landlordthrow
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York
Landlord called my fiance's mother on 2/23 to tell us we needed to leave because they are selling their house and oh btw the realtor will be there any day. We left as fast as possible (weren't given a final date but wanted out ASAP because his behavior was pissing us off) and signed a new lease on 2/27. Moved in 3/1, spent that month returning for car load after car load after car load of belongings and cleaning from ceiling to floor. We even rented a Rug Doctor to clean the carpet. This took a while as I was being treated for insomnia, worked part time, and went to school full time and neither of us owns a very large vehicle.
Here it is the end of April and they are refusing to return our deposit. Actually, they are refusing all contact. They are screening their calls, not returning messages, and finally gave my fiance's number to their daughter so she could harass us instead. She is claiming that she "works in a law office" and we "won't ever see that money" because we "destroyed the carpet and the place smelled because of your dogs" and "my parents didn't even know you had left". She even said, "Do you really want to fight us for just $300" like because it's not a super high deposit, we should just let them keep it! None of what she said is true and we have photos and previous tenant statements to prove it; she ignored all this and kept asking "when did you leave" but provided no response after we answered and has stopped communicating with us entirely. Prior to this drop, she insisted they had had to hire a carpet cleaner so we texted back asking for the contact info of the company. She hasn't replied and it's been days. We're filing a report with the attorney general but something the other tenant pointed out has made me wonder...
According to the previous renter, this man's residence was being rented illegally. Almost the entire top floor was on one circuit so it would blow all the time. He said a family member is an electrician and did the work. It was also impossible to shower without being burned if someone on the opposite side of the house even GLANCED at a faucet the wrong way. They turned off the heat in the winter, forcing us to live with an electric heater instead to save them money. He says the landlord was renting it illegally and not claiming the income on his taxes as it wasn't declared to be a two apartment residence in the first place and it wasn't modeled to operate as a separate apartment. If that's true, that is $7200 a year, for 3+ years between each tenant, that he pocketed without claiming.
I'm wonder if there are actually any laws or regulations that he broke here because I'm about at the end of my rope. I'm being accused of living like trash and I really don't appreciate it. My temper is flaring so I want to go into this with guns blazing, assuming I have any ammo at all...
Landlord called my fiance's mother on 2/23 to tell us we needed to leave because they are selling their house and oh btw the realtor will be there any day. We left as fast as possible (weren't given a final date but wanted out ASAP because his behavior was pissing us off) and signed a new lease on 2/27. Moved in 3/1, spent that month returning for car load after car load after car load of belongings and cleaning from ceiling to floor. We even rented a Rug Doctor to clean the carpet. This took a while as I was being treated for insomnia, worked part time, and went to school full time and neither of us owns a very large vehicle.
Here it is the end of April and they are refusing to return our deposit. Actually, they are refusing all contact. They are screening their calls, not returning messages, and finally gave my fiance's number to their daughter so she could harass us instead. She is claiming that she "works in a law office" and we "won't ever see that money" because we "destroyed the carpet and the place smelled because of your dogs" and "my parents didn't even know you had left". She even said, "Do you really want to fight us for just $300" like because it's not a super high deposit, we should just let them keep it! None of what she said is true and we have photos and previous tenant statements to prove it; she ignored all this and kept asking "when did you leave" but provided no response after we answered and has stopped communicating with us entirely. Prior to this drop, she insisted they had had to hire a carpet cleaner so we texted back asking for the contact info of the company. She hasn't replied and it's been days. We're filing a report with the attorney general but something the other tenant pointed out has made me wonder...
According to the previous renter, this man's residence was being rented illegally. Almost the entire top floor was on one circuit so it would blow all the time. He said a family member is an electrician and did the work. It was also impossible to shower without being burned if someone on the opposite side of the house even GLANCED at a faucet the wrong way. They turned off the heat in the winter, forcing us to live with an electric heater instead to save them money. He says the landlord was renting it illegally and not claiming the income on his taxes as it wasn't declared to be a two apartment residence in the first place and it wasn't modeled to operate as a separate apartment. If that's true, that is $7200 a year, for 3+ years between each tenant, that he pocketed without claiming.
I'm wonder if there are actually any laws or regulations that he broke here because I'm about at the end of my rope. I'm being accused of living like trash and I really don't appreciate it. My temper is flaring so I want to go into this with guns blazing, assuming I have any ammo at all...
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