Security Deposit Problems

If anybody could give me advice on this I'd really appreciate it! I looked into it but I can't figure out what all the laws mean for my situation. I received a check for a partial refund of my security deposit from my landlord almost a month after moving out. I had a one-year lease with a 6-month opt-out clause and I chose to move out after the 6 months were up. During that time I never received a... [more]

If anybody could give me advice on this I'd really appreciate it! I looked into it but I can't figure out what all the laws mean for my situation. I received a check for a partial refund of my security deposit from my landlord almost a month after moving out. I had a one-year lease with a 6-month opt-out clause and I chose to move out after the 6 months were up. During that time I never received a letter informing me of where my deposit was being held or what the interest on the account was. The building was a condo and the landlord only owned one unit but there were plenty of other units up for rent (I'm not sure if this matters for the "more than 6 rental units in the building" thing). I completely disagree with most of the deductions from my deposit, but I do not want to take the landlord to arbitration because I moved out of NYC. Additionally, I don't want to be counter-sued since they did not charge me for the day it took to fill a scratch in the wall and paint over that area. However, I suspect that my deposit was intermingled with their personal funds because I never received that letter and the refund check they sent me was a personal check (I've always gotten deposits refunded as certified checks). Now, I did do a little research into the landlord before renting from them, and I know that they have an LLC under which the couple owns many different apartments that they rent out. But the check they sent me had their personal names and address on it and not that of the LLC. So I'm wondering if there is any way I could find out if the funds were intermingled, since I would then pursue whatever necessary action against them in order to collect the withheld portion of the deposit. It's my understanding that if they did intermingle my deposit then they could not win an action against me (say, collecting for the day the scratch was repaired) if they did decide to counter-sue. If anybody knows anything that could help me in this situation I'd really appreciate it. I don't believe they were justified in withholding the large portion that they did but I don't want to go through the ordeal of trying to get that back unless I know I would (like if they did intermingle the funds). Also, I still have the check and have not done anything with it as I'm concerned that depositing it would act as an agreement on my part to their deductions. I did once read about writing something under your endorsement on the check to say that you're still settling on the final refund amount, but I haven't been able to find that again in my research. [less]