Extra Security Deposit for Subletter

[Liz0101]

Pennsylvania- My landlord and I roughly discussed having a subletter but we never made a formal agreement in writing. Part of this is because my landlord lives in Florida and will not respond to any emails.

I live in a 3 bedroom house with 3 other people but I have my own room. I found a subletter and had him sign an informal agreement for 2.5 months of subletting (May 28-August 12) my room. Although my lease ends on July 31st, my roommates have all resigned with a new tenant to fill my room. She's not going to live there until August 12, so she allowed the subletter to sublease for that time as well. After my subletter moved in, my landlord flipped out and called me telling me we'd never discussed this and how I was a liar. My roommate calmed her down and she agreed to not throw out the poor subletter. However, she told me she was taking my original security deposit and not returning it ($525). She also forced me to pay an extra $1000 security deposit for the subletter's 2.5 months. She basically told me this was a formality and she wouldn't be cashing the check just saving it to make sure no damage was done. However, I found out today that she cashed the check. I'm wondering what I can do.

I don't actually want to give up either my original or new security deposit. I also don't think it's technically legal for her to take this deposit. Under PA law, she isn't allowed to take more than 1 months security deposit. Our total rent is $2100, my portion is $520 and right now she has a total of $3100 security deposit. Furthermore, it says that she can't just cash it into her account but has to place it in an escrow which I don't think she did nor did I ever receive notice of.

My priority is also to make sure my subletter is taken care of and my roommates aren't evicted. However, our lease may not even be legally valid. In our city, no more than 3 unrelated people can be on a lease and we have 4. Furthermore, the landlord has to be within the same city or state (can't remember which). She lives in Florida. Also, we were never given a true walk through of the house. When we started living there 2 years ago, we did however, send a list of all damages. So this might put my roommates in a bad situation. For the subletter, I can get him alternative housing if needed. I've contacted my landlord about why she cashed the deposit but she's probably unlikely to respond. What options do I have?

 

[FarmerJ]

You said > Furthermore, the landlord has to be within the same city or state (can't remember which).<<<< I suggest you do learn more about this myth, I say myth because there is no way a city can dictate to a landlord that they must live in a set geographical area, instead a city can write ords that say if a landlord lives x distance away from the property that they must have a local contact , a local property manager. which is not unheard of , when I had my 4 plex had begun to look at moving out of the city this is when the city I had my property in decided that if a landlord moved out side of the 11 county metro area that they must have another party to be a emergency & local contact person listed on the rental license records and the license copy to be posted itself. If you have a law that regulates deposits then your LL has to follow it , you never did say if the original lease forbade sublets and do you have a actual copy of the local ord that says how many un related people can live in one unit with out a rooming house license ( that is why most cities that regulate the number of unrelated people living in one unit ) Keep your contacts with her to on paper ( you keep copy for your records ) certified mail or mail tracking so you have actual proofs of the communications , if by chance the LL refuses certified mail then do not re open the envelope keep it sealed in original condition because if you had to go to court the court would need to see that you did indeed try to contact the LL and the court would likely refuse to allow a LL to claim ignorance of the communication.

 

[Liz0101]

Reply

Sorry, that's what I meant is that unless the landlord is within the city or state (I forget which), they have to hire a property manager within the area. Originally when we rented the apartment 2 years ago, she had a property manager but he never did a walk through and upkeep was terrible. She tried to withhold the security deposit from the last tenants for some broken things but the tenants sued her since no walk through was ever done and things weren't fixed during the time they lived there. I believe the landlord was forced to give back the deposit. The city I'm living in definitely has this ordinance and it's something we're constantly warned about as students since people are sometimes evicted for violating this rule. The main issue is that I am out of the country for three months so I cannot send any mail. She doesn't reply to emails and always insists on phone calls or text messages as the main form of communication. However, this keeps leaving me open to these problems as she is a bit unstable and constantly flips on issues. Her step daughter is in the city and I believe she may be using her address to bypass the landlord city rule. However, I'm not sure as she never gave me a copy of the lease and didn't respond when I asked for one. I could try approaching her step daughter as she is more reasonable and has apologized several times in the past for her step mother. However, I believe the landlord will react to this negatively. The original lease said you have to obtain permission of the landlord to get a sublet. When I mentioned I may want one over the phone to her she seemed to be fine with it. However, she later flipped and said we'd never talked about it and that I was a liar. Usually when she calls about any issue the conversation lasts for about an hour because she is chatty and goes off topic to problems about her life. I believe she may just miss what others say in phone conversations since they go on so long. I talked to my roommates and they said that she visited them a few weeks ago and mentioned the extra $1000 security deposit. She also told them she would not be cashing the check. However, she cashed it about a week or two later. I want to make sure going forward I am protected and can get at least my $1000 back.