Secty. Depsit: charge tenant for re-caulking tub b/c mold

Soffie, how is your civil rights lawsuit coming along?

SO glad this thread got revived...

It's scum like qwerty that give BOTH landlords and Jews a bad name. Not because of any supposed "cheapness" or anything, but purely because they are utter low-lives. He is lucky he didn't have me as a tenant. If he did, his next tenants would have arrived on moving day to see sledgehammer-sized holes in the walls, cracked windows, non-functioning fridge and stove, cracked toilet and bathtub, hell, maybe even a missing parquet floor tile (from the cheapest of cheap hardwood floors I'm sure this guy has). His response in court? "but... but... I kept $300! That's why he did it!" And yes, he can use those 300 smackers, plus another 10 grand, to fix his place.

Moral:
Renters-- ALWAYS KEEP A COPY OF YOUR OLD KEYS!! Its best when you never have to use them again after you move out, but you never know what kind of scum you will run into.

So to review:
bathroom: grout
not bathroom: grout or caulk

Sonya, why keep your old keys?
Soffie: Are you feeling better? Did you sue? Did you move?

Entirely anecdotal: I had one truly horrible landlord during my renter days when I lived on the West Coast. The original owner/landlord was charming and honest, but he died and the building was sold. The new owner/landlords were truly, utterly horrible. One of their favorite tricks was to let themselves into tenants' apartments if the rent was late to yell at the tenant. They seemed to think a landlord's behavior should be modeled on the state police in a third world banana republic.

When I gave notice to move, I allowed an overlap for myself because I was buying my first place, so I moved out two weeks before my lease was up, even though I had paid for rent to the end of the month. I planned to go back and remove a few final things plus to clean the place before I turned over the keys.

When I went back a few days later, I found out they had changed the locks, entered the unit, and started painting, putting in new carpet, etc. They also threw out the rest of my stuff that was in the apartment (not anything of value, but it was still mine). They weren't around when I did this, so I wrote a letter, informing them they had violated city code by taking possession of the unit before the end of the lease period, and that they therefore had to return the entire security deposit, as mandated by law. As well, I sent them an invoice for my personal property which I found ruined in the dumpster.

Several days later, I received a letter in reply, laden with misspellings, telling me that they would not be returning any of my security deposit and appended to it was an absurd itemization of "damages" to the unit.

I sent a second letter informing them they had one week to forward the entire security deposit plus reimburse me for my personal property or that I would sue them. I reminded them that failure to return a security deposit meant they would face statutory damages, which per the city code at the time was three times the security deposit. They sent back an obscenity-laced response with no check so I sued them.

Needless to say, the trial lasted all of ten minutes. The clowns admitted in court they had entered the unit before the lease was up and took possession "because it was their right" and the judge ordered them to refund the entire security deposit, awarded the statutory damages of three times the deposit, plus costs, interest, and the value of my ruined personal property. When one of the landlords (they were brothers) started shouting obscenities at the judge, he found the landlord in contempt of court and added a $2,500 fine.

Collecting from the morons was another thing altogether. They simply ignored the demands for judgment payment so I obtained a judgment lien on the building. About a month after that, I received a check for the full amount sent on their behalf by a lawyer. I assume they finally consulted legal counsel who told them they were screwed six ways to Sunday.

Good story, thanks.

Yes, it's an intersting story. In NY, vs. where you were, the landlord does have certain rights according to most leases to enter early if you've substantively left before the lease has ended. (I'm not using precise terminology here.)
It's hard to tell from your story - how much value (and volume) were the items you had left behind - you say: "a few final things".

>so I obtained a judgment lien on the building. About a month after that, I received a check for the full amount sent on their behalf by a lawyer.

That's the way to do it, good job.

hfscomm1

>When one of the landlords (they were brothers) started shouting obscenities at the judge, he found the landlord in contempt of court and added a $2,500 fine.

Today's Daily News: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/insult-judge-earns-fla-teen-30-days-jail-article-1.1256106

@greensdale,
Just watched this. Hilarious. Watch the whole thing here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeEIxb7AnEM

working, non-violent, no priors

possession of xanax? what a waste that she was locked up in the first place.

Can't see your video link Sonya.