State of GA/ Newbie - Security Deposit PLEASE HELP

[M Mace]

I was looking for an apartment last month, I never rented in my life. I asked here and there and more or less I knew something about, you give a deposit with the application and so on...but well here is when my problem started. There have been a lot of stuff going on, divorce and stuff and I should probably be more calm when I was doing this.

I found through a co-worker an apartment where she is living right now but she was moving out at the end of the month, and I really was interested on it. I made the application and with it you have to give a security deposit equals to one month's rent $900. But there were this letters on the application [size=9]"""This application will be processed only if accompanied by a check deposit equal to one month's rent and by a copy of the driver's license of each applicant. All the information provided herein shall remain private and not be divulged to other parties. Upon approval of this application the security deposit shall be deposited and held against the property identified herein, at which point all other applications shall be dropped. Should the applicant withdraw from this pledge to rent, between the time that the application is approved and the beginning of the Desired Terms of Lease in this application, the Applicant(s) may be liable for the loss of the security deposit, in lieu of the loss of rent induced thereof, plus time and screening of other applicants"[/size]

I still believed that is a security deposit not a hold deposit. He always mention about the "security deposit" without it anyway there was not going to be any application process. The application form does not states the start day of the leasing only on emails.

The problem started when I went to measure the windows on my friend's apartment to know what curtains I will need (my future to be mine), I heard that the fridge did a very loud noise and then found out (through her husband) that the lock (and he showed me) that the lock from inside (so far) did not lock at all, you could locked it and pushed it hard and it would open anyway. I will be living alone there so I freaked out and I told, the next day by email to the landlord that there were things that I would like to be fix before I arrived there since I was going to move in a weekend. What came later was that he got pissed off at me because I sent him an email about it and this and that. I did not like his tone, btw it was not the first time, even my first email to him about common stuff that he should answer for him was "too much", my first email was about the utilities because they were going to be share with another tenant upstairs...I got very disappointed and I told him that really it was better to keep going each way because I was not the type of tenant he needed and he was not the landlord I needed, I probably be too demanding for him and he will be lay back time as long I don't bother him with calls about a fridge noise (that he told me that the noise of the fridge is not constant). I just sent him TWO EMAILS, one about the share utilities and the other one came with the problems. He came out all apologetic (all of this was through emails back and forth) and phone calls. When I ended saying that I am glad he apologize but really I don't think this will work that I want my security deposit back, he changed right away and told me about the "letters in the application form" that I will probably lose it because he has to drop the advertising of the place and such and such. So I said, well you can take out a probable rent from what you think of this EIGHT days you lose a possible tenant (in which he apparently can say that he had it advertise but there is nothing that says that he has to show me that indeed he had it avertise while I made the application).

Of course $900 is $900, I am coming from a divorce broke...and I try to see the things in the other way...so I said let's talk again. I went to his office and he had another tenant there and came out with the retoric that I was demanding. I did not like it the idea that there was no way to have a private conversation there and trully something smell very bad on him. So I asked for the lease...just to give it a look and even I told him that if I go with it I would like a 6 months lease he told me that he only make 12 months lease even he told me that I would probably need to move at the 8th month. I read the lease with calm in my house and there was even a clause that states that I need to wait 15 days to something be repair. I almost laugh. I sent him a note the next day and told him that I was not going to move forward with the deal, that I would like my deposit back and if he thought that there was some "damages" he could deduct from my deposit a "probably day-rent" from the day I signed the application to the day I withdraw officially. I NEVER and I would not (even somebody pay me) a lease with this property, is a LLC.

Now he says that he won't give it back to me, that he will try to get a new tenant by the day I suggested I want to move (on the application form do not states so only on emails -June 1st). That if he finds a tenant he will give me my deposit back. Even with all that, I help him and put a poster in my work place to try to get a tenant...and the same time I have been reading the GA code and there are things that I don't get very well but I think he is misunderstanding (or me?) what is this deposit about??. Then now, this weekend, he found a new tenant but for July 1st and now the CURRENT tenant will stay until June 22nd so he said that now he only will give me PART of my deposit back. I don't get it...I told him he is using my deposit like he pleased. If I was starting on June 1st and now the current tenant is staying beyond that, why he is not giving me my deposit back???

I told him that he is misusing my deposit. My deposit cannot be hold, is security deposit and that he is using my security like I break a lease or something! I am NOT his tenant. I was doing only an application!!!

I send him an email protesting that he could not use my security deposit like that and that I want my deposit back by May 30th because is by law (or whatever). He answered me back that if I stop bothering him or "threat him" with nonsense he would be more willing to play the "super fair-landlord" -that was his words in the email- and give me a refund. I haven't answer him back. That was today.

Please HELP! What I can do???