Wht are my rights if I got my security deposit back late and for a smaller amount?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Wht are my rights if I got my security deposit back late and for a smaller amount?
When I moved out of my apartment the landlord waited 62 days to pay the $1,000 security deposit. The check is for $350. The only thing he wrote was oil cleanup $75 and cleaning fee was applied $575. I am 99% sure he never hired a cleaning service and he was late on giving the security deposit back.
Asked on August 11, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Connecticut
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Hereis the law in your state:
If the landlord makes any deductions from the deposit, a written, itemized accounting of how much is being charged for each item must be sent to the tenant.
If you gave your landlord a forwarding address in writing, your landlord must do one of the following within 30 days after you move out:
Return your full security deposit plus any interest; or
Send you an itemized written statement of expenses deducted from your security deposit, along with the balance of your deposit and interest.
(If you wait more than 15 days after you move out to give your forwarding address to your landlord in writing, then the landlord has 15 days from when you give your address to respond.)
Your landlord must either:
return the full security deposit, plus interest, or
give you an itemized written statement of the nature and amount of the damages (including lost rent) deducted from your deposit because you violated your obligations.
If your landlord does not return your deposit and does not give you the required written statement, s/he is may have to pay you twice the amount of your deposit. (A landlord who returns a security deposit, but not the interest owed to the tenant, and gives no written explanation, may have to pay twice the amount of the interest only.)
Sue in small claims cout. Good luck.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.