landlord wont return my deposit. what can i do?

[anhl]

ok guys, I went and looked at an apartment a few weeks ago. The place was to my liking, so i put a deposit down. before i gave her my deposit i asked her if there was anything wrong w/ the apartment and she said no. i asked if i could see the lease before i gave her deposit, and she said she didnt have at the time. she said she would send me a copy later. I believed her and gave her my deposit. a week later, she sent me the lease and an informative guide that the apartment contains lead paint, and states that the contract was for a year. as a student, a year lease is a long time and a lot of money to pay. I informed her that i never agreed to a 1 year lease and question her why she didnt say anything about the lead paint when i was looking at the place. now, she is keeping my deposit.

am i in the right or wrong in wanting my deposit back for false advertisement and never agreed to the terms and conditions that she placed on the lease. ps. i havent signed anything.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Was this a holding fee or a security deposit that you gave her? A holding fee is provided to take a rental unit off the market and hold it for the tenant.

Did you ask the length of the lease. A one year lease is certainly not unusual; often month to month tenancies have higher rental rates.

Unless a rental unit has been deleaded (an expensive process), ALL places built before 1978 will have lead paint since all paint contained lead at that time. It's a given that the unit has likely been repainted since 1978 and thus the lead paint only presents a problem if one decides they're going to chew down to paint put down 30 years ago.

Federal law requires that all units built before 1978 have a lead disclosure included in the rental agreement. Doesn't mean that having lead paint in the place is a health risk.

Your landlord did not provide false advertisement in either of these issues.

Gail