Security deposit not returned - Landlord Forum thread

Security deposit not returned by Bob (Pennsylvania) on June 17, 2012 @09:48

Got a situation here and wondering whether I'm in the right or not (legally).

I rented a house in Pennsylvania, with the original lease running from November 2010-2011. In late September 2011, I reported a list of issues to my landlord but nonetheless requested to extend the lease through June 2012 -- this was done by email, and he accepted the request.

The two primary issue I reported was a leaky roof (water coming in through skylight and light fixtures in the kitchen), although additionally the living room was literally falling apart: about a 2-inch gap between floor and wall, and one of the walls had clearly been very poorly patched before and was beginning to crack significantly.

Roofers finally came by the house in mid February, but as far as we could tell, they determined that the damage was much more significant than expected and even said they didn't feel comfortable being up on the roof. After a couple more months passed with no improvement, because of the near complete lack of movement on these issues since they were reported in September, we decided to give him 30-day notice that we would be moving out in mid-May. To be clear, the original signed lease which we informally extended did not have any provisions allowing for early termination. Still, given the issues + a growing concern of possible mold in the wall cracks, we communicated, again by email, that the May rent payment would be pro-rated to 50% of the rent, and we provided the new address where he could send the security deposit. He responded OK, and on May 15, we vacated and turned over the keys.

It's now June 17 and we have received neither our security deposit nor an itemized list of damages or other reasons why he would not have returned it. Obviously, I'm concerned that he's decided just to keep it for the rent through June 30, so question 1 is whether he's allowed to do that in a case where he accepts the keys early and doesn't communicate an intent to continue charging.

Question 2 is, if this is the case, whether I have any recourse given the copious notice we gave him of severe issues with the property.

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Re: Security deposit not returned by OK-LL on June 17, 2012 @10:02	[ Reply ]

Your best bet is to review PA's LL/T law -- google "PA landlord tenant act" to discover what your legal options were and how you should have properly noticed the LL with regard to the maintenance issues to protect yourself. As a tenant, it is important that you know & understand your rights and obligations, as well as those of the LL. Start now.

Re: Security deposit not returned by Jake on June 17, 2012 @10:31	[ Reply ]

Take the landlord to small claims court if you do not hear anything. You could get awarded 3X's the deposit. Check your state law to see how long the landlord has to respond with the settlement statement. It is usually from 30 to 60 days.

Re: Security deposit not returned by Nicole (PA) on June 17, 2012 @11:13	[ Reply ]

you're probably out of luck - except for the fact that he didn't send you a letter - of course, if he sent it on the 15th it may arrive next week. when did you give the 30-day notice to vacate May 15? It needed to be by April 1 and even then you owe for the entire month of May. If you gave notice on April 15 you owe for all of May. Also, if you said you were leaving "midMay", that doesn't cut it. A date needed to be firm. This has nothing to do with the his failure to correct the issues but as for the "severe issues" - why in the world did yuo extend the lease if the place was that bad? Sounds like you knew these issues existed long before September and you knew they were severe.

Re: Security deposit not returned