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Do I have tenant rights; as I moved out and did not receive my deposits or letter from landlord for withholding deposits?
Anonymous4 views2 answers
I had my walk out inspection with the apartment manager on 3/20/15. It has been 3 weeks and I have not received my deposits or letter of explanation for withholding my deposits to my forwarding address. Also, the apartment manager did not provide a checklist for me to sign after the walkout inspection was done. I have taken photos of the move out, and the apartment manger did a blue light test for the move out inspection but never did one when I moved into the apartment unit. She had stated if she found stains from the blue light test, she was going to charge for brand new carpet for the whole unit. This includes brand new paint. I had to move out early from my lease but I had found a replacement tenant and paid for her security deposit so I can move out. The new tenant moves in 4/15/15.
Matthew Robert KaminskiDivorce / Separation LawyerSeattle, WA ·
Landlord has 14 days from the last date of the tenancy to return the money or to give you an accounting of what they are keeping. If they haven't done that you need to write a polite but firm demand letter. If they don't respond to that, you need to file a small claims lawsuit against them.
I'd speak to an attorney, sometimes landlords listen better when an attorney sends a strongly worded letter than when a tenant does.
Good Luck,
Matt
I agree with Mr. Kaminski and would like to add that a court may award double the amount of the security deposit if the landlord intentionally refuses to give the statement or refund. Also, the prevailing party is entitled to attorney's fees and costs for an action to recover a security deposit.
