Security Deposit Security Deposit Return?

V

Vaesauce

Guest
Jurisdiction
Maryland
I'll cut to the chase.

Girlfriend and I were in a rush to find a place and got an apartment in June of 2016. We signed the lease. Fast forward, little did we know, the place was infested with a Mice issue within the Complex. All mice stuff documented, photos of droppings, dead mice in the kitchen, etc.

All that being said, we eventually broke lease because of it. Sent in our certified letter that we were vacating the premises with the information of our new Address and etc. We received call from one of the Agents stating that they received the letter and that we would receive our Deposit within 45 days. They also asked for the keys for the apartment. This was in November.

Fast forward, we did not receive any notices or any letters regarding anything with the Deposit. So we waited and waited and nothing ever showed up. The Landlord (A company), eventually didn't like communicating. Fast forward a little bit more, it's been past 45 days and the guy who had any contact with us at all to begin with was laid off or resigned.

I emailed the President/Founder of the Company and it forced them to finally email me back. They are now stating that they are keeping the Security Deposit until the end of the lease (Ends in June 2017) or until they find a new tenant.

We left because of mice, are still paying Rent to cover us vacating (Though I feel like we shouldn't since the Complex is a Mice House), never late, always early....

The landlord has skipped major steps, we also never received any letters for inspections before/after vacating the premises either. They're also trying to tack on Electricity bills onto us even after we had cancelled our Electricity after we moved out. Which the power is under a name that is not ours.

Any assistance?
 
adjusterjack said:
Yes, but did you follow the tenant's remedies section of the Maryland landlord tenant statute before you moved out?

2015 Maryland Code :: REAL PROPERTY :: Title 8 - LANDLORD AND TENANT
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Thanks for replying Adjusterjack.

We did follow the tenant's remedies, we had also contacted the Health Department and they stated that due to the Lease and the way it was written, it kind of protected the Landlord. The landlord did eventually send an "EXTERMINATOR" who laid out 1 poison trap behind our water heater... in our Apartment... even though it was a Complex wide issue.

Anyway, disregard the Mice issue. We moved out because we couldn't stand droppings and urine on our dishes every night.

That all being said, the deposit is what I care for most at the moment.
 
vaesauce said:
We did follow the tenant's remedies
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Did you?

I ask because I don't see moving out (without a court order allowing you to) as an option in 8-211:

2015 Maryland Code :: REAL PROPERTY :: Title 8 - LANDLORD AND TENANT :: Subtitle 2 - RESIDENTIAL LEASES :: § 8-211 - Repair of dangerous defects; rent escrow

vaesauce said:
We moved out because we couldn't stand droppings and urine on our dishes every night.

That all being said, the deposit is what I care for most at the moment.
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If you didn't follow the procedures laid out in 8-211 then it's likely that the landlord has a right to hold your deposit and apply it to unpaid rent from the date you moved out to the date he rerented your unit per 8-207:

2015 Maryland Code :: REAL PROPERTY :: Title 8 - LANDLORD AND TENANT :: Subtitle 2 - RESIDENTIAL LEASES :: § 8-207 - Duty of aggrieved party to mitigate damages on breach of lease; secondary liability of tenant for rent

You can sue in small claims court and try to convince a judge that you are entitled to your deposit back because of the rodent infestation that wasn't cured.
 
Thanks for the reply again AdjusterJack, as I stated beforehand, we broke lease and we did it in a hurry because the landlord was putting in effort but barely any. Thus, the 1 poison trap behind our heatsink... in an Infested Complex.

That isn't the issue here though, It's not like we've stopped paying the RENT, we just vacated the premises and are still covering the Rent until the landlord finds a tenant. We haven't missed any payments, or been late on any payments. Fact is, shouldn't the Landlord be returning our Deposit in this case? And if they were to withhold our deposit, shouldn't we have gotten a notice?

Doesn't make sense that one of their agents tells us that we would receive on Deposit within 45 days of them receiving our letter but yet, another Agent is telling us that they're withholding it?
 
There is another angle on this, assuming you are completely out of the residence and returned the keys.
The landlord has a responsibility to mitigate the loss and rent the property to a new tenant. Do you know if that effort is being made? Is there a sign or a listing for it somewhere?
Even though you left early the landlord may still have to comply with statutory timelines regarding charges for damages and return of deposits.
It sounds as if that time has expired. If so, the landlord may be on the losing end of the argument for the deposit even if there are damages.
If you feel you have followed the rules and documented everything well, try sending a letter via post office that briefly outlines the situation, your compliance with state law and the lease agreement, the landlords failure to comply with statuary timelines, and a demand to refund your deposit.
You may find that you are entitled to additional damages on top of your deposit if the landlord has improperly held it.
If there has been no effort to rent the unit and mitigate the loss then you could potentially sue over the rent paid after you left early. They don't get to sit back and collect your check for six more months while the residence sits empty.
 
Hey Mightymoose,

First off, thanks for replying.

This was back in November of 2016 when we wrote the letter and had vacated. As our letter dated we would on a specific date. Upon them receiving the letter, the Agent who we were working with (no longer with the company as of Early February unfortunately) asked for the keys to the Apartment immediately after we had finished moving everything out. I have it documented via email, since he asked me in an email. We returned the keys.

I guess there is effort being made. I've been keeping up with their postings and they've only posted our Apartment up on their website (NO PICTURES WHATSOEVER lol). But no other websites. I have found them posting on other housing websites for their other apartments and houses but none of ours. They've made the effort of posting it on their website, nowhere else. I've posted on craigslist myself and attempted to post it on other websites but unless you're a landlord, you can't... so yeah... I complained about it but the Landlord, or the company like to ignore me. (If you considering this as effort... I don't know, I considering as effort... but not lol)
 
vaesauce said:
It's not like we've stopped paying the RENT, we just vacated the premises and are still covering the Rent until the landlord finds a tenant.
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You didn't say that before.

