I have to take my old landlord to court.

[Black91TSiAWD]

He's just now telling me, like 52 days after the legal termination of the lease, that I will be receiving $0 of my $700 security deposit.

He said $300 was a cleaning fee, when we left the apartment cleaner than it was when we moved in, literally 100% truth.

He also said(which I was aware of) that we were responsible for our portion of the water bill. It was 2 of us, for 6 months. He claims our portion was almost $700 itself.

Im so facking pissed off, I knew this guy was a slimeball.

I have no experience in this as ive never taken anybody to court before, what do I do?

I literally have no idea even what step 1 would be, if anyone could help Id be most appreciative.

 

[JMGSX]

Not sure what the water rates are in your area but for two of us it is about $110 per month, so that could be true.

 

[Trav83]

Well first make sure you can back up everything you say, because you'll look dumb in court if you don't. You have to go to downtown Binghamton, go to the city hall building, go to the 5th floor and there will be a couple officers there that will direct you to where you need to go. You'll have to fill out the paper that tells them who and why your suing. Make sure you can provide your landlords full name and address, there will be a $25 filing fee.

 

[knochgoon24]

$700 is nothing for a landlord to nickel and dime out of you.

I won't be surprised if I don't see a cent of the combined $1450 security deposit we have down for our apartment.

We had 2 girls come knocking on our door one night just a few weeks ago asking to look around our apartment. They had lived there last year and were being CHARGED on top of the $1450 security deposit they had down. Apparently the landlord wants another $800 out of them.

Charges included:
$500 to repaint the place (all flat white, very poor job, paint splattered everywhere.)
$350 for furniture damage
$200 in misc. repairs
and the list went on.

Landlords are not allowed to charge extra for "normal wear and tear" but since that's so vague, most charge for everything they can.

Around here, they replace the carpeting every chance they get. If it's stained and they can't get it out, they replace the carpet in the whole room.

Unless you have photos from before and after you moved in (I took some of my place), then the receipts he has will probably be all he needs.

My landlord has family do repairs. The tow company makes rounds in the parking lot about once every 3 hours, 24/7/365.

State College is a college town with it's share of shady landlord, I wouldn't be suprised if Binghamton had a few, too.

Oh, and cats and dogs are not allowed in my place. The charge for being caught with one (they dandruff test at the end of the lease), $3500.
[/rant]

 

[JFZERO ECLIPSE]

Anytime you move into/out of a place always take pictures to prevent the problem about cleaning....

Landlord said I left a huge stain on the carpet and left some holes in the walls....Well before I moved in I took pics of the stain and walls....(I left the apartment in much better shape than what I moved in as well as the OP)I had the carpets scrubbed about 3 months into the lease and put up some new drywall pieces(Mind you I'm not very skilled and sanding and drywall stuff)...6th month came around, and he wanted to go to court stating I destroyed the carpets and walls....He put new carpets in using my security deposit....after I moved out...

Took the pics with me of before and after...judge basically told him to give me back my security deposit, that I was not responsible for anything...She then stated that he was lucky I didnt charge him for installing the newdrywall and such

Overall got my 500 back and he payed all court cost...and fines...Overall I think he spent over 1500 between carpets, court cost, fines, and my security deposit....He tried to get away with it, but I wasnt letting him get my money....

 

[phunny]

Okay okay, if you guys just have opinions and no facts please do not post. This will not help him at all in the legal system.

First off, if a landlord does not return your deposit they MUST have an itemized list to you within 30 days detailing all the charges. If not they auto-lose. And in almost all states when you sue them you can sue for double. Therefore you will get $1400 back. I have been through this and can give you any further advice you need.

-charlie

 

[Black91TSiAWD]

Okay okay, if you guys just have opinions and no facts please do not post. This will not help him at all in the legal system.

First off, if a landlord does not return your deposit they MUST have an itemized list to you within 30 days detailing all the charges. If not they auto-lose. And in almost all states when you sue them you can sue for double. Therefore you will get $1400 back. I have been through this and can give you any further advice you need.

