Landlord not giving itemized list for keeping deposit

[s10sleeper]

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

I received a termination of lease letter back in october that gave me until the 1st of november to be out. This occurred after I had submitted a request for repairs that they did not follow through on so the city inspected it.

I had scheduled a final walkthrough and waited around for the landlord to show so we could go through it and I could return the keys, however he never showed and I could not get through to him on his phone.

A little over a month later I received a certified letter saying that due to my obvious neglect of their property that not only would I not be receiving my deposit back, but that once he gets bids to clean up he will let me know how much more I owe him. This is rather odd as I have made sure to keep photos throughout the time i rented as they never showed for the initial inventory.

Upon the advice of an attorney, I sent a certified letter requesting an itemized list of all charges they are withholding my deposit for.

It has now been over 2 weeks, and I am unsure what to do about the situation, whether to go to small claim or not

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Did your letter indicate a timeline on when you expected this information from the landlord?

If you do not receive it, are you willing to file a lawsuit over the security deposit?

Gail

 

[FarmerJ]

First off , if the LL exceeded the time line your state says the LL has to send / address a tenants deposit , then If you decide to take the LL to court First , get copy of the repair order the building inspector wrote, then bring it with you as well as the letter LL sent telling you to get out and the one the LL sent re the deposit and offer to show the court the first two letters reason being ,that the LL retaliated by telling you to get out after you called inspections and then did not address the dep disposition on time so you wish to suggest any thing he holds back at this point would not be fair. Its all up to you , but if your LL didnt address the dep with in a time frame your state said to , along with showing the court the LL had not been fair Id lay odds you just might be awarded full refund. (and any penalty your states law permits if there is one and you asked for it)

 

[Searchertwin]

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

I received a termination of lease letter back in october that gave me until the 1st of november to be out. This occurred after I had submitted a request for repairs that they did not follow through on so the city inspected it.

I had scheduled a final walkthrough and waited around for the landlord to show so we could go through it and I could return the keys, however he never showed and I could not get through to him on his phone.

A little over a month later I received a certified letter saying that due to my obvious neglect of their property that not only would I not be receiving my deposit back, but that once he gets bids to clean up he will let me know how much more I owe him. This is rather odd as I have made sure to keep photos throughout the time i rented as they never showed for the initial inventory.

Upon the advice of an attorney, I sent a certified letter requesting an itemized list of all charges they are withholding my deposit for.

It has now been over 2 weeks, and I am unsure what to do about the situation, whether to go to small claim or not

Go back to the attorney, if there was one to begin with.

 

[s10sleeper]

The timeframe for the landlord to send the list of damages or the deposit had been well up before I sent the letter. My biggest concern of all, though, was the landlord attempting to push further costs onto me. This was the reason for contact with an attorney, which was just a brief conversation. This did let me find out that I was entitled to my deposit or a list of damages, normal wear and tear excluded, within 30 days of vacating the house.

 

[LdiJ]

The timeframe for the landlord to send the list of damages or the deposit had been well up before I sent the letter. My biggest concern of all, though, was the landlord attempting to push further costs onto me. This was the reason for contact with an attorney, which was just a brief conversation. This did let me find out that I was entitled to my deposit or a list of damages, normal wear and tear excluded, within 30 days of vacating the house.

I suspect that because you arranged a city inspection that the landlord is being required to do much more extensive repairs/renovations than the landlord wants to do...that the landlord is very resentful of this...and that the landlord will do whatever possible to try to make you as financially accountable as possible. If you have good documentation that you left the unit in clean and undamaged condition, then you will want to file suit against the landlord for not returning your deposit.

 

[s10sleeper]

The house was left as clean and undamaged as possible, in fact, it was in better shape than when I moved in as I went through and patched all of the nail holes from the previous tenant, had the carpets professionally shampooed, and scrubbed down everything. There were a couple of trash sacks I could not fit in the trash can and a gallon of bleach were all that were left. I also just found out that they still have not even done a single thing to the house to try to mitigate their losses.

What I have from the city for documentation is an email from the city with a copy of the report, plus a log of every phone call they made and the LL response.

 

[swalsh411]

Sounds like you have your ducks in a row. The next step would be to let your former LL know you will file in small claims within XX days if they do not return your deposit. 10 days is reasonable. Then do it if you don't get your deposit back.