Am i entitled to claim back my deposit

Question

I moved into a flat last month and paid the deposit. Since then i have become very ill, lost my job and i am unable to pay rent or look after myself. I have moved back to my parent's house for now, but can i claim back my deposit? My friend will most likely be taking over the flat and paying another deposit. Help please!

Answer 1

If you have found a new tenant, I suggest you talk to the landlord and explain the situation. Since your friend can move in rightaway, the landlord should agree. The landlord may want to do a credit check on your friend though. Assuming that goes well, and assuming the landlord is not greedy, it should be fine.

Good luck.

Answer 2

It depends on whether your are on a month to month or lease agreement.

If month to month, you needed to give a 30 day notice. If lease you are responsible for the rent until it is re-rented.

The landlord can keep the deposit to cover any unpaid rent. The landlord can also keep a portion of the deposit to cover any cleaning/repairs to return the property in to the condition it was in when you moved in.

Answer 3

You broke the lease.  You can not dictate who the next tenant is.  

It sounds like you should be more worried about how much more you owe the landlord.

Answer 4

That depends on if you signed a lease or not. If you signed a lease and in fact are going to have to break it chances our you will lose your deposit.If you owe back rent, you will lose your deposit. If you do not owe any money and it is a month to month lease and there is no damage you probably should get it back. It also really depends on the owner of the place. If they want to give your deposit back to you they can. Good luck.

Answer 5

If your friend moves in at the same time you were scheduled to move in, and signs a 6 month lease, then you should get back all of your deposit.  Even though you were in breach of contract, the landlord is entitled only to actual monetary damages incurred as a result of your breach.  If the landlord was able to find a new tenant to rent this apartment, for the same dates, terms, and rental rate, then the landlord has lost nothing.  So, landlord is legally entitled to nothing.

Answer 6

Probably not, you were unable to fulfill the terms of the lease.  

Likewise, although you have found a tenant the manager of the building reserves the right to determine if the tenant is suitable.  This will be contingent upon the successful completion of the application process.

Legally you also do need to give at a minimum 30 days notice.  Some places are 60 and even some 90.   Failure to do so usually results in loosing your deposit.