Security Deposit

[paymeinky]

My husband and I lived in a duplex in KY for 2 years. We had no written lease. Our landlord however had given us a copy of a previous tenants lease and told us to use it as a guideline. We gave the LL a months rent as a deposit. The previous tenant had broken his lease and also had a dog. My husband and I were never late on our rent and were good tenants taking care of all small problems when they would occur. We moved out of state and gave our landlord more than 30 days notice of our move. Prior to moving out We tried to arrange a walk through with the LL to get our security deposit back. The LL was unable to arrange a time to walk through the duplex. I called the lanlord the day that we moved and two times in the two weeks after our moving out. I left messages but never recieved any calls back from the LL. Finally 20 days after moving out I recieved a nasty letter from the LL stating that she was not going to give us any of our security deposit back because she claims that we left the place dirty. She claims that we left pet stains on the 10 year old carpet and she had to repaint. The paint was also about 10 years old. We also did not have a pet. The stains were from the previous tenant. We sent a certified letter requesting to go through the duplex with the LL and assess the damage that she is claiming but she has already cleaned, painted and carpeted. Their was no list of the condition of the duplex before we moved in. We also did not have a written lease. Should we sue? Can she keep our deposit for the place being dirty? Please help! Thank you

 

[Jack Mevorach, Esq.]

Only sue if the cost of suit does not exceed the recovery. My guess is that you'll have to walk away from this one.

 

[paymeinky]

Does it matter if the lease is verbal or written?

After looking up the laws in the state of Kentucky I am finding out that "Prospective tenants shall be informed of the location of the seperate account (holding the deposit) and the account number." The law also states that "No landlord shall be entitled to retain any portion of the security deposit if the security deposit was not deposited in a separate account" Would this law still apply to my situation if I did not have a written lease? Does anyone know what is concidered reasonable wear and tear? I cannot seem to find it written anywhere. Thanks for all your help

 

[HomeGuru]

If that is what the law states then L owes you the entire security deposit and the wear and tear issue is moot.

 

[paymeinky]

What about the lease?

That is in fact what the law states but does it matter that I did not have a written lease? Can I send the L a certified letter and quote the law? In the letter should I remind her that if I win my suit that she will be responsible for the court costs or is that a threat?
THANKS again

 

[paymeinky]

What about the previous tenants lease?

When my LL gave us the keys to the rental she gave us a copy of a previous tenants signed lease. She said to use that as a guideline. We did not have a signed lease with our names on it. Are we bound by the previous tenants lease?