Security Deposit Return - PA

[pixelrogue1]

What is the name of your state? PA

- Tenant vacated apartment February 2018.
- Tenant acknowledged, yet ignored, multiple requests for updated address & stopped communication late March 2018; address required for returning deposit.
- Tenant reaches out now in December providing the address for the return of the security deposit.

Is there a legal requirement for the funds to be returned 10 months after the tenant vacated and refused to provide an updated address?
Is there a statute of limitations or a point where such a request would be null-and-void?

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state? PA

- Tenant vacated apartment February 2018.
- Tenant acknowledged, yet ignored, multiple requests for updated address & stopped communication late March 2018; address required for returning deposit.
- Tenant reaches out now in December providing the address for the return of the security deposit.

Is there a legal requirement for the funds to be returned 10 months after the tenant vacated and refused to provide an updated address?
Is there a statute of limitations or a point where such a request would be null-and-void?

1. Yes.
2. No.

Send the slacker his/her security deposit back. Study the LL/Tenant Laws for PA.

Happy Holidays...

Blue

 

[FarmerJ]

when you tried to contact the former tenant , did you address the deposit to he former tenant at the tenants last known address , the one they rented from you ? if you did not then perhaps your not aware that if you send a deposit disposition with in your states time lines via say certified mail to the address the tenant rented from you and the tenant did not put in a forward address then eventually the post office will return it to you, which should be enough to show to a court that you addressed it with in your states law time lines. Next time around keep in mind that even if a tenant doesn't give you a mail -forwarding address Use the one they rented from you the court wont penalize you for doing it that way .

 

[pixelrogue1]

Thank you everyone.
---
FYI - I am not one to hold security deposits (otherwise I would have known about this kind of thing in the past.) This particular situation was contentious on all fronts. A loophole was created as I was trying to assist the tenants out of the lease. I needed an availability date from the current tenants to create a lease for an approved new tenant; approved tenant bailed last second. Tenants vacated prior to end-of-lease.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

I'm going to guess you did not make any attempt to send the security deposit anywhere, correct?

Next time send it to the last known address (your rental property) within the required time period for your state. Collect the envelope from the mail and keep it UNOPENED in your previous tenants files. Down the road if the tenant complains they never received this (and possible sues) you have evidence of a good faith effort to provide this to them.

Gail

 

[FarmerJ]

You would get to enjoy the privilege of being in court and being able to offer to a judge your proof of having followed your states law for deposits by bringing with you to court the un opened in original envelope letter sent by you but left by post office or returned to you by post office since tenant didn't forward mail or leave a new mailing address and watch the judge direct the bailiff to hand it to the former tenant AFTER looking at it.

 

[Just Blue]

Thank you everyone.
---
FYI - I am not one to hold security deposits (otherwise I would have known about this kind of thing in the past.) This particular situation was contentious on all fronts. A loophole was created as I was trying to assist the tenants out of the lease. I needed an availability date from the current tenants to create a lease for an approved new tenant; approved tenant bailed last second. Tenants vacated prior to end-of-lease.

The "loophole" is covered under your state LL/Tenant laws. Please study them.

 

[pixelrogue1]

The "loophole" is covered under your state LL/Tenant laws. Please study them.

Not even sure how I'd even avoid that same situation if it were to surface again in the future.

• The old lease will be dissolved once a new lease has been signed.
• Start date of a new lease is required to complete the new lease.
• If the prospective new tenant flakes out and does not sign for any reason, the current tenant now has a new legal move-out date that could be months shy of the original lease termination date.

Anyone else run into this situation in the past? How would this be avoided?

 

[FarmerJ]

How you avoid a tenant from claiming to a court that you didn't address damage deposit funds on time OR a tenant contacting you months after getting out of your property wanting a deposit back and again thinking they might take you to court is to do the final disposition of their deposit funds with in the time lines your states laws allow and sending it thru the mail to the last known address , the one they rented from you , If you use regular mail then do it at the very least with a certificate of mailing. IF the tenant did not put in a forwarding address that letter will still be left there by the carrier, IF you send via certified mail and post office notices are ignored by tenant OR plainly not picked up Post office will return it to you, keep it sealed in original envelope as if you would need it for court one day. If a tenant walked out on a lease some courts will still want you to use the date they moved out / date unit was returned to you AS the starting date of the time line to get deposit disposition done. You wrote >• The old lease will be dissolved once a new lease has been signed.< that doesn't matter when it comes to deposit disposition laws but it would matter say if it took you 3 weeks to get a new tenant and wanted former tenant to pay for the three weeks of rent they didn't pay for. You wrote >• Start date of a new lease is required to complete the new lease.< has nothing to do with deposit dispositions BUT I cant imagine how a landlord could enforce a lease when it didn't have a start date. You wrote >>• If the prospective new tenant flakes out and does not sign for any reason, the current tenant now has a new legal move-out date that could be months shy of the original lease termination date. << This has nothing to do with deposit dispositions BUT would impact a final court claim from a landlord who wants to sue a former tenant who broke a lease early and left owing rent EG tenant under lease moved out with 4 months left to go on that lease, it took you 2 weeks to find a replacement every thing is all set to go , new tenant passed screening, was ready to sign a lease with you and wigs out and refuses to sign& pay , start all over , and this time after you get in touch with the one that would have been your second choice or you start all over and do find another customer and this one pays you and signs at same time but it took you another ten days then it would be fair of you to claim 24 days of rent is owed from the tenant who broke their lease.

 

[pixelrogue1]

Got it everyone - lesson learned mail deposit to the last known address (even though there is clear language in the lease on provided written forwarding address.) That has been heard loud and clear (in case anyone else wanted to jump onto that same advice.)

FarmerJ - you are right the question I asked above OS a different topic so I just created a new thread as to keep the two topics from getting mixed together