Can't get rent deposit back from landlord?

Question

I rented a room at this lady's house. I gave her 1 month rent as deposit upfront. We're going month by month, no lease. I gave my notice earlier this month that I'll be moving out Jan 1 so she can look for a new roommate. Last week, we get into an argument about her son staying over and invade my space and she literally kick me out. I then asked her for refund on my rent since I already paid for this month but only live there 2 weeks along with my deposit back. She then said that I can stay until the end of the month because she has no money to refund me back and we'll talk about the deposit later. Well, I found a place I can move in immediately, but I also need to put down a month deposit. I told her I don't care about the refund of the rent anymore but I need my deposit back to put it down in my new place then I'll move out right away, she said she has no money & not going to have it until she found a new roommate & that person give her their deposit… What could I do?

Yes, I do have proof, I only pay her by check & write on the memo line like Jan rent + deposit, Feb rent, etc...

Correction, when it said January 1, it suppose to say January 31, I was suppose to move out January 31 so I gave her my notice early December

As for the space, there are three rooms, she got the master bathroom, I got the two smaller rooms outside, she asked me when I moved in that will it be okay if her kids stay in the extra room if they come to visit over the holiday. They did several times already & I don't mind since it's usually a week. This time, they stayed for 3 weeks, which basically cut off 1/2 my space for 3/4 of the month. I didn't plan to move out right now, I was kicked out. Is there a difference in that exception?

Answer 1

As long as you gave her 30 days notice, your are within the terms of your verbal lease. You do not get your deposit back until after you move out. The whole purpose of a security deposit is for the landlord to repair anything the tenant left in dis-repair. The landlord then inspects the property, makes an itemized list of needed repairs, gets estimates, or has the repairs made and deducts that amount from the security deposit. This itemized list must be supplied to you within 30 days with the remaining balance due you or a bill for needed repairs that you security was not large enough to cover. If you didn't give notice before Dec. 1, than you did not give thirty day's and she can charge you for the number of day's (if you told her on 12/5 then you owe til 1/5) , or the whole month of January depending on the way the lease is written or your verbal agreement. Usually if you give notice on 12/5 you owe until 1/31. If you give notice on 11/31 then you owe until 12/31. Sounds like you created the confrontation ( doesn't seem like she would start an argument with you about her son staying over, sorry in advance if I'm wrong ), you are renting a room, unless he came in your room he cannot invade your privacy. You privacy is limited to the room you rent with the door closed. You legally are entitled to nothing if you move out early. Sorry but in the future you need to read and understand your lease before you sign it and DO NOT rent without one.

Additional info answer: Yes you should get you deposit back by the end of Feb., but I don't think she'll give you any rent back, which she doesn't legally need to. You agreed to her children using the room originally. Basically that's part of your verbal agreement, no one stated what the lenght of a visit was. Again a written lease protect's both parties. The kicked out part is "she said, you said" which is what would happen in court. Your gonna say her son made it impossible for you to live there, and she's gonna say that the argument made it impossible for her to live with you, she didn't have you evicted, she told you to leave and you chose to leave ( probably in the heat of the moment on both your parts). Sorry for the bad news.

Answer 2

A check can legally be cashed for about a year after it is written. It was your responsibility to not to spend that money. If the check has bounced then you must pay the consequences. The landlord did not do anything wrong here. EDIT:Yes, most responsible people DO still balance their check book on a regular basis. If anything you need to keep a closer eye on your account with all the fraud out there. Getting lazy in the digital age is no excuse. EDIT: Asker clearly stated they were in CA NOT RI. Try reading the question dude. EDIT: RI law does not do this asker any good so why bother quoting it? NO! A tenant never has more rights than a landlord when the tenant is the one breaking laws. The landlord in this case has more rights because they did not do anything wrong. The landlord has no legal obligation to make any kind of payment plan with you & you have no legal grounds for any court action. They have every right to require the past due rent be paid in full & evict you if you do not pay.

Answer 3

You gave her notice that your last month will would be Dec. Despite the argument you had she is making the room available to you through the end of Dec. and you have paid for it. If you choose to not live there then you are out the money. (Okay you could take her to court and if you could "prove" your case you might get a portion of that month back, good luck unless you have video tape of what happen.) She has 30 days (depending on the state you live in) to return your deposit to you or give you a detail of what expenses she incurred to get the room back to a rentable state (if you trashed it she can make repairs and deduct it from your deposit) after the end of your lease (or Dec. 31) If she doesn't you can take her to small claims court. They law is on your side here as she should never have spent the money. She is required by law to put it into an account and have it separate from her personal finance. However even if you win you still have to get her to pay. Again good luck!

Either way you need a place to live now so I would suggest you look elsewhere for the deposit.

Answer 4

thats a hard position to be in. it's a big hassle to take someone to court. Is there anyway you can borrow money for the downpayment of the other place and wait for her to pay you back later? In order to cause yourself the least amount of stress, i would try and borrow money and then make sure she refunds the deposit ASAP or else you take her to court. She isn't a responsible landlord, thats for sure. She should keep money aside for situations like this or repairs that happen.

Answer 5

call a laywer, what she is doing is illegal, your should get your money back with in days of moving out(provided you left your room as it was when you moved in)If I'm not mistaken you should also get interest on your deposit(check local tenancy laws) seeing how she kicked you out you are entitled to half a months rent back because proper notice was given. Did you sign anything, you'll have to read the fine print, but definately seek legal recourse. Find a place that will help with legal aid.

Answer 6

there are handbooks with rules and regulations called tenants rights which outline all of those things hopefully you have a canceled check or moneyorder proving you paid a deposit, in most cases if they dont refund it within 30 days of moving out they have to pay you double, the deposit amount try a google search on tenants rights, and good luck

Answer 7

I know you don't have time for this, but, Landlord/Tenant Court is what you need. Look online or in the telephone directory for Landlord/Tenant Court. It will take up your time to go there and fill out the papers etc. It may takes weeks or months for the entire process to be comleted.

Answer 8

You'll have to check the laws for your area. In my area, landlords have one month to return your deposit, assuming that nothing was ruined by you to have to be replaced, etc.

Answer 9

If it wasn't written in your lease agreement that you have to give a 30 day notice before moving, then by law you are entitled to get your money back. Unless of course you have done major damage to your apartment somehow. Merry Christmas. Ciao!

Answer 10

I hope you have proof you paid her for a security deposit and if you do you will have to get it through small claims and tell her this maybe it will scare her into giving you the money