Pennsylvania Security Deposit

N/A N/A · 2010-02-11T06:12:47-08:00

Here we go again....are there any landlords out there who actually follow the rules?!? I think I'm a pretty good tenant and yet I'm always getting screwed. Moved out on 12/13/09, lease ended 12/31/09. I get my deposit back today 2/11/09, short of $55 with no explanation enclosed. I call my landlord thinking maybe it was just an oversight. He says that he had to have the carpet cleaned and some small things. I tell him that he can't just deduct it without any notice. The way it looks to me, I can sue him for twice the amount of the security deposit. I'm not sure the best way to proceed. I'm thinking maybe I should just send a letter requesting the $55 or I will sue for double. Or maybe I'll go straight to the attorney general http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/complaints.aspx?id=451 it worked for me before. Advice? PA LAW - http://www.rentlaw.com/dep/padeposit.htm After taking out damages and unpaid rent, a landlord or property owner must send its tenants the list of damages and/or the full or partial security deposit no later than 30 days after the lease ends or when the landlord accepts the tenant's keys to vacate the premises early, whichever occurs first. The law requires landlords to pay twice the amount of the security deposit if they fail to provide consumers with the list of damages along with any refund due. RETURN OF DEPOSIT: Within 30 days after a tenant moves out, the landlord must give the tenant a written list of any damages.

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OR · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 845 votes

16y

[[[[......I think I'm a pretty good tenant and yet I'm always getting screwed...]]]

I hate to be the one to break it to you, but if you are always getting "screwed" it's a certtainty that you are not a good tenant.

$55 to clean the carpets is quite cheap, so you got away very light.

Remember that lawsuits can go either way, and if you sue, there is no guarantee that you will win. It's always possible that you will end up paying the landlord some money plus his expenses. There is no way to predict what a judge might do.

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OP

Member since 2008 · 14 posts · 0 votes

16y

Originally posted by P NW:

[it's a certtainty that you are not a good tenant.

then i guess i should assume that you are a ****** landlord!! come on!

my last landlord out and out lied about stuff and when i took it to the attorney general i did get about half of what he withheld back!

look at my details, clearly he is going against the law. You are right, that is cheap which is another reason why I question the whole thing. It is like he just wanted to keep some money and thought I wouldn't notice it missing.

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Brian LevredgePro Member

Investor · Chattanooga, TN · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 903 votes

16y

Originally posted by leenga:

Originally posted by P NW:

[it's a certtainty that you are not a good tenant.

then i guess i should assume that you are a ****** landlord!! come on!

my last landlord out and out lied about stuff and when i took it to the attorney general i did get about half of what he withheld back!

look at my details, clearly he is going against the law. You are right, that is cheap which is another reason why I question the whole thing. It is like he just wanted to keep some money and thought I wouldn't notice it missing.

Was the apartment cleaned before you moved in? If so, there is a reasonable expectation to have the premises returned in the same condition. I have all my units professionally cleaned before a tenant ever sets foot inside. When that tenant moves out, they are responsible for the charges to have the unit cleaned again. It works that way in most states. Your issue seems to be with the guy being lazy and not a) refunding your deposit in a timely fashion and b) not providing you an accounting of charges.

If he sends you the accounting, there's not much left you can really do. Do you really want to invest your time for $55? I wouldn't.

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OP

Member since 2008 · 14 posts · 0 votes

16y

hmm clearly this board is full of landlords...

yes it was clean when i moved in and it was clean when i moved out

i actually did clean the carpet, maybe he felt it wasn't clean enough... i don't know

but.... it is his responsibility to return my deposit within 30 days which he did not, and it is also his responsibility to include an explanation of any deduction within 30 days which he did not

i found it very bizarre and rude (not to mention against the law) to just send me a check for less than my deposit with no note, no explanation, no nothing

i thought he was a good landlord (and i know i was a good tenant) which is why this whole thing sits a little weird with me

The law requires landlords to pay twice the amount of the security deposit if they fail to provide consumers with the list of damages along with any refund due.

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Brian LevredgePro Member

Investor · Chattanooga, TN · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 903 votes

16y

Originally posted by leenga:

hmm clearly this board is full of landlords...

yes it was clean when i moved in and it was clean when i moved out

i actually did clean the carpet, maybe he felt it wasn't clean enough... i don't know

but.... it is his responsibility to return my deposit within 30 days which he did not, and it is also his responsibility to include an explanation of any deduction within 30 days which he did not

i found it very bizarre and rude (not to mention against the law) to just send me a check for less than my deposit with no note, no explanation, no nothing

i thought he was a good landlord (and i know i was a good tenant) which is why this whole thing sits a little weird with me

The law requires landlords to pay twice the amount of the security deposit if they fail to provide consumers with the list of damages along with any refund due.

Yes, there are quite a few landlords here. Since you sound so determined, why don't you just go ahead and sue the guy over $55 like you were threatening? My points, which you missed, are more of perception. What you consider clean, and what your landlord considers clean could be two different things. I've had tenants move out that claim they cleaned a place all weekend only for me to walk in and find the stove, counters, etc., really aren't that clean. So of course, when I tell them I have to have the place cleaned, they get upset. Should the landlord be responsible for paying that?

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Jon Holdman

Rental Property Investor · Mercer Island, WA · Member since 2008 · 22k+ posts · 14k+ votes

16y

Did you do a walkthrough of the unit with the landlord before your turned it over?

If you didn't do a professional cleaning, and provide me the receipt, I would have done that and deducted it from your security deposit. I would have, however, sent you an accounting and told you exactly why I had made deductions and given you copies of the receipts. I'd have done it within the timeline, too. OTOH, how much effort are you willing to spend trying to get back the $55? Write the guy a demanding the $55 back because he didn't account for your deposit within 30 days. Then, if you really want to spend the time and money, take him to small claims court. At the very least, you have an argument w.r.t. the dates.

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OP

Member since 2008 · 14 posts · 0 votes

16y

Originally posted by Jon Holdman:

I would have, however, sent you an accounting and told you exactly why I had made deductions and given you copies of the receipts. I'd have done it within the timeline, too.

This is my point exactly!

The fact that he held back $55 with no explanation whatsoever and outside of the timeframe required by law, all rubs me the wrong way.

Had he done it appropriately, I wouldn't have liked it, but at least it would be understandable.

The way it was done makes me feel like he is just trying to get over on me. Think about it if every landlord did that to every tenant and just assumed they would get away with it because "it's is not worth pursuing" for the tenant, that is a heck of a lot of money!!

All the talk about "perception" and what was clean or what wasn't is all beside the point. (which is why I didn't even get into that in my OP).

Even if I completely left the place trashed, he can't just keep my deposit with no explanation!!

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Pennsylvania Security Deposit

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