Refusing to return deposit because of supposed lease extend

[ginginlala]

I recently moved out of my apartment, having completed the original 12 month lease. The original lease expired at the end of June.

In mid-May, my landlord sent me a renewal form for an additional 12 months. I knew I would not be renewing. I e-mailed my landlord and told him this. I also asked, in this e-mail, if I had the option of extending for 1x additional month into July. Here is that e-mail:

Would you consider a month-to-month arrangement for July? We're sorry to be leaving the apartment -- a few small issues aside, it's a great unit and a nice building [PERSONAL DETAILS].

We can commit to keeping the place in showable condition should you wish to show it while we're still occupying. We generally keep it in good condition as it is. As for rent, we'd be very happy with the new 2012-2013 rate of [RENT], particularly if it can be prorated to match our extended stay.

In any event, please let me know what our options are.

My landlord replied with:

Hi [NAME], it’s fine to extend the lease one month through the end of July. [PERSONAL DETAILS]

I then replied with:

If there's anything we can do to help fill the vacancy, let us know -- we appreciate the flexibility.

On June 20th, it became clear that I would not need the additional month, so I e-mailed my landlord to let him know that we would definitely be out by the end of June. I never received a response. This was 10 days before the original lease expired on June 30.

My landlord is now refusing to give me all of my security deposit back, because he claims that I need to make him good for time that he could have been marketing the apartment. He assumed I was staying the extra month. My POV is that I never, at any time, actually said I was going to stay an extra month. I asked if I had the option to do that, he confirmed I did, and then I appreciated his "flexibility." That was the entire conversation (as pasted in above).

Thoughts? Is there something in my e-mails to my landlord that legally bound me to accept an extension for a month? Or am I right in thinking that the landlord made an assumption that I was staying, and that this is a (pardon the cheesy expression) ass of u and me type situation?

For additional context/color, the landlord always seemed like a good guy, and I want to act equitably, it'll just help me act equitably to get some third opinions on where I actually stand.

Thanks for your help...

[TenantNet]

You don't say if you are RS, which could impact any legal obligations in a situation like this.

Assuming you are not RS, I think you should meet him half-way on this, and so should he. Your email definitely gave him the impression you were going to stay. And -- God Forbid from a LL's POV -- he could have been prepping or marketing the unit for the next tenant. You did say you could/would commit to helping him market the place.

Did your email create a M2M tenancy? Probably not. But your stated intention to hold over past the term of the prior lease might have done that. Negotiate this.

[ginginlala]

Fair enough! I'm really not looking to fight tooth and nail on this, the LL's a good, equitable guy and I can easily see how my e-mails could have been interpreted to reflect a stated intent to actually stay. Thanks for the perspective.

[TenantNet]

One more thought. You say you moved out already. Remember, to officially release possession, you have to return the keys to the LL and he has to accept them in that context.

Now, if he won't negotiate on this and demands that he keeps the SD for July's rent, then you have a right to maintain possession and he can't rent it out to anyone else for that time period. If you discover that he has rented it out, or is using it in any way (i.e., rehab, painting, etc. that he could only do when there is no tenant), then that infringes on your right to the place. At that point he would have no right to keep any of the SD (unless there were real and provable damages). So I would keep an eye on it or keep in touch with your former neighbors.