To whomever can help (from a legal standpoint and not conjecture or opinion of course)
I moved out of my apartment at the end of june (lease ended june 30th). I requested before we left my landlord come through and do an inspection of the property but never showed up to inspect. I requested my security deposit twice in July and sent another request today Aug 11th. He responded today with over $800 in unexpected deductions from a $2300 security deposit. Here is the exact text from the email he sent:
Security Deposit Total: $2300
Less:
- Cleaner : $180
- Disposal of items (boxes, garbage, lights, furniture, exterior/deck stuff) : $200
- Patch/Repair/Paint (tv wall, bathrooms, bedrooms) : $600
- Deduction Total: $980
- Deposit Return : $1,320
I agreed to the $180 cleaning fee when I moved out. Now, the amount of material that had to be removed was minimal, and the repair work I feel is nothing more than normal wear and tear from my three year occupancy because there was no significant damage to the property.
______________________________________
Now, here is the exact text of my response:
I disagree that $200 is a fair fee for the limited number of items that may have been left and I'm confident what items may have been remaining in the apartment did not necessitate extensive time and man power to remove.
Also, I disagree with the $600 fee for repairs. The assessed fee is extremely high because we kept the property in great condition and there was not any damage to the premises beyond simple wear and tear that comes with 3 years of occupancy. Also, I attempted to have you do an inspection of the property at 4:30 p.m. on June 28th, 2012, but you never showed.
Also, pursuant to section 250.512 of PA Security Deposit Law the landlord has thirty days to provide a list of damages to the leasehold premises for which you feel I am liable. In addition, any landlord who fails to provide a written list within thirty days as required in the security deposit law, shall forfeit all rights to withhold any portion of sums held in escrow, including any unpaid interest thereon, or to bring suit against the tenant for damages to the leasehold premises. I have contacted you multiple times since moving out to obtain the security deposit, and provided you with my forwarding address on July 16th, 2012. This is the first notice of any damage claims to the property I have received.
_______________________
Now here is where it gets interesting. this is his response:
I have no problem at all with you referencing the PA Statute however the one thing you fail to realize is that Landlords have 30 days from the time a forwarding address is provided by tenant, to get the deposit returned. As you stated, and my text messages confirm, you provided me your forwarding info on July 16 2012. I am sure you can appreciate that fact that the days between 7/16 and today were rather consumed with the final weeks of my wife's pregnancy and delivery. However, I am still inside of the 30 day window to reply to you by law, based on the July 16 date.
____________________
As I read the PA security deposit statute he has thirty days from the time of the end of the lease to return the security deposit to me minus any deductions he might have found. In my good nature I agreed to pay the cleaning fee and offered an extra $120 for the removal of any items and patchwork and asked for the remaining $2000.00 to be returned. He has had my number and email this whole time but still never responded.
If anyone can help me please reply. Again, I am only looking for replies that would help me legally in this situation and are not based off opinion only. Thanks for the help!!!!
I moved out of my apartment at the end of june (lease ended june 30th). I requested before we left my landlord come through and do an inspection of the property but never showed up to inspect. I requested my security deposit twice in July and sent another request today Aug 11th. He responded today with over $800 in unexpected deductions from a $2300 security deposit. Here is the exact text from the email he sent:
Security Deposit Total: $2300
Less:
- Cleaner : $180
- Disposal of items (boxes, garbage, lights, furniture, exterior/deck stuff) : $200
- Patch/Repair/Paint (tv wall, bathrooms, bedrooms) : $600
- Deduction Total: $980
- Deposit Return : $1,320
I agreed to the $180 cleaning fee when I moved out. Now, the amount of material that had to be removed was minimal, and the repair work I feel is nothing more than normal wear and tear from my three year occupancy because there was no significant damage to the property.
______________________________________
Now, here is the exact text of my response:
I disagree that $200 is a fair fee for the limited number of items that may have been left and I'm confident what items may have been remaining in the apartment did not necessitate extensive time and man power to remove.
Also, I disagree with the $600 fee for repairs. The assessed fee is extremely high because we kept the property in great condition and there was not any damage to the premises beyond simple wear and tear that comes with 3 years of occupancy. Also, I attempted to have you do an inspection of the property at 4:30 p.m. on June 28th, 2012, but you never showed.
Also, pursuant to section 250.512 of PA Security Deposit Law the landlord has thirty days to provide a list of damages to the leasehold premises for which you feel I am liable. In addition, any landlord who fails to provide a written list within thirty days as required in the security deposit law, shall forfeit all rights to withhold any portion of sums held in escrow, including any unpaid interest thereon, or to bring suit against the tenant for damages to the leasehold premises. I have contacted you multiple times since moving out to obtain the security deposit, and provided you with my forwarding address on July 16th, 2012. This is the first notice of any damage claims to the property I have received.
_______________________
Now here is where it gets interesting. this is his response:
I have no problem at all with you referencing the PA Statute however the one thing you fail to realize is that Landlords have 30 days from the time a forwarding address is provided by tenant, to get the deposit returned. As you stated, and my text messages confirm, you provided me your forwarding info on July 16 2012. I am sure you can appreciate that fact that the days between 7/16 and today were rather consumed with the final weeks of my wife's pregnancy and delivery. However, I am still inside of the 30 day window to reply to you by law, based on the July 16 date.
____________________
As I read the PA security deposit statute he has thirty days from the time of the end of the lease to return the security deposit to me minus any deductions he might have found. In my good nature I agreed to pay the cleaning fee and offered an extra $120 for the removal of any items and patchwork and asked for the remaining $2000.00 to be returned. He has had my number and email this whole time but still never responded.
If anyone can help me please reply. Again, I am only looking for replies that would help me legally in this situation and are not based off opinion only. Thanks for the help!!!!
