Can Landlord Keep My entire Security Deposit?

[sjatraleigh]

There's a lot more to this story but this is the gist of it as it stands now. My lease started on 3/18/11 but I was unable to move in for medical reasons. My landlord put the townhouse back on the market and was able to get it leased again effective 4/7/11 also increasing the rent by $50 per month. Essentially, the townhouse was unoccupied for 20 days while I was under lease. The landlord has my $1,000 security deposit and half a months rent for March. He also agreed to pay for utilities for March 1st. through March 18th. because the townhouse wasn't ready on March 1st. as promised. He now wants to keep my entire security deposit and doesn't want to pay the utilities. Can he do this legally?

 

[mightymoose]

If anything, he is entitled to a prorated amount for the time the apartment was unoccupied.
If he won't return the rest then you should sue. He will have a hard time justifying his reasons for keeping anything more.

 

[army judge]

Read the lease you signed. What you and your landlord agreed to is in that lease.

Anything else, initially, is irrelevant. Your landlord appears to be doing what the lease allows him to do.

You breached the lease by failing move into the unit. It doesn't matter why you failed, only that you failed. What the unit rents for today, again, has no bearing on what you agreed to do. Your answers are in your lease.