closer broke and was not repaired. In short, anyone could enter the building at any time, and the apartment is in a pretty bad neighborhood. I don't know if the landlord or someone else broke the lock on my door.

When I got in touch with my landlord, I told him that I couldn't get into the apartment to finish getting everything out, because someone broke the lock. We agreed to meet at the building on Friday, September 4th and we'd "figure out a way to get in." Which we did. I explained that it's not my fault that he either broke the lock to my door, or never bothered to fix the front door, so this is why I didn't remove the last of my items. He said ok. We did a walk through the apartment, and I asked him repeatedly (so much so that he actually requested that I stop asking him!) "I'm leaving all of this here, is this okay?" Now, the items I left were not garbage. I left a dining room table I had no means of moving. A bench and some bookcases I had built. A few lamps that came with the apartment, as well as a desk, couch, and other furniture items that came with the apartment. We had a verbal agreement that day that everything with the apartment was fine, and he'd be sending me back my full deposit check.

I waited 2 weeks for the check to come in the mail. After this I called him repeatedly. He did not respond for 2 weeks. He basically didn't respond until I left a message saying I was going to sue him if he didn't call back. Anyway, now he tells me "you left the apartment a pig sty! I had to hire someone to clean it out, what a mess!" I told him that he was either flat out lying to me, or, if the apartment was a mess right now, that's not my responsibility, because a.) the front door is still broken. b.) you can no longer lock my old apartment's door, since "someone" broke the lock, which he has yet to repair. Anyone could walk in the building and walk into my old apartment and I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Regardless, we had a verbal agreement that what I was leaving in the apartment was fine, and he would be returning my full deposit.

Do I have a legitimate case here in small claims court?

 

[Gail in Georgia]

There are a couple of issues here....

What was the length of your lease?

If you were a month to month tenant (as opposed to having a year lease), you needed to give at least 30 days notice that you were vacating the rental unit. You only gave two weeks notice of this.

All states give landlords a certain amount of time before they need to return the security deposit (or provide notice of why this is not being done, how much is being used for damages above normal wear and tear, etc.). Most states have a specific time period for this (generally 14 to 45 days after the tenant has vacated the unit). New York is a bit vague, listing only a "reasonable time" period as the length of time.

This amount of time the landlord has to evaluate whether a rental unit has more damage above normal wear and tear does not mean that the final walk through with the former tenant is the "end" of the issue. It often is only afterwards when the landlord can take a bit more time to check things out that they can really assess any damage the tenant did to the unit.

Did you happen to take pictures of the rental unit during the walk through? These would be helpful if you do decide to take your landlord to court. On the other hand, he too may have taken pictures and have receipts of the cost of removing the furniture items that did not come with the unit but that you left behind.

Gail

 

[telefunken]

There are a couple of issues here....

>What was the length of your lease?

>If you were a month to month tenant (as opposed to having a year lease), you needed to >give at least 30 days notice that you were vacating the rental unit. You only gave two >weeks notice of this.

The lease was for 1 year. I notified him earlier in the summer, maybe June, that I was leaving at the end of the lease, and gave a "formal" notification again about 3 1/2 weeks prior.

>All states give landlords a certain amount of time before they need to return the security >deposit (or provide notice of why this is not being done, how much is being used for >damages above normal wear and tear, etc.).

He didn't provide "notice" until I called him. He's still yet to give me specific details as to what the costs were. He's done this to other people in the building; I doubt he's ever returned a deposit check to a tenant.

>This amount of time the landlord has to evaluate whether a rental unit has more >damage above normal wear and tear does not mean that the final walk through with the >former tenant is the "end" of the issue. It often is only afterwards when the landlord can >take a bit more time to check things out that they can really assess any damage the >tenant did to the unit.

But doesn't the fact that he, his company, or his own negligence, broke the lock and restricted me from entering my apartment to clean it out, at a time when it was still "my apartment" count for anything?

>Did you happen to take pictures of the rental unit during the walk through? These would >be helpful if you do decide to take your landlord to court. On the other hand, he too may >have taken pictures and have receipts of the cost of removing the furniture items that did >not come with the unit but that you left behind.

I don't have any pictures. As far as I can guess, I doubt he took photos. He told me he has, or will be getting a "receipt" from the person he hired to "clean" the apartment. However, he seemed hesitant when I asked for a copy. Moreover, his vague description, that the apartment was a "pig sty" doesn't make any sense. I'm a neat freak. Even while I was living there, the apartment was never even close to being a "pig sty." I either think he's lying about hiring someone to clean the apartment, or the person he hired is lying to him. The landlord ostensibly lives in California, but I have very strong reasons to be believe that this is a lie as well, and that he lives locally, and he tells his tenants otherwise so they don't call him.

The landlord has been so dishonest with me over the course of the two years that I lived at the apartment, that I have no idea when he's being honest or dishonest.

 

[telefunken]

There is also a very strong possibility that the apartment in question that was a "pig sty" was not my apartment. I've only met the landlord once, and he was a disheveled mess. He was admittedly, as in he told me, drunk at 3pm in the afternoon; he could barely make it up all the stairs to the apartment. In the phone conversations I've had with him since, quite often he seems to forget which building I lived in (he owns many in the area), doesn't seem to remember the day we met, or he confuses my apartment with the one above it. It's almost impossible to get specific details from him, which is one of the reasons I'd much prefer to just take him to court already, as I've been chasing after him for the past month, and I never get a straight answer, or even an answer that makes logical sense.

 

[BL]

You said you had a lease .

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

Go from there .

Reasonable amount of time for SD is about 30 days .

Just to note , you first said you wanted to retrieve the rest of your belongings , then said you agreed that you could leave them there , after entry was made .

Who's to say the lock wasn't tampered with by you ?

Prove your case in court .

 

[telefunken]

You said you had a lease .

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

Go from there .

Reasonable amount of time for SD is about 30 days .

Just to note , you first said you wanted to retrieve the rest of your belongings , then said you agreed that you could leave them there , after entry was made .

Who's to say the lock wasn't tampered with by you ?

Prove your case in court .

The items in question that I left have little to no value. My only reason for planning on removing them, was because they did not originally come with the apartment, and I didn't want there to be any problems getting my deposit back. I was going to give the items I left to friends. I had no problem leaving them in the apartment after being given permission, because i didn't want them anyway.

While I understand that in court it could appear that I tampered with the lock, how could I go about proving that I didn't, and the landlord did? The landlord told me the reason "someone" tampered with the lock was because they didn't have the key and tried to get in to look at the apartment. I had just given them a key sometime in May, after the lost the key for the 2nd time when they changed offices. They didn't bother calling me this time and asking for the key, as I would have complied. I didn't submit my key to them yet, because the apartment was still my apartment until September. I also had no knowledge that they didn't have a key for the apartment.