CAN THE LANDLORD LEGALLY KEEP MY MONEY?
April 23rd, 2011 | 
Author: i looked at a duplex with the main reason behind it to find a house with 2 buses running to 2 different schools to get my girls to and from school. i told the landlord this, he gave me the impression there shouldnt be a problem, didnt confirm 100%, just pushed me in the right direction. asked if he would hold the house for 1 month w/a deposit he said no but to fill out an app anyway…so thursday night i did that…friday evening he emails me and says we have the duplex and would need to pay half months rent for 9/15 move in date…but to sign the lease and bring a deposit of $900 and meet him that sunday…well i went ahead and did as he requested..found out the following week when the bus barn was open that neither bus ran thru that neighborhood..i emailed him and told him we were misinformed and needed to void the lease and get a full refund of my money..in his lease it states the lease is not in effect until the landlord gives the tenant a signed copy of all involved…he had not done this yet so i figured i was still within my legal rights to void the lease…he says he is now out all of this money in a matter of 3 days and would refund $400 and if he rented by the 15th would give me another $200…can he legally do this? several people–landlords, attorneys, friends, etc are saying he is being dirty and just trying to intimidate me…i dont want to waste my time with small claims court if he actually can do this…can someone please help me?
Posted in Landlord Tenant Law
He cannot legally keep any money beyond your deposit (but you may want to check your local state’s laws on this). The deposit is intended to hold the property until you move in. If you chose not to move in, the deposit is intended to cover the lost income of the property while it was being held. If the deposit was intended to be the damage deposit for the lease, you may be screwed. You will have to go to small claims court to recover the full amount, and you would have to prove that there was not a “meeting of the minds” during the lease construction/signing. As to whether or not you can prove that the landlord was intentionally misleading you, you will have to have some evidence in writing that he told you that the buses went to that property.
Your best bet is to go to small claims court if you want the full amount refunded, by trying to hook the landlord on a technicality. Otherwise, the most haste free method of any return is to just take what he offers you. Your court case looks kind of shaky, and you should probably be thankful that the landlord is willing to let you out of your lease and is willing to return any of your deposit at all.