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Difficulties regaining deposit

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Difficulties regaining deposit

Postby HarlemDepositSeeker » Sat Dec 27, 2008 12:27 am

Folks,
I'm having some issues getting my deposit back from my landlord, and I wanted to get some idea of what my rights were and whether this is worth spending more time on.

I resided in an apartment between July 2007 and June 2008 with a roommate we shall call Mark. Mark had resided in the same apartment since 2004, signing a new lease each year with a different roommate each time until I came along. At the end of each lease, my landlord returned the deposit money to Mark's roommates, no questions asked. For any particular new lease, if the rent increased, Mark added money to the deposit being held by the landlord. It is known to be a fact that the landlord entered the apartment at various times for various purposes between 2004 and 2008, but he made no indication to Mark that anything was wrong with the apartment. Let us say that Mark and I contributed a total of $3000 for the security deposit on the apartment.

In June 2008, Mark and I vacated the apartment completely. At this point, the landlord inspected the apartment and came up with a list of things that were damaged in the apartment - cracked washbasin, cracked glass on the oven, etc - all of which are known to have happened between 2004 and June 2007, i.e. before I signed my lease. He has withheld our complete deposit on these grounds, without providing any list of damages or bills indicating the costs he has incurred fixing them.

Mark and I believe that by accepting new money into the security deposit on the apartment when I moved in in June 2007, the landlord forfeited his right to charge us for damages incurred prior to that. As a result, if he cannot prove that any damages occurred between June 2007 and 2008, he should return our deposit in full. The landlord, however, believes that since the apartment was never vacated completely between 2004 and June 2008, the apartment was NOT returned in the same state it was delivered in 2004, and regardless of the fact that I only moved into the apartment in 2007, I 'inherit' the conditions on the apartment because it was not vacated and must forfeit my deposit. Does this sound legit? He made us a partial offer of 40% of our total deposit as compensation for a period when the apartment was not maintained properly by him, but I don't want to accept it if I'm entitled to my full deposit back.

What do you guys think? Do I have a shot here? Thanks for your help!
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Postby TenantNet » Sat Dec 27, 2008 1:18 am

Can you detail the history of the lease, i.e., who was on from when to when.

And why would roommates (who are not on the lease) pay deposit money to the LL? Only those on the lease have a legal relationship with the LL.
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Postby HarlemDepositSeeker » Sat Dec 27, 2008 1:25 am

The lease history is:
July 2004 - June 2005: Mark and Tenant A
July 2005 - June 2006: Mark and Tenant B
July 2006 - June 2007: Mark and Tenant C
July 2007 - June 2008: Mark and I

Tenants A, B and C all had separate leases signed with the landlord along with Mark. Tenants A, B and C all got their deposit money back at the end of their respective leases, while Mark added money to his deposit to maintain it at the one-month's rent level as his portion of the rent increased each year.
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Postby TenantNet » Sat Dec 27, 2008 1:42 am

As this is not a rent regulated apartment, there are "new" leases each time there's a new roommate. This is not to be confused with vacancy leases, which is an animal of rent regulation. The leases are new because they have different sets of parties.

Because of the new tenant, this is not a renewal situation. I'm assuming there was a new lease document each time, and not just a renewal agreement.

Also, check the fine print of the lease you are on just in case there might be something there that addresses this situation (I doubt it).

You and Mark became co-tenants in 2007. You are jointly responsible for the rent ... and any legitimate damages from the inception of the tenancy ... which IMO started in July 2007. What happened before were different tenancies.

If the LL is collecting rent and deposits separately from each tenant (or each non-tenant roommate), then you're asking for trouble. It's best for the co-tenants to combine their money first and pay the LL in one payment. Remember, the two tenants are co-tenant, i.e., jointly liable for the term of the lease.

Based on your description, I would say you are only responsible for damages that took place during your tenancy. Proving what happened at what time ... that's a different matter. If something happened before you took occupancy, the LL can go after the old tenant or Mark (who were joint tenants). I don't think the LL waived his right to claim damages (subject to the six year statute of limitations), but that doesn't mean he can come after you for prior damages. He must go after the tenant(s) that created the damages.

The kicker is that most likely Mark didn't have a walk-through with the LL every time there was a new lease, so proving what happened and when might be difficult. Normally it's the LL's obligation to show damages (and his cost to repair).
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