Arkansas security deposit issues

[defcon1]

What is the name of your state? Arkansas

Deep breath...and...My wife and I recently moved out of a small house we were renting in Northwest Arkansas. While living there we began to miss our families. Since her family only lived an hour and a half away, we made arrangements to move closer to them.

The day of the decision, I alerted our landlord and landlady that we would be moving soon and that I wanted to make arrangements for getting everything taken care of. Because our gas was provided by a propane tank and was recently filled (2 weeks earlier) I asked whether it would be possible to receive a refund of a portion of what we paid them for the gas. (We paid them, not the gas company...stupid, I know.) They also agreed to pay us the remaining rent for the month if we moved out early enough.

19th of September rolls around and we are outta there. My wife and I spent an entire day scrubbing floors and cleaning appliances to insure that we would receive our security deposit back. We also took the precaution of photographing the entire apartment. The day we left we made sure that we were all clear on receiving our deposit and the funds for rent and gas and requested a walk through of the apartment. They declined, citing it was unnecessary.

Once we're out of the house, we wait...and wait...and wait. We don't hear anything from them, nor do we receive any correspondence. I finally called after a month had passed to see what was going to happen with the security deposit. The landlord fed me a scoop about violating the terms of the lease by leaving early. I informed him that I was reading the lease as we spoke, and the lease was month to month with an option for either party to terminate the lease early. His response was telling me I wasn't getting a blankety-blank dime, and if I showed up on his property with a subpoena he wouldn't be responsible for any physical harm that happened to me.

I've read through Arkansas' meager tenant's rights laws, and it looks that he has already forfeited his right to hold the deposit by waiting a month and a half without sending me any information or an itemized list of expenses paid.

So what I'm basically wondering is, what recourse do I have? Does this have to end in small claims court? If so, how long will that take? Also, will I ever see the money for the remaining rent and the propane?

 

[treese]

Your OP is vague regarding the dates in which you gave notice VS moved out.

Did you give a proper 30 day written notice to terminate your tenancy?

Telling the landlord that you are moving out soon is not proper notice.

Generally, the 30 day notice must include a full rental period. If you vacated on September 19th, you could be held liable for all of September's rent. You could also be held liable for October's rent depending on whether/when you actually gave notice.

Did you give written notice of your forwarding address?

If you did not, the landlord may have sent the security deposit return/accounting to your last known address. If he did, he covered his rear regarding the 30 day requirement in which to send it.

You can sue the landlord in Small Claims court for the deposit.

 

[defcon1]

According to the terms of our lease, either party could terminate the lease without giving proper 30-day notice. When we spoke I told them it would be 3-weeks before we moved out of the house, and I was off by 2 days.

Another major mistake would be that in my hurry I left a note taped to the door of the former rental that contained our forwarding address. Of course, regardless, our mail was promptly forwarded before the move. We were actually receiving forwarded mail 2 days before we arrived at our new home. So if they'd sent the itemized list, we would have gotten it.

 

[CMP]

I know and understand what you're going through all to well. I am in a very similar situation with a shady landlord that refuses to abide by the law by returning the security deposit or a list of itemized deductions.

The thing that will probably save you in your situation is the fact that the lease had an option for either party to terminate the lease early. The landlord cannot claim that you violated the terms of the lease if the lease states that.

This landlord you're dealing with obviously isn't abiding with his responsibilities as a landlord and is clearly violating the law. The fact that he threatened you physically if you showed up with a subpoena... what a jerk!

Seeing as the landlord outright stated that he will not return the money that is due to you (and the fact that he's exceeded the 30-day return security deposit or itemized list of deductions requirement), it looks like your only option at this point is to sue him in small claims court. I don't know the tenant/landlord law in Arkansas but in my state (WI) if the landlord wrongfully withholds the security deposit, the plaintiff can sue for twice the amount owed, plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees. You may want to check into that with your state.

My advice to you is to immediately go to the courthouse and file the paperwork. And since the landlord physically threatened you about going onto his property with a subpoena, you should probably have a sheriff deliver the subpoena. And if I were you, I'd definitely let the judge know about the landlord's threat.

I wish you the best of luck with your situation. It looks to me that you are due your money back...at least with the security deposit for sure. I'm not sure about the remainder of the rent and propane...that might be a different story completely. It all comes down to what was in the lease. Hopefully the judge / court commissioner will see what an irresponsible landlord this guy is and penalize him to the full extent of the law.