damage deposit question

[housenuts]

me and my roommates moved out of our place at the end of april. the place was a dive to begin with. your typical student housing shithole. at the end we cleaned the place up as well as we could and it was definitely in better shape than it was when we got it. only problem is around april 25th we had a fire in our fireplace and it got too hot and the glass on the fire doors shattered. is this our fault or is it faulty fireplace equipment? who should have to pay for it? our landlord is withholding our damage deposit because of it.

[rmarotti]

You might well be (partially) screwed on this one. The landlord cannot w/hold deposit money for usual wear and tear, but the fireplace door is obviously unusual/extraordinary. It would take too much time and effort to prove that the landlord was at fault. They shouldn't be able to w/hold the whole deposit though. Go to Home Depot and see how much a replacement costs and demand the remaining balance back. If you don't get it, well, welcome to small claims court.

[beerbandit]

[ QUOTE ]
we had a fire in our fireplace and it got too hot

[/ QUOTE ]

this jsut sounded funny


im sure the cost to replace the glass isnt anywhere near the deposit amount --- i think it sounds like maybe the cost could be split between the landlord and your apmt


neithers fault


cheers

[Sponger15SB]

Last year we cleaned out house like crazy and we each got like 50 of 500 back.

You're screwed. I don't even know why you bothered to clean the place up.

[fluxrad]

Did you notify your landlord in writing when the fireplace broke? If not, then you've got no proof how it was damaged.

You're screwed on this one unless...

In CO at least, a landlord has to notify tenants in writing within 30 days of exactly why they're witholding a security deposit and what they're holding it for. If they fail to do this, the tenant gets treble damages. If he just sends you something like "cleaning up the apartment" then you'll get your deposit back since the landlord has to have just cause to keep a security deposit. The notice of forfeiture must contain things like "Replace mantle....$200. Repaint master bedrom...$140. Fix living room faucet...$20" etc. Otherwise, the money is yours.

That being said, it sounds like you broke some [censored] and you should just be a man and let the deposit go. Then again, landlords are usually assholes so maybe you should take his ass to the cleaners anyway ;-)

[housenuts]

the thing is this guy is really stingy. we probably wouldn't have got our damage deposit back anyways, and the fireplace is an easy excuse for him not to give it to us.

are fireplace doors meant to break under heat? could it not have been a faulty, cheap door that was on in the first place? maybe the fire department would like to know about such a thing.

i think the door broke on the 26th of april. we didnt' notify him of it right away because it's a hassle to get a hold of him and we figured we'd just let him know at the end of the month.

we've asked for our money back and he won't give it to us on these grounds. so what you're saying is if we now ignore it and wait 30 days, if we never get something in writing from him about why we didn't get it, then we can go ahead and claim the money?

it's $167 each. not a sum i particularly care about. 1 of the roommmates does care though. i care more on principle adn the fact the landlord is stingy.

any other comments/suggestions appreciated.

[fluxrad]

start sending certified letters basically saying "we want our money back and if you don't get it we reserve the right to take you to court."

Be professional. Give dates (e.g. "Please return our deposit no later than 5/30.") Check the local laws. In many states, the landlord has 30 days. In other states, he's got as much time as the lease allows. Also, don't remind him of his rights. He should know them. If he sends you something that says "Cleaned up your place....<total sum of deposit>" Send him another letter stating "This was insufficient. You still owe us the money."

But the most important rule is: Make sure you communicate via certified mail.

A) You might scare him into giving you the money back because he knows you're serious.

B) If this thing does go to court and he says "Oh no...they never sent me a letter or asked for their deposit back" You've got proof of receipt.

As always, IANAL and this isn't legal advice.

[housenuts]

ok well i'm in canada, not the USA so laws will be a little different but i'll look into it. we might just throw a brick through his window.