Landlord has not returned deposit check within 30 day time?
June 20th, 2011 | 
Author: I rented an apartment in Canonsburg, Pa and put up with flooding, heating issues, and lack of maintenance problems for the entire year of my lease, but I sucked it up. My lease ended on the 30 of April 2010. I went into the landlord’s office on the 29th with my keys and information regarding where to send the deposit check. I had her write it down, read it back to me, and watched her place it in my file. Two weeks later I was informed by an old neighbor that new tenants had moved in. I call my landlord 6 times and left messages to see where we were in the process of getting my deposit back. The constant calling was the only way I got anything done with them. I left messages repeatedly and received no response back. On the 24th of May I sent a letter stating my concerns and continued calling daily for the next week. I finally got an answer by calling from my friend’s phone on the 6th of June. I was informed that “the check was cut” on the 28th of April. (I believe this to be a lie as it doesn’t take two weeks for a letter to travel 2 1/2 hrs from Pittsburgh to Greensburg PA)
I was counseled by a friend that it is PA law that the landlord get the deposit in full or in part back to me with a list of damages, if any, within 30 days or they pay double. I called and left a message to this fact. I was informed by the landlord today (the 10 of June) that cutting the check was all she had to do and it was in the mail. I asked if it would be possible to void the check as it appeared ot be lost in the system and I could use my time and gas expense to drive to pick up a new one. She responded she would not void the check until it came out of the postal service to her or me. This might never happen.
I have filed a formal complaint with the Attorney General of PA’s bureau of consumer protection office. And I have informed my Landlord I have taken action.
I was unable to pay my bills on time due to this and if by law I am owed then I think this is right.
My real question is. . . Is there anything else I should do at this point? And has anyone else been through this.
PS I am watching for the check still in the mail and even if it does show up I will be documenting the time, date, and also take pictures of the post mark on the envelope.
Posted in Landlord Tenant Law
I would pay a lawyer enough to send the landlord one letter threatening being sued. That should do it.
Write a polite demand notice for the return of your deposit and serve it via U.S. Certified Mail. If you haven’t received the check in 10 days from the date of her receipt, send her a notice that inform her that you intend to litigate if you do not receive it withing an additional 10 days. This is what I did and it worked.
If you have a legal aid society in your area, they might be able help you for free, depending on your income.
Two other things you may be able to do:
1. File a complaint with your local Better Business Bureau.
2. Take the landlord to the small claim court.
Remember to ask the landlord to pay for any monetary damage (late fees due to not being able to pay your bill…,etc.) if you can prove that the landlord did not send out the check on time.
I may be wrong, but PA is one of the few states that have laws that favor tenants. You may be right about the thirty day time-frame to either return security or provide a certified letter itemizing why security is not being returned. Postal delays are not an excuse for the landlord. If you did what you are supposed to do by Jan1, then you MUST recieve your deposit back by Jan 30 (or a certified letter explaining why and how much you forfeit). The law does not provide for ‘lost in the mail’, ‘national emergency’, etc. The penalty for the landlord may well be 2 or 3 times the amount due.
Your recourse, at this point, is to file a suit in small claims court. Have every document, cancelled check, email, etc. Good luck.
EDIT: you cannot sue for any expenses that you incurred as a result of not being given back your security. If you put down a $500 security, then you can sue for $500 (or 2 or 3 times that, depending on your state laws) plus the cost of filing, plus statutory pre-judgement interest. You cannot sue for emotional anything, late fees, bounced checks, or anything else that is not directly related to this lease.