Security Deposit Can they keep my deposit and even make me pay more?

Ross.P

New Member
Jurisdiction
New York
My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of New York: I paid on 1/1/17 the rent for the month but a week later found a new place in an area nearer my job, so I grab it. I planed on moving in and paid for the new apt. to start on the first of Feb. and on the 12th. of Jan. told my landlord I'm leaving at the end of the month 1/31/17 and would like my last month and deposit returned to me. The landlord told me I had to give them an in writing 30 day notice? I gave them that on the 23th. of Jan. and had to pay the rent on my new place for Feb. as well as live out my last months rent to them? I figured at least I will get the deposit back. But, when I and my girlfriend went to hand in the keys the check wasn't there? I was told by the property manager the landlord has to look at the apt. before I can get the deposit returned? I asked, " How long will that take because I want my money!" Her reply to me was around 45 days. I called on the 45th. day and got no answer, I called the 46th. day and no answer, called on the 47th day no answer so I wrote a letter demanding the return of my money and sent it to the property manager by certified mail. Four days went by and I got a call from them to come and get a letter at the manager's place from the landlord. I thought for sure it would be my money but it wasn't?! I got a letter that said this...



( I have redacted all names from this)



I've been informed by my sister, ( ), the Property Manager of ( ), that the tenants of the 3rdfl. told her in mid-January that they would like to have both their last month's rent and their security deposit returned to them and that the apartment would be empty as of on Feb 1st.

( ) informed you that this could not be done and reminded you that in the lease agreement there is a required 30-day notice of intent that must be made in writing and she will inform the real estate brokers that the apartment would be available as of March 1st. She said she received a letter on 1/23/17. And it simply stated they will be out by Feb.28th.

I've been told by the real estate brokers, that they hadn't been able to show the apartment, not once, at any time throughout the last month of your tenancy even though they did make numerous calls to make appointments to show it they never got a response. This was a breach of the NYS Renters' Lease Agreement that you, both, had signed and agreed to do.

New York state law requires the return of a security deposit to be made within a reasonable time after tenants leave an undamaged apartment. However, the landlord may withhold part or all of the security deposit due to cover cost of damages, unpaid rent, unpaid utilities or any financial losses due to negligence and breaches of a lease agreement.

If you feel this is incorrect in some way, please feel free to confer with someone who is familiar with New York Housing Law.



This is an itemized list of accrued expenses to make apartment re-rentable and financial compensations for loss of rental income.

1. Broken blinds; with the missing parts repair the window blinds; Repair cost of $234.08

2. Floors; re-sanded and recoated with new polyurethane; $872.48

3. Repainting of the apartment; this includes replacement of two warped window sills and new wallboard in need of replacement surrounding in-wall A/C units' beneath windows. $2275.00

4. Lost revenue for a month and a half in rent due to both time needed to make necessary repairs and the inability to show apartment through the real estate brokers during last month of tenancy.

The new tenants are now paying $1950.00 a month; so, with a 1.5 months of lost income from rent= $2925.00

Totaling a cost of losses entitled of reimbursements $6307.28



Total security deposit; $1700.00 in security + $22.42 interest over 3 years= $1722.42 minus reimbursement for damages.

This leaves a total balance due of $ 4,584.86

You can make this check payable to ( ) and leave it with the Property Manager, ( ), with your new address so I may send you all the receipts to these bills.


Observations of 3rd. floor apartment made on Feb28th and work done:

Damages to the floors were found to be beyond a normal wear and tear condition; it's apparent that the renters had not placed any area rugs in the high- traffic areas as was agreed upon in article 4 of the signed Rental Addendum, which was signed by both tenants before their moving in.

As a result the floors that were newly done two weeks prior to the tenants moving in were rubbed raw of its varnish and had to be refinished. This is far beyond the normal wear.

Window shelves and walls surrounding air-conditioners beneath windows were found to have had water damage caused by apparent neglect on the part of the tenants not closing widows during heavy rainfall.

Tenants tried to cover-up the water damages with paint.

Tenants painted both patches on the walls around the A/C and two of the window sills with high-gloss white paint. This seemed an attempt to cover warped wood widow-sills and water damaged wallboard. In addition to this, tenants had placed patches of this same high-gloss white paint over what must of been blemishes they made to other areas of walls throughout the apartment, (the paint used high-gloss white over bone white flat paint that was on the walls freshly painted just prior to tenants moving in three years ago.) This was done to a point the whole apartment needed to have a complete repainting instead of doing a simple one coat touch-up.

This is well beyond the normal cost of a three year tenancy in a house that is only ten years old.



I am sorry for any perceived delay you may find in my getting back to you. If only you had left a forwarding address as is required by New York State Law, I would have been able to get back to you sooner.



I didn't give them my new address but they had my cellphone number?

My question is... Can this be right?
 
Last edited:
My question is... Can this be right?

The LL believes it to be legal.

If you disagree, you'll have to take the matter to LL-Tenant Court, or the appropriate court in the place where the apartment is located.

The only way to resolve legal disputes is to take the matter to court.
 
