Do you need to have paid a security deposit in order to validate a lease?

[theLwerd]

Granted I know that all leases are different; however, consider this situation:

My landlord allowed me to sign a lease with her without paying my security deposit (I was going to pay it at a later point in time). After moving in, the ceiling in my room caved in along with a plethora of other problems that led me to want to move out. I paid rent for the one month that I lived there, and now I'm being held responsible for the security deposit that I never paid (because I broke my lease).

My question whether or not my lease was even valid as I did not pay the security deposit beforehand. Additionally, I had some property damaged as a result of the ceiling falling. Would my landlord be responsible for that damage? I no longer have proof of the damage (this happened over a year ago -- I'm just wondering). I was actually unable to live in the room for the month that I paid rent because of the ceiling. My roommate, who did not break his lease, was credited for that month. Considering my security deposit was 1.5 months of rent, I figured at best I'd only be responsible for half a month's rent.

Anyone have any info? Thanks!!!

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Of course the lease was valid even without a security deposit. You signed a lease; many landlords allow tenants leeway in providing a security deposit; this doesn't mean a lease is not valid.

Whether you were even justified in moving out depends on a number of factors, including the state that this took place in, how soon the landlord addressed the repairs needed for the ceiling, whether you contacted the landlord in writing about other needed repairs and whether you gave the landlord a reasonable amount of time to address these repairs.

Unless the landlord caused the ceiling to fall and thus damaged your property, they are not financially responsible for this damage. It's always a good idea to get renters insurance to cover your personal property.

Gail

 

[theLwerd]

Thanks for the prompt reply, Gail.

I signed a lease to live in a double (room) in a co-ed fraternity house. When the ceiling caved in (not my landlord a.k.a. the President of the fraternity's fault), it was addressed (repaired) within a matter of weeks, by which point I had already moved out. Are you saying that because the landlord didn't intentionally cause the damage that my roommate and I were simply SOL as far as being homeless goes? That very well may be the case; I'm just asking for the sake of clarification.

Basically, I want to know if I have any legal argument as to why my security deposit should not have to be paid. The boundaries here are sketchy, as my lease included not only legal obligations but others as well, such as restrictions imposed by the fraternity itself. For instance, the lease includes a stipulation about a room dweller only being allowed to have guests sleep over for 3 nights in a row. My roommate consistently violated this aspect of his lease, allowing his girlfriend to stay over for days/weeks at a time. I complained to the landlord about this consistently, but her negligence made it inconvenient and unpleasant for me to stay in the room (hence being one of the reasons that I wanted to move out). Is a roommates violation and subsequent landlord negligence another argument for my case? If not, I have several others I will bring up to the fraternity itself.

In conclusion, if none of these are good enough reasons to be able to avoid paying a security deposit, can anyone answer what WOULD be a good reason for me to not have to pay a security deposit (if any) given the details of my situation? I live in NJ, by the way.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

How did your roommate handle the situation? You mentioned that he did not break the lease and was credited for the month of inconvenience while the repairs were going on.

When a repair is required, the tenant must give the landlord/management a reasonable amount of time to undertake this repair. From your description it sounds like it was a major repair job. IF the landlord/management did not respond to the need for this repair, then a tenant will have several avenues to resolve this (including breaking a lease)

I have attached some information regarding breaking a lease in your state. There are certain steps you must undertake if you wish to break a lease early without negative financial complications. Complaints to the landlord/management should be in writing so you have documentation to show in court should you be sued for this lease breaking.

Please review the section on moving out because of bad conditions:

http://www.lsnjlaw.org/english/placeilive/irentmyhome/tenantsrights/chapterfive/

Gail