Where my money at, bitch?

[mighty_aphrodite]

Original Letter to Ye Olde Landlord:

September 25, 2006

To Whom it May Concern:

 

            As of today, September 25, 2006, we have not received any communication from you concerning the status of our security deposit.  According to Chapter 562A Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Law,

 

“3.  A landlord shall, within thirty days from the date of termination of the tenancy and receipt of the tenant's mailing address or delivery instructions, return the rental deposit to the tenant or furnish to the tenant a written statement showing the specific reason for withholding of the rental deposit or any portion thereof…

4.  A landlord who fails to provide a written statement within thirty days of termination of the tenancy and receipt of the tenant's mailing address or delivery instructions shall forfeit all rights to withhold any portion of the rental deposit. If no mailing address or instructions are provided to the landlord within one year from the termination of the tenancy the rental deposit shall revert to the landlord and the tenant will be deemed to have forfeited all rights to the rental deposit.”

           

Since it has been thirty-eight days since we moved out (on August 18), and since we did at that time supply you with our forwarding address, we request that you refund to us our security deposit in the amount of $530.00.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

David Ancelet

 

 

 

Angela Ancelet

Reply (paraphrased):
Your carpet was damaged.  Here's a check for $180.  Call me if you have questions.  

Excuse me?  Oh. No.  You. Didn't.

Le Rebuttal:

October 2, 2006

 

To Whom it May Concern:

 

            We have received your check and letter detailing the deductions from our security deposit.  As we stated in our previous letter, The Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant law provides thirty days in which to return to tenants their security deposit and/or a statement detailing the reasons for any portion thereof to be withheld.  Your letter and check, dated September 20, and the envelope, postmarked September 29, are dated thirty-three and forty-two days, respectively, after the date of our moving out on August 19.  Therefore, in accordance with Chapter 562A, we are entitled to the return of the full amount of our deposit ($530.00), despite any damage to the property.  Having made a copy for our own records, we return to you your check in the amount of $180.00.  We await a prompt reply and a new check for the full amount.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Angela Ancelet

 

 

 

David Ancelet

 

Hey, I'll admit it.  The carpet looked like shit.  Not even denying it.  Do I feel a little shameless for asking for money back that I really don't deserve?  Not enough to keep me up at night. 

Comments

[naamaire.livejournal.com]

As a former Stormtrooper For The Man (I did a lot of repo work, and a lot of apartment lockouts) I can say that, in all the states I worked in, the law is firmly on the side of the tenant in tenant/landlord disputes. Landlords make their money by assuming that a) you don't know the law and b) you'll figure it's not worth fighting even if you do. Since you obviously do know the law, I'd advise you to stick to your guns, return the check uncashed, and keep up the nasty letters. They'll probably pay you off to get rid of you, since (unlike contractors and used car lots) they can't really declare corporate bancruptcy to get rid of you, since the court would attatch real property.

The US court system is a total clusterfuck, but in this instance it's on your side.