The only thing I see that might possibly be in your favor is the time it took for the landlord to provide the list of damages accounting for your deposit.
45 days is a long time, nearly twice what is common other places I'm familiar with.
If you can show that the landlord did not stick to the required timeline you might be entitled to a full refund, but if the landlord is in compliance you won't likely get anything.
If the landlords comments about damages are true you might be best off to suck up the loss. If you push the issue to court you might be ordered to pay more. If you quietly disappear the landlord might not pursue you.
 
If you push the issue to court you might be ordered to pay more. If you quietly disappear the landlord might not pursue you.
ot this today:

To Former Tenants of the third floor


This letter is to inform you I, ( ), have been given a receipt signed by, you, ( ) on 4/25/17 showing you have received my letter.

Now, you, Mr. ( ) and Ms. ( ) are both completely aware of your obligations for the damages made to the apartment at ( ) NY 11378. It is now 5/09/17 and, as of yet, neither of you Mr. ( ) and/or Ms. ( ) have made either attempts in an acknowledgement or response in this matter.

Be advised if there is no acceptable conclusion in this matter by June 15th than there will be no other option but to bring this matter to courts; and if going to court is the only recourse available in obtaining what is owed…then this matter will in the hands of the court and of lawyers.

This letter is a letter of intent: This is to remind you by not responding to this matter on your part would be a loss of time and afford. It is in the best interest for both of you to find legal counsel services to help you in this matter. Besides being a waste of time on part of the courts it would not be in your best interest as well. It would be in poor judgment to not take responsibilities for your actions and not to respond to your obligation.

If this goes to court and the judge judges against you (which would be the case as the evidence clearly shows) it will cause an adverse affect to both of your credit ratings. Saying this is not meant to be a threat in any way. It is merely a regrettable truth; especially when this all could have been avoided.

Be aware of this… The removal of a civil judgment from a credit report is not a possibility. Judgments remain on a persons' credit report, or in this case, both of your reports; In New York, this is for five years from the filing date it will stay on public record and this timeframe does apply to both satisfied and unsatisfied judgments alike; a court ordered civil judgment will likely be detrimentally reflected on both of your credit status' and the status of this judgment on a credit report will be updated if it is left unpaid. And, if left unpaid you can be assured it will be re-filed as it comes towards the end of the five years; and that will automatically renew the mark to the report for another five years.

Be advised if, by June 15th , terms in this matter have not reached to a satisfactory conclusion, then, on June 16th this will be handed to a lawyer and we will file a Breach of Contract and Damages Suit against you both with Jointly and Several Liability and with all the compensatory and punitive damages that can be applied. And understand this ( In New York small claims, the Civil Court of the City of New York has jurisdiction over civil cases involving amounts up to $25,000 and other civil matters referred to it by the Supreme Court. It includes a small claims part for informal dispositions of matters not exceeding $5,000 and a landlord and tenant/housing part for landlord-tenant matters of unlimited amounts

This would not be in your best interest.

I would urge you, Mr. ( ) and Ms. ( ), to seek out a legal adviser; please, review the strength of this case in its entirety and a follow the advice given to you in regards to your next course of action in this matter.

You, both, were in breach of contract in many points of the rental agreement you, both, have read and signed.

The following is a review of these points:

1) Number one on the rental agreement: There will be no pets allow at any time;

Found they actually had a bird.


2) Number two on the agreement: Rent payment is due on the 1st of the month with an understanding if late there would a late charge of $50.00 fifty dollars a day.

This was not applied even though there had been several times where this could have been applied.


3) Number four of the agreement: Rugs must be placed in all high traffic areas of the apartment (This will be about 60% of the total floor space.

Came to be quite aware there were never rugs put anywhere on the floors what so ever!


4) Number seven of the agreement: Tenants are reasonable for their own Hot-water/heat and cooking gas; also… for their own electric bill; as well as, any cable, phone and/or internet they deem to have as tenants.

It was found that they had their gas company account closed before their move-out date; luckily, we were not held responsible.


5) Number eight of the agreement: Tenants fully understand that they are responsible to keep the apartment free of any damages; And, they also understand that they are completely Liability to pay for any and all damages done in or to the apartment beyond the normal wear and tear

This makes all of this beyond belief they themselves had permission in calling the repairman. They had on call repairman for any and all repairs; they had the right to just call him, on their own to do the repair and send him down to the first floor for his payment. This was told to them because the man needed to know when they would be there for repairs to be made!?


6) Number nine of the Rental agreement: In the unlikelihood of the tenants decide to break the lease and move out tenants must give, in writing, a one month (30 days) Notice of Intent letter prior to vacating and must agree to permit the apartment to be shown to new potential tenants.


I was informed not one single time was permitted in viewing the apartment even though real-estate agents made many attempts to call to make appointments to show it.

As a consequence, due on part of Mr. Colbert and Ms. ( )'s actions the apartment became overly advertised.

