I rented a house in Ohio for 20 years, the landlord refuses to give me my deposit back . No explanation?
May 13th, 2011 | 
Author: She stated that it was because the house was not in the capcity that she rented it and that her lawyer told her that she should sue me. She never came to the house BUT (1) time and that was in 1987 when I first moved in. I stayed there 20 years and did my best on all repairs and called her on most of them. Her response was fix it and take it out on the rent. However she also said that we were not geting our deposit back because we were late sometimes with our rent . She never gave us anything in writing or we didn’t even have a rental agreement only for the first couple of years. We paid her $500 deposit in 1987 and got nothing when we moved. I called her for several months after moving and she refused to call me back . After contacting her AGAIN 5 months later, her response was, my attorney told me to not give you anything and I have a lot of nerves asking for my deposit. She still never sent me anything on who she used the deposit. What can do?
Posted in Landlord Tenant Law
Without something in writing, you dont have a chance.
hi ho hi ho…its off to small claims court we go (in my opinion)
they cannot keep your deposit “because you late sometimes” and of course your apartment is not the same as 20 years ago–it is called “wear & tear”.
as long as you did not have any holes in the wall or damages…i would go to small claims court.
good luck
You have to sue her if you want your money back. However, by law all real estate contracts must be in writing, so it will be difficult to win. It’s a gamble on your part, maybe just threatening to sue will get your money back. If you sue and lose, you don’t get your money back plus you had to pay court costs. Try small claims court since the amount is low and the costs will be low and you can file without a lawyer.
sounds like youre s.o.l. If you didnt have a written agreement stating what you paid and what you should get back upon leaving its kind of hard to get it back.
keep in mind you also lived there 20 years….thats a really long time, general wear on tear on the house could contribute to the reason youre not getting your deposit back.
but on the other hand, youre landlord should have made a wirtten list of what you are being charged for upon leaving. and if there was charges for late rent it should have been notated when it actually happened or on the list of repairs/charges made to the house upon leaving.
it sucks not getting a deposit back, but 500 over a 20 year lease seems reasonable unless you kept the house in the EXACT condition that you moved into.
after twenty years I would say most of the current problems with the house are normal wear and tear after 20 years
call her on it, but she never talked to a lawyer, sue her in small claims in the county where the rental was located
You will need to sue, make sure you have proof of payment of the deposit.
Due some research on the “Ohio Landlord-Tenant Act of 1974″. She is not in compliance.
“If the landlord does not return the security deposit and statement within thirty days after the tenant moves out, the tenant can sue for the return of the deposit. If the tenant has given a forwarding address in writing to the land- lord, the tenant can recover TWICE the amount the landlord should have paid, plus the tenant’s attorney fees. Suits for less than $3,000 can be brought in Small Claims Courts”
You also may be entitled to additional interest for the last 20 years depending on the rent amount you paid.
“The landlord may require any amount for a security deposit. However the landlord has to pay the tenant 5% interest per year on the amount of the deposit that exceeds one month’s rent.”
I would start by drawing up a nice demand letter, sent certified mail. Advise her that you demand your security deposity to be delivered within the next 10 day or you will pursue this matter in court. Make sure you put in a nice outline of the Ohio laws and how she is not in compliance.
Good Luck to you, this is not right. You were a tenant for 20 years!!!! Are you kidding? she should have returned it based on your longetivty alone!!