Security Deposit not returned in MA

[Alex Finnerty]

So I moved into a room I found on craigslist 9/1/18. It was supposed to be a year long lease ending 8/31/19 but I never signed a lease or spoke with the landlord. I work a ton, so I was rarely there and a lease was left out on a table for a night for all roommates (5 of us) to sign. I wasn't home for 2 weeks during these due to working and traveling so I never signed my portion of the lease. It stayed this way throughout my tenancy without ever being asked to sign it again. At the beginning, I gave the landlord first month's rent and a security deposit and thought everything was fine. I was never given any sort of receipt, statement of condition, or information on where my security deposit would be held. Fast forward to now: I notified the landlord via text I would need to leave a month early and he said he was fine with it and that I would have my deposit returned. Well over a month has gone by with no communication on his end after repeated attempts from me to contact him. Today he finally answered one of my calls and told me he will be keeping the deposit and thats the end of it. Do I have any sort of recourse here to recover my money?

[Sai T.]

You said you are very busy person plus no lease agreement. Try it in small court, if you have a time and patience  otherwise move on in your life.