Hey all, hope to get some advice/tips here on building a strong case against my landlord.
I have three issues with him:
1. He never returned my security deposit
2. He made me clean the common areas while I was a tenant
3. He caused me to lose rent by denying a potential tenant (I will explain)
Per the first issue:
I was renting out a 3br apt with 2 other roommates on a month-to-month basis (all 3 of our names were on the lease). One day (around the 17th of the month), he asked 2 of us (myself and a 2nd roommate) to leave within 30 days, which we happily obliged (we actually left at the end of the month rather than the middle of the following month).
Anyways, rather than returning our deposit within 60 days of our departure. He claimed that he could return the deposit within 60 days of our 3rd roommate's departure. Is this legal? If I have a case against him, how can I build up my argument?
In either case, I filed a small claim against him when I didn't receive my deposit within 60 days of my departure. He has yet to return the deposit. He actually wrote me a letter telling me that I have to drop the case in order to receive the deposit. Can I ask for punitive damages and interest for his deliberate withholding of my security?
Second Issue
He made the tenants clean the common area. Any recommendations of building a case for this? I'm assuming that it will be my word against his word, so I will need witnesses. Could I use voice recordings of the other tenants to substantiate my claims? Some of them have gone out of state.
Third Issue
So this is a month-to-month lease. All three roommates have to sign the lease. All three roommates are responsible for the rent (only one check is made out).
Initially, only 2 people had signed the lease (myself and the 2nd roommate). We paid the full rent to the landlord for the first month and we were responsible for find the 3rd roommate. When we did find a 3rd roommate that was interested in the place, the landlord stalled the acceptance process until the 3rd roommate ending up going somewhere else. We ended up losing money for covering the 3rd tenants rent for the first month. Do we have legal recourse? In what situations do I have legal recourse and how can I build up my case?
Do we have legal recourse here? If so, what argument can I make?