Getting back my rental deposit.?

Question

I moved out of my old apartment and turned in the keys on June 30th. I did a walk through with the manager July 1st. I left the place in great condition. No damage at all. The management company sent me a letter saying it had to replace the carpet, flea spray 2 times, and paint and clean the apartment. But would not know how much my deposit return will be until after the new tenants move in. Well the new tenants moved in around the 3rd and the letter was sent on the 9th. I know they didn't replace the carpet and we didn't have fleas. I even have a message on my phone machine from the manager telling me how clean the apartment was when she did the preliminary walk through. They are trying to s***w me out of a 2000 dollar deposit. What can I do to get my money back?

Answer 1

You are due your deposit on the 30th, unless you are in CA, then it is the 21st.

If you know they did not replace the carpet you need to document that.

You will likely end up in small claims court, it sounds like your landlord is trying to keep the deposit illegally to me.

Answer 2

First, I would call the landlord and dispute the claims, then put that dispute in writing and mail it to them. (keep a copy for yourself.)

If that doesn't work, your next best option might be small claims court. You don't need a lawyer and it is cheap to file. Depending on what state you're in, it could be very easy to get the deposit returned or very difficult.

Do a Yahoo search for renter's rights in your city. There may be a group to help you through the situation. One made a call on my behalf in Vermont and they said they advised me to file a small-claims suit and the landlord relinquished the remainder of the deposit.

Answer 3

I would meet with the Property Manager and discuss these valid points.  If you still can't come to an agreement, I would then threaten and follow through with a small claims suit!

Good Luck!