-charlie

id love some further advice if you would like to share it. Id like to be as informed as possible in this area before I make any moves.

 

[phunny]

id love some further advice if you would like to share it. Id like to be as informed as possible in this area before I make any moves.

What would you like to know? Have you written down everything you have talked about and when? If you have everything documented it goes really far in court. After you document everything that has happened so far call him back. Tell him that you received nothing in writing about why he was keeping your deposit and what you plan on doing if it is not returned. Then document what was said.

Then send him a certified letter(that he must sign for) stating that you haven't received your money and will take him to court if need be. If you still don't get it back, take him to small claims court, it costs under $100. Do you have a copy of your lease agreement? If you do can you post it?

-charlie

 

[wildmanmcgee]

Only one thing I have to ask, How in the world is the water bill $700 plus for six months? I noticed another member said there bill was $100+ for 2 people in a month. What in the hell are you people using your water for? How much are you using?

Me and my wife both take showers every day. Wash the dishes, clothes, and the yard and we still only pay $18 a month for water. To me that is insane to pay that much for water.

 

[GSXSixteenG]

There is no wayyy it would be $700 for water for 6 months. I have a house in Buffalo (Not too far from Binghamton) and our water bill is around $70 for every 3 months. There are 3 people living here and we each takes showers twice a day and dishwasher and laundry.

 

[Black91TSiAWD]

What would you like to know? Have you written down everything you have talked about and when? If you have everything documented it goes really far in court. After you document everything that has happened so far call him back. Tell him that you received nothing in writing about why he was keeping your deposit and what you plan on doing if it is not returned. Then document what was said.

Then send him a certified letter(that he must sign for) stating that you haven't received your money and will take him to court if need be. If you still don't get it back, take him to small claims court, it costs under $100. Do you have a copy of your lease agreement? If you do can you post it?

-charlie

our lease is like 15 pages long, theres no way I could post it.

I dont have a good enough memory to document everything that has been said between us and when, and didnt know to do so at the time.

definitely dont have anything in writing from him stating anything about what hes taking.

I dont have before/after pictures, I know how stupid but hey I really wasnt planning for this. I always paid him on time, in cash and always early. I have every receipt though.

The place was also full of code violations if that means anything.

Just really pissed and dont know what to do about it. I flipped the F out on him to the point where he hung up on me, and that was the last contact ive made with him, was only 2 or 3 days ago now.

 

[voyageur]

ok, I have no idea where Binghampton is, but most major cities have tennant rights organizations to help people in situations like this. I found this website/directory of free legal services in NY www.lawhelp.org/NY/StateDirectory

 

[Black91TSiAWD]

ok, I have no idea where Binghampton is, but most major cities have tennant rights organizations to help people in situations like this. I found this website/directory of free legal services in NY www.lawhelp.org/NY/StateDirectory

link doesnt work

 

[cs82685]

There is no wayyy it would be $700 for water for 6 months. I have a house in Buffalo (Not too far from Binghamton) and our water bill is around $70 for every 3 months. There are 3 people living here and we each takes showers twice a day and dishwasher and laundry.

that's what I was thinking, not that I live really close, but still the northeast and my water bill for 2 people is <$20/month

 

[JMGSX]

Only one thing I have to ask, How in the world is the water bill $700 plus for six months? I noticed another member said there bill was $100+ for 2 people in a month. What in the hell are you people using your water for? How much are you using?

Me and my wife both take showers every day. Wash the dishes, clothes, and the yard and we still only pay $18 a month for water. To me that is insane to pay that much for water.

I will post it up if you like. In my county every bill is for a set number of gallons. If you don't go over, that is what you pay regardless of what you use. You go over and it is more. The bill is for water and sewage though, as I thought all bills for city water were. Our bill is for 3,500 gallons no matter what we use. We only use 1,500 a month but we still have to pay the minimum.