Q: Is my landlord allowed to keep my deposit for a month to month lease with no end date and balance owed
I recently moved Nov 30 leaving my tenant a 30 day notice that i was moving because of mold, construction, plumbing and electrical issues not being fixed. In that letter i requested my deposit back. My landlord has not contacted me nor sunt me a letter about my deposit. In my lease it has the start date the security deposit amount and how much it would cost for a whole year no end date because its a month to month lease. I recently went by my old place and already has someone in there painting. What shall i do?
A:
Assuming no damage or other costs, the landlord has to eventually return your deposit. Here is the Georgia Landlord Tenant Handbook, which you may find helpful:
https://www.dca.ga.gov/housing/HousingDevelopment/programs/downloads/Georgia_Landlord_Tenant_Handbook.pdf
A:
You were month to month. Therefore, you were required to give 30 days notice that you were terminating the lease, unless the lease you had required more time. Some leases require the tenant to give 60 days notice.
You stated you moved November 30 giving your landlord a 30 days notice. If you moved November 30th, did you give the 30 days notice at the end of October? If you gave the notice on November 30th when you moved, did you pay for December? If not, the landlord has the right to hold your security deposit for the unpaid rent for December.
You claim you left because of mold, construction and electrical issues. Are those documented? Did you request repairs and the landlord failed to perform the repairs? When did you make the repairs? What type of mold is it?
Georgia's laws tilt toward the landlord. Unless you handled everything correctly regarding your notice, providing a forwarding address, and paying for the last 30 days, you may have forfeited your security deposit.
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