problems with landlord..sort of..

[quinn]

Here's the story:

My gf was trying to rent out a boat to live on for the school year. She found one and made a verbal agreement (I think, maybe there was a contract) to rent it out for the year. When she got into town to move into the boat, it was in terrible condition. Among other things, there was no hot water or working toilet.. So she and her dad worked on the boat trying to fix it up for a few days (they obviously had no obligation to do this). Then she just decided to go get an apartment. Too bad she had already paid a $200 damage deposit. Her dad called up the landlady and asked for the damage deposit back. She just made up some bullshit about how it wasn't really a damage deposit. Her dad threatened to take them to court, and she hung up on him. He called back later, and she hung up again.

What's the right move? If they go to court, can they get more than $200? How likely is it that they'll get the $200 back?