Landlord withholding a security depoist question.

I live in New York, my landlord is withholding my security depoist because the laminate flooring he put down in the kitchen has a divot mark from one of the feet on the fridge that was sitting on it for the past 2 years.

I consulted a private contractor and asked if it was normal for that to happen with the type of floor that was in there and he said that "if the landlord installed the floor improperly than it would cause the floor to have weak spots that may cause something like that to happen."

If I took my landlord to court to get my money back would I stand any chance of having a case against them?

Some of your questions can be answered here: http://www.legalmatch.com/law-librar...-deposits.html. Most states require an itemized list of the repairs and require a depreciation calculation based on the age of the item (flooring in your case) so that you're not held accountable for the cost of a brand new floor. It's not likely that the minor repair you've posted warrants either replacement of the entire floor or requires the entire amount of your security. Get an itemized list of the repairs (and cost) from your landlord. If you feel they're excessive, you might want to consult with an attorney .. he/she can help you determine whether or not the legal costs (even in small claims court) would warrant further action.

Thanks for the reply! If the landlord withholds the money are they obligated to fix the damage? The reason I ask is because the morning they made me drive back to the house and look at the spot of the floor they said was damaged. But they had a new lease and tenant in the house the same day.

Demand a written itemization of the repairs as soon as possible. If no repairs were completed, obviously there was no reason to keep your security. Yes, the repairs should've been completed before the new tenant took occupancy.

I called them and they wont answer the phone, I asked for a itemization of repairs but they still have not returned a phone call.

During our last month we had a problem with the other tenant (its a duplex). During the verbal altercation the tenant threated to hit me and threatened to burn down the garage with all of our stuff in it. The landlords talked to the tenant but didn't do anything to him. We subsiquently had to move out 2 weeks left in the month because we felt as though it was an unsafe living enviroment for our 2 year old son. Because of the landlords mismanagment of the apartment and tenant is it possible to request a prorated amount for that month? The police were called but no charges were filed although the police did give him a verbal warning to say away from us and our property.

Any thoughts would be appeciated.

I think you may have confused my thread with this one: http://forums.legalmatch.com/landlor...much-owed.html

No problem, any thoughts on my last post would greatly be appeciated however.

(Sorry about that..very long day yesterday.) My answer was in there somewhere. I don't think you'd prevail based on that incident alone. You'd have to demonstrate a past history of disturbances or threats, in my opinion, that made your life there so unbearable you felt the need to vacate before the lease was up. If, for example, the police were called more than once in the past for similar confrontations or disagreements or you had a documented record of past similar complaints to your landlord, I think you'd have a stronger case. The fact that you vacated ahead of time may account for the landlord's refusal to refund your security, but it still doesn't give him/her cause to withhold monies due you. If your rent was current at the time you left, that security is to be refunded within a reasonable timeframe, minus any documented and reasonable repair costs. It's a given that you left the premises 'reasonably clean' and as close to its original condition as when you took occupancy, barring normal wear and tear.

Your post is somewhat similar to the other one: each of you have disputes with prior landlords who are withholding monies I think each of you are entitled to. Your circumstances may be slightly different, but I think that if both of you persist, both of you should prevail. I wouldn't rely on telephone attempts alone: send written requests and create a "paper trail" by keeping copies. If your particular apartment/house is owned by someone other than your ex-landlord, I'd include correspondence to them as well.

Thank you for all your help, my next question is: (if this case does go to small claims court)

I know that my prior landlord had a lot of legal issues with past tenants. Would it be possible to find details of those cases at the town public records office? Or is there a way to find out what the small claims case was in regards to anywhere?

Basically in hopes of showing they have a history of landlord violation/money misuse.


Thank you again.

Yes, your city or county clerk (at your city or county courthouse) would be able to answer local procedure for conducting a search, costs involved for both the search of public record and copies of any recorded documents.

While you can obtain this information, a better question might be WHY would you want to? Allegations of previous wrong doing in a civil case do not hold the same "weight" that allegations of previous wrong doing in a criminal trial does. The fact that other people sued him in the past does not legitimize your claim. In fact, if he hires an attorney, the attorney will immediately object on grounds of relevance, and his objection will, in all likelihood, be sustained.

You are not entering a criminal court. You are entering a CIVIL court--a small claims one at that. The rules of evidence, and procedure (i.e. no discovery, etc) are markedly different.

I would not "rabbit trail". His being sued before does not make him any more culpable in separate civil action. Focus on preparing your case---and learn what it means to have a case based on fact, not conjecture and innuendo (i.e. he was sued before, therefore my lawsuit has merit). This is not a matter of fact, it is innuendo. Avoid that and focus on the thing that matters--the merit of YOUR case and your case alone.