Here's the thing. The landlord's duty to mitigate (re-rent) doesn't start until you are in breach of contract. As long as you continue to pay rent you are not in breach (in spite of not living there) and the landlord has no duty to mitigate until you default.

So, yes, the landlord CAN just sit back and collect the rent until the lease is up as long as you continue to pay it and return (or adjust) the security deposit at that time.

Yes, it would seem counterintuitive, but that's how contract law works.

If you default now (don't pay rent when next due) the mitigation clock starts running as of that date. Meantime, you've paid rent willingly so there's no getting that back either.
 
vaesauce said:
I have found them posting on other housing websites for their other apartments and houses but none of ours.
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As you can see in the statute, the landlord doesn't have to give your unit priority over his other rentals.

Posting your unit on the website could very well be reasonable mitigation.

Again, as long as you pay rent, he's got no incentive to do otherwise.
 
As long as you pay the LL rent, despite your self imposed exile from your apartment, there is no breach.

You could return tonight, and live in your apartment.

If, however, the LL were to rent you apartment, he/she would violate your leasehold; effectively breaching the lease.

You've managed to muddle this up quite nicely.

Communications about the lease with employees of the LL, don't necessarily mean the LL aggrees with those discussions.

Frankly, it might be in your best interests to simply allow the lease to lapse by providing proper notice if your intent to terminate your lease.

Lastly, this might be the proper time to consult with a licensed attorney in your county.

It can be detrimental to your financial well being to rely on advice from anonymous entities.
 
Sorry if I wasn't as clear on my posts. Was posting from work.

Anyway, we had already broke our lease via letter back in November. Unless you're telling me, to not pay a months rent to start the beginning of the lease being broken?

I was paying rent because it was still our responsibility to take care of rent until a tenant was found. So are you saying I was wrong in continuing to take care of that? Genuine question lol.

Anyway, I've reached out to a few attorneys today but to no avail, my work schedule sucks ass so hard to get ahold of one.
 
vaesauce said:
Sorry if I wasn't as clear on my posts. Was posting from work.

Anyway, we had already broke our lease via letter back in November. Unless you're telling me, to not pay a months rent to start the beginning of the lease being broken?

I was paying rent because it was still our responsibility to take care of rent until a tenant was found. So are you saying I was wrong in continuing to take care of that? Genuine question lol.

Anyway, I've reached out to a few attorneys today but to no avail, my work schedule sucks ass so hard to get ahold of one.
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I'm not saying what you did was illegal, improper, or the contrapositive.

If, however, you're paying the LL each month the rent you did on the 1st month of your tenancy, despite the letter you wrote, you haven't broken your lease.

Just to be clear, I'll summarize my understanding.
1-You vacated your apartment. (The reasons don't matter, YET, maybe never.)
2-You submitted a letter describing your self exile from your apartment to an employee of your LL.
3-You've continued to pay the rent each month despite your voluntary absence from the unit.

If 1,2,3 are true, you haven't broken your lease.
As discussed above, (or alluded to) your LL would be in breach of your leasehold were he to rent YOUR home to a new tenant.

If I'm clueless, and you care to educate me, I'm extremely interested in your clarification.

Thank you.
 
vaesauce said:
Unless you're telling me, to not pay a months rent to start the beginning of the lease being broken?
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That's exactly what I'm telling you. Let's start with the premise that moving out before the lease expires is breach of contract. That makes you the bad guy. Doesn't matter that you gave notice. Doesn't matter what anybody told you. You're the bad guy and with that comes consequences. Oh, you might have a defense against those consequences but that defense is meaningless until a judge in court agrees with you.

As long as you continue to pay rent you are not in breach. The landlord has no obligation to mitigate until you default. The landlord has no obligation to cooperate with you. In fact, as long as the money rolls in, it is very much to the landlord's advantage to ignore you and stall as long as possible and there isn't anything you can do about it.

That's why I always recommend that, if you are going to be the bad guy anyway, you make a clean break and stop paying. That way the money stays in your pocket and the landlord is stuck with an empty unit and no money coming in. That gives you the advantage when it is time to negotiated a cash settlement, in writing, that absolves you of any further responsibility.

vaesauce said:
I was paying rent because it was still our responsibility to take care of rent until a tenant was found. So are you saying I was wrong in continuing to take care of that?
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Oh, you weren't wrong in either a legal or moral sense, just ill-advised in a practical sense.

You're kind of in the same boat as this guy:

Continued to pay for services after contract was cancelled

He's not getting that money back, either.
 
vaesauce said:
Well damn.

Anyway, I appreciate the replies. This gives me a better idea of the overall picture.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

How many months are left before the lease expires?

You could make a bargain with the LL.
What you've paid after you left, was probably MORE than what the LL would have charged you to let you get out the lease early.

Ask if that couldn't happen now, and get a signed release to let you off the hook LEGALLY.
 
By not living in the unit for a few months you've likely violated several terms of the lease, one being occupancy and another being upkeep.
By accepting the keys and listing the apartment I suspect the landlord will have some explaining to do if it is argued that you hadn't breached the agreement.
If you can't get them to voluntarily fork over a satisfactory amount you will end up in small claims court. There it will be a matter of presenting your documented evidence that you complied with all requirements in the statute (hopefully) and presenting your argument better than the other guy.

Most people do not continue to pay even though legally required to. They force the landlord to sue them or suck up the loss.
By maintaining payments you prevent the landlord from suing you and having a judgment on your record.
 

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