Had a lease, paid deposit, never got receipt or landlord signed lease. We cancelled. Now they want the deposit

Question

I signed a lease for a house in Seattle, and paid the deposit with a check. I never got a receipt, nor did the landlord give me a lease with his signature on it. The week before I was supposed to move in, my mother got sick and had to have surgery. I had to go be with her and so had to cancel on the lease. I never moved in. The landlord told me over the phone that he would send me back the money, but when I tried calling him the next day, he would not return my calls. I started to worry that he might not send back the money, so I checked with my bank and was able to put a "stop payment" on the check. Now the landlord is threatening a lawsuit and wants the deposit plus extra money for his "time." According to Washington State law, the landlord should have at the very least given me a receipt for the deposit and given me a lease with his signature on it. I never got either. Should I worry about his threats?

Answer 1

YOUR CHECK IS YOUR RECIPT..If you dont have it your bank can get you a copy for a price.. Go get it and your in the clear...ROB

Answer 2

There are a couple of considerations here.

First, he has a right to your deposit, insofar as it would pay for the period of time he couldn't rent it. For instance.

Rent is $500/month. You give $1,000 deposit which is first and last month's rent. You give him this money on July 1, to rent the apartment starting August 1. On July 24, you tell him you can't move in. Now, he's already taken that apartment off the market because he's promised it to you. He has a duty to "mitigate his damages." That is, he must work to rent the place out; he must be able to prove to a court that he did it (copies of ads in the newspaper, etc...). Say he cannot find anyone to rent the apartment until October 1. Well, that means that August and September were losses for him *because you were supposed to be there.* In that instance, you've lost the $1,000. Now, say he were to be able to rent that apartment out on September 1. Then he would be required to give you $500 back, because the law wouldn't accept him getting paid twice (with your $500 and the new tenant's $500).

The second consideration is this: your canceled check will suffice as a receipt. Most courts accept this. As far as the lease goes, it really doesn't matter if you got a copy of it or not. Did you sign it? He can easily say that he gave you a copy of it. In the long run, that's not something a court is going to say, "Oh, well, he didn't give you a copy of the lease, here's your money back." If you never saw the lease, it was your right (and responsibility) to not ever put a deposit down. If you saw the lease, and knew the rules he had set out, then you should have sent a certified letter requesting a copy of the lease. Then you'd have proof that he never gave it to you, despite your requests.

To sum up - you may very well not get all of your deposit back, and truthfully that's pretty just. When you put that money down, he took the place off the market. You need to keep up with if the place gets rented - and if you see it's being lived in, you need to get back there pronto with a camera and a witness and/or newspaper with that day's date on it - so if you do have to go to court to reclaim at least some of your money, you have proof that he was able to mitigate his damages (and he can't just claim he tried to rent it but was unable to).

Good luck.

Answer 3

I would be interested to know if YOU signed the lease? If you signed the lease and didnt get a copy of the lease with his signature on it why did you pay the deposit? That was very foolhardy, You basicly signed a blank contract and gave him your money hoping that the lease would remain the same. If you signed the lease and paid the money and the landlord forgot to give you a receipt for the money still wont get you out of the lease

Answer 4

Yes you should worry about his threats. You may be entitled to a receipt and a signed copy of your lease but just because you don't have them yet, doesn't mean you haven't entered into a contract. Don't be a bit surprised if you have both in your hands seconds after you first complain about not having them and thinking it's your way out of your lease.

You need to get a copy of the lease and and confirm the terms. You may well be responsible for lease payment in addition to the deposit.

Answer 5

Well #1 damage deposit is just that: damage done to the property. Did you sign the lease? If you signed the lease then he can very easily sign it too and sue you. But in the mean time he has to by law try to re-rent the property. So he would only be able to sue you for the months it was empty. It's more trouble then it's worth. You can rebut it and say he refused to give you a signed copy so therefore you felt you were at risk.

Answer 6

Your not in the best spot, but since you did not take possession or have the keys that is in your favor, also the verbal granting release is another, the final thing is did the landlord call the deposit non-refundable?

In the end let him sue you, be on the look out for a notice of suit, follow threw on the suit if he files b/c if you do not he will win and go to court and tell your side of the story let a judge work it out

Answer 7

if they land lord has a lease with your name on it with your signature, he could have a easy case in court. but did he lease the house out as soon as you decided to help your sickly mother. if yes, he did not loose anything, if no, i would imagine he will sue for the time the house was empty, because he lost money because you decided not to move in.

did you get his verbal statement recorded about him giving you your money back.

i would get a copy of the canceled, check (stop payment) statement from the bank, a official letter from your mothers doctor stating you were you mother's caretaker after she got sick. and if you mother can, have her go to court with you.

look in the better business bureau for any discrepancies about the landlord or the organization he is affiliated with and get copies.

good luck hope this helps

Answer 8

if he doesn't have a document signed by you, in his possession.....then I wouldn't worry about it.....

for all the court knows, you could have just loaned him that money, and then changed your mind and stopped the check......

if he takes you to court....he will have to prove his case....kind of hard to do when it his word against yours with no proof to back it up

it's his own mistake.......he should have given you a receipt or made you sign a lease...

Answer 9

If Washington State law states that then you shouldn't be concern. But just in case -- to be safe-- you should get a free consultation w/ a lawyer.

Answer 10

Your cancelled check is your receipt, but sometimes when you back out of commitments, that is forfeited.If he has no rules in writing that you signed, his threats are worthess.

Answer 11

call Judge Joe Brown, not kidding free trip and u will get treated fairly. go to Judge Joe Brown.com.