Landlord Won’t Return Security Deposit or Respond to Certified Letter

[MikeyLV]

What is the name of your state? Florida

I know I’m heading to small claims court, but not sure where.

I rented a home for all of 2018 in Jacksonville, FL. The lease was written to comply with Florida statute by a Florida Realtor; however, the owners live in Tarrytown, New York.

Owners violated the statutes requiring notice of what bank the deposit was located in and did not give any notice of issues to hold security deposit by certified mail within 30 days of surrendering the property. I provided my new address as required by statute. Although I left on November 30 (turning over the keys to their Florida relative who handled any on-site problems), I did pay December’s rent in full to comply with the lease. The lease was not subject to renewal, but informed the owners that I would be moving with more than 60 days notice.

My question: Do I file in small claims court in Florida or New York? They do not live at the Florida house and don’t know how they would be served papers. But the lease is not subject to NY statute.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? Florida

I know I’m heading to small claims court, but not sure where.

I rented a home for all of 2018 in Jacksonville, FL. The lease was written to comply with Florida statute by a Florida Realtor; however, the owners live in Tarrytown, New York.

Owners violated the statutes requiring notice of what bank the deposit was located in and did not give any notice of issues to hold security deposit by certified mail within 30 days of surrendering the property. I provided my new address as required by statute. Although I left on November 30 (turning over the keys to their Florida relative who handled any on-site problems), I did pay December’s rent in full to comply with the lease. The lease was not subject to renewal, but informed the owners that I would be moving with more than 60 days notice.

My question: Do I file in small claims court in Florida or New York? They do not live at the Florida house and don’t know how they would be served papers. But the lease is not subject to NY statute.

It appears that the end of your lease was the end of December, not the end of November. Therefore, they may be under the impression that they have until the end of January to deal with your security deposit.

 

[adjusterjack]

It appears that the end of your lease was the end of December, not the end of November. Therefore, they may be under the impression that they have until the end of January to deal with your security deposit.

Agree.

The statute says: "Upon the vacating of the premises for termination of the lease"

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.49.html

I did pay December’s rent in full to comply with the lease

Appears that the clock starts running Feb 1.

Do I file in small claims court in Florida or New York? They do not live at the Florida house and don’t know how they would be served papers. But the lease is not subject to NY statute.

Assuming you are living in Florida you would file where the property is located and serve them where they live.

You can probably serve by certified mail but a much better choice would be to hire a professional process server in NY.

Here are the FL small claims rules for you to study if it becomes necessary.

https://www-media.floridabar.org/uploads/2017/04/small-claims.pdf

The advantage of suing in Florida is that a judgment can become a recorded lien on their property in Florida and give them trouble in a variety of ways. And you can register the judgment in NY and enforce it there.

Now that all the legal stuff is out of the way, why don't you just call them up and ask what's happening with the deposit?

 

[reenzz]

Also, unless the landlord owns more than 5 rental units, the security deposit law that requires to notification of the bank where the deposit is being held, does not apply.