Q: If the last apartment I lived in refuses to give my pet deposit back can I file a civil suit to get my money back?
I lived in an apartment for a 12 month lease. During the 9th month of my stay I adopted a cat and paid an additional pet deposit through the same online portal I paid my rent. I have a signed deposit form with mine and the property manager's signatures. When I moved out the manager said there was no record of a deposit in me ledger. I re-sent them the deposit form with our signatures and a snapshot of the transfer from my bank account. Since then they just keep saying it's with accounting and they are doing all they can to figure out what happened. They have started to just ignore my inquiries into the matter. I moved out of the apartment roughly 5 months ago.
Besides continually calling/emailing to get an answer can I file a civil suit to force them to return my money?
A: By law, a landlord has 31 days after a tenant restores possession to either fully refund all deposits or provide a written accounting (NOT email, text, voicemail, etc.) for how much they are keeping and why. If they do neither, the tenant is likely entitled to recover a minimum of twice the amount not accounted for or which is improperly withheld, along with their court costs and attorney's fees. This said, if, after review, things shake out as you present them to be, it is the sort of case that an attorney may take on a contingency, meaning you would not owe them anything more than an initial interview/case review fee for their time. Rather, the attorney would rely upon collecting their fees from the landlord upon either prevailing in court or settling the case. In this sort of case, I would anticipate the landlord would likely settle and do so rather quickly. IF you have them dead to rights, fighting the case is only going to mean that the landlord has to pay even more in attorney's fees - both his own and the tenant's. One possible issue is whether the landlord had any legitimate damages to charge you. They may be liable to you for twice the amount of un-accounted for deposit, but you would still owe any legitimate damage claims against you. So there are a variety of potential issues that you should review with a local landlord-tenant attorney before filing suit. Good luck.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
