Security Deposit terminating lease early, get deposit back

[Guest]

hey guys, im here seeking advice and info and would appreciate any input. i will try my best to keep it short and leave out any unnesssary details

so i recently rented a house with a lease, and on the first day there i noticed there was a problem with the bathroom tub/shower and one of the rooms didnt have heat. also some other problems i didnt notice when first seeing the house (gaps in the windows making the house very drafty etc.) i contacted the landlord and she said she would send her stepson to fix the issues. her stepson did not come until 6 days later, so i was not able to take a proper shower and had to move my stuff out of that room because of being without heat. even after repairs were done i noticed the room was still alot colder than what it said on the thermostat. i also have pics of the the thermostat next to a thermomter. so at that point i decided that i was going to terminate the lease early due to pennsylvania health and safety code.

i sent a letter shortly after stating i would leave at the end of the month. due to my job, i have to give at least two weeks notice before moving, otherwise i wouldve left immediately. i then took it upon myself to advertise the house. any contact info i received i forwarded to her but when i asked if she was contacting the people she did not respond. so i proceeded to put her number on the ad so potential tenants could contact her directly, she then contacted me saying it was considered harrassment and wanted her number removed immediately which i did. she also said she would be at the house at the end of that week which i agreed to but she then decided she would show it after i moved.

during this time, my mother was able to get in contact with the previous tenant (mindi) and i have a recorded conversation with the previous tenant stating that the landlord told mindi not to mention anything wrong with the place when i went to see the house. im still not sure if i would be able to use this recording in court but i have it just in case.

so when it came time to leave at the end of the month, i left the apartment clean with no damages and returned the key plus a letter with my returned address. she did send me a letter stating that she will be keeping the security deposit because of breaking the lease etc. i did learn that she did have a tenant move in about a week after i move.

my question is do i have a case to get my security deposit, and also is this cause to sue for double security

appreciate anyone just for reading and any input given

 

[Michael Wechsler]

You have a lease and the lease has terms. Even if you had a month to month lease, you'd have to give your landlord reasonable notice of at least the length of the pay period (monthly) in order to provide proper termination - if you can. That said, if your landlord was able to rent the apartment a week later, the landlord cannot simply keep your money. In fact, in order to keep any money from a security deposit, a landlord is typically required by law to provide notice to the tenant with an itemized receipt of every deduction from the security deposit. A failure to do so can result in the tenant being able to sue the landlord, in some states it is triple damages.