Any apartment left on market for so long cause's damages to its marketability it forces to lower projective values onto the property. With not having the abilities to show the apartment during the crucial 30 day window made it necessary to lower its price its market value as can seen on real-estate's contract for $2250 but after being denied this crucial window-time needed to show as well as time it cost in repairs rental was on the market for a total of 77 days with very little interest after the initial 30 days The 30 days we were denied by Mr.( ) and Ms.( ). Resulting in a necessity to lower the price down to $1950 which had to be accepted in a one year contract to guarantee to mitigate losses and not have another months worth of lost revenue; we had no other choice but to lower the price. Two days later we had new tenants on a signed contract. But now this causes a poetical earnings loss of the $3600 which would have been generated if Mr. ( ) and Ms. ( ) had followed what was promised.


With this and the information you received in my initial letter which holds the list all of damages and timeline of documentable proof to review with the support of legal counsel you will capitulate before this becomes more complicated.


This is a reminder of list from first letter.

This is an itemized list of accrued expenses to make apartment re-rentable and financial compensations for loss of rental income.

1. Broken blinds; with the missing parts repair the window blinds; Repair cost of $234.08

2. Floors; re-sanded and recoated with new polyurethane; $872.48

3. Repainting of the apartment; this includes replacement of two warped window sills and new wallboard in need of replacement surrounding in-wall A/C units' beneath windows. $2275.00

4. Lost revenue for a month and a half in rent due to both time needed to make necessary repairs and the inability to show apartment through the real estate brokers during last month of tenancy.

The new tenants are now paying $1950.00 a month; so, with a 1.5 months of lost income from rent= $2925.00

Totaling a cost of losses entitled of reimbursements $6307.28

Total security deposit; $1700.00 in security + $22.42 interest over 3 years= $1722.42 minus reimbursement for damages.

This leaves a total balance due of $ 4,584.86

You can make this check payable to ( ) and mail it or leave it at ( ) with the Property Manager,( ), with your new address so I may send you all the receipts to these bills.

This is better than having to take this to the court; with court there would be additional burdens lawyer fees, compensatory and punitive damages and additional poetical earnings loss; not to mention the time of going to court will consume. This may become more complicated than either of you first thought.

Personally, I would rather not be punitive in this matter but if there is no other course given I can and will use all legal means at my disposal. I will leave this to the two of you to make an informed assessment of your options and come to your decision. But realize I will not wait longer than June 15th for your reply. Afterwards this all will be in lawyer's hands.




"Respectfully"


____________________
 
Bankruptcy might be a consideration.
It wouldn't be stupid to discuss bankruptcy with a couple licensed attorneys in your county.
 
That lengthy letter is the writing of a cheapskate landlord too cheap and lazy to get the same legal counsel he urges you to get.
Personally, I would not respond.... and I certainly wouldn't have signed a receipt for anything I wasn't expecting.
Unless you receive a summons to court you have no obligation to do anything. Cease all contact, do not reply.
If you can afford counsel you might want to speak with someone and get an idea of what you might actually be liable for and whether the landlord is in compliance with his obligations in order to claim damages from you.
 
To go through bankruptcy would destroy both of our FICO scores my low score is 770 and her low score 762 this cant be the only option?

With such an excellent FICO score and your intense desire to protect it, HIRE a lawyer to assist you.

Surely you recognize the landlord's ability to take you to court over the alleged damages, don't you?

A successful lawsuit resulting in a judgment against you can take 200 points (give or take) off that excellent FICO score, too.

Good luck.
 
That lengthy letter is the writing of a cheapskate landlord too cheap and lazy to get the same legal counsel he urges you to get.

Apparently not too cheap.
I received a deliveryman at my work with a large packet to sign for right in front of my boss and my co-workers; He was from some Manhattan Law-firm.
It turns out to be a copy of the same letter I posted here with a document called an Accord and Satisfaction Agreement
It has a Cover letter that states
Please read all papers carefully, follow the instructions and then please place all papers into the prepaid return mailing packet provided.
This must be received by our offices no later then by the end of business on June 15th. 2017
Thank You

It's telling me to write out the check; and my girlfriend and I must both sign the papers and bring it to a notary so we can both have it motorized!?

Now what?
 
It's telling me to write out the check; and my girlfriend and I must both sign the papers and bring it to a notary so we can both have it motorized!?

Now what?

I suggest you meet with two or three LICENSED ATTORNEYS in your county tomorrow, hire one, and proceed as your attorney directs.

This was my suggestion in post 8 ABOVE in reference to that GREAT FICO score that your delay to spend money by hiring a lawyer to protect it, may have caused to be in jeopardy.
,,,,,,,,,

With such an excellent FICO score and your intense desire to protect it, HIRE a lawyer to assist you.

Surely you recognize the landlord's ability to take you to court over the alleged damages, don't you?

A successful lawsuit resulting in a judgment against you can take 200 points (give or take) off that excellent FICO score, too.

Good luck.
........
 
I suggest you meet with two or three LICENSED ATTORNEYS in your county tomorrow, hire one, and proceed as your attorney directs.

This was my suggestion in post 8 ABOVE in reference to that GREAT FICO score that your delay to spend money by hiring a lawyer to protect it, may have caused to be in jeopardy.
,,,,,,,,,


........

I am for-sure taking your advise' in the morning I will take all these papers and go to a lawyer's office and hopefully it's not to late Thank you.
 
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