Security Deposit Deductions

[helmc]

Help! I'm in Maryland. Our Landlord returned our Security Deposit in 30 days but there are deductions that we don't agree with. He charged us $100 for keys he said we didn't return when we did, etc. etc. The landlord has not returned phone calls. I want to cash the security deposit check but I don't know if that means we can no longer argue with him about the money he owes us. Do we have a right to argue after we cash his returned check? Also he submitted receipts that were hand written and I can not find these people to check to see if the work was actually done that the landlord said was done. Do we just have to accept the handwritten receipt?

 

[Gene Gayda]

First off, some words from MD law § 8-203 (h) (1) If any portion of the security deposit is withheld, the landlord shall present by first-class mail directed to the last known address of the tenant, within 30 days after the termination of the tenancy, a written list of the damages claimed under subsection (g)(1) together with a statement of the cost actually incurred.

Your landlord was under no obligation to give you the receipts for the work. This was an extra.

You may want to post on one of the other law boards, but if you send a letter to the landlord disputing the charges and explaining that you are cashing the check only as a partial settlement, then you (in most states - check with a lawyer in your state to be perfectly certain) can take the money now available and proceed later as you choose.

In MD, you have the right, by written request, to be present when the apartment is inspected. What did you guys say when you were at the walk through?

You do not need to accept the handwritten receipts or any other of the charges shown by the landlord. But, just like the landlord must use the court system to formally require a tenant live elsewhere, you must use the court system to cause a change in the deposit deductions.

In court, since you are the plaintiff, you will have the burden of meeting the threshold of proof. If all you present is a statement of “It shouldn’t have cost that much!” you’ll lose. The landlord doesn’t really have to do anything, since he is the defendant. The court will, usually, accept the written receipts as reasonable evidence of what things cost. You will have a stronger argument on the repairs that were not raised during the walk through. If you foolishly skipped your legal chance to previously discuss potential problems, the judge will not be impressed. On most repair charges, simply showing that you have the ability to find a place that would have done things cheaper, is not enough to sway the judge unless the difference is more than 50%. If the landlord, using whatever resources available, made the repairs, the judge will be very loath to second guess the reasonableness of the charge unless it is obscenely inflated.

Separately, if you say the keys were returned and the landlord is still showing a charge, why not ask him how come? The most common problem I incur is that the original keys are not returned, but rather some copies of the keys or only a portion of all copies originally given. This forces me to pay to re-key all locks, which can be expensive. (If all original keys are returned, I will install different locks as my normal recycle costs.) If this doesn’t fit your situation, the landlord may have only made a simple mistake which can be rectified by your courteous conversation. Your messages previously left were “bend over backwards” courteous, weren’t they?

Good luck.


Gene

 

[helmc]

Yes we did take advantage of the walk through where we agreed on certain repairs. However, he charged us for things not discussed. He charged us for a cleaning and uncloging of a bathroom that he said when we moved in that we were by no means allowed to use. He stated that the water had been turned off to the bathroom because of leaking pipes. It was expensive to clean and fix! The bathroom was NEVER used by anyone, it was in the basement and disgusting-we thought it didn't work.
On the issue of the key he stated we never returned: In the beginning of the lease he gave us ONE key for the whole house. We had three doors total, the key was to all locks. We changed the front door lock and as a result we changed it again, as per his request, at the end of the lease. The back two doors remained unchanged however were never used and thus we had only one key to the doors that we returned at the end of the lease. This is where the problem is he said that he never got keys to the back doors-there are witnesses to this action. However, he also had two sets of keys to the house therefore not needing to change the locks to be able to get in as he stated.
We have several other complaints agains this man and many other harrasment issues. Do you think it is worth it to take this jerk to court for $500. I know it is hard to prove do judges commonly come down on the side of tenants? Of course we have always been nice to this man however, he chooses not to return our calls! Last question-can he charge us for work that he has not done to the house?

 

[happy&lucky]

I would at least try.......

And in your complaint you want to see the actual cancelled checks to prove the landlord paid the money out of pocket.

I cannot belive a judge would just accept a landlords written reciept.

I fully agree if you DONT demand for the landlord to produce the reciepts from legitimate companies or cancelled checks in your complaint, THEN when you get to court if the landlord doesnt have them well too bad, since YOU never demanded them in your original complaint.