About a year into my lease, my landlord moved overseas and has not provided a forwarding address other than an email. We are approaching the end of the lease, and I am concerned that this greedy and parsimonious man will withhold our security deposit and/or use it for unauthorized repairs (e.g., repainting, although the apartment hasn't been painted during the 5 years I've lived there).
The landlord has no agent in New York/the US, and I'm concerned that if he wrongfully withholds my deposit, I will have no way to reach him in small claims court. He does not want to allow the security deposit to be applied to the last month's rent. Any advice on how we can protect ourselves, or should we just expect to kiss the deposit goodbye?