Landlord failed to return deposit or send receipt

[Shane M]

This is for a business lease. We leased a building for two years sent email/called about terminating our lease in May this year and we paid our last rent check via certified check in June (for June).

We attempted to contact our landlord via email and phone after 30 days and multiple times after that when we received no notice of our deposit (either that he was keeping any of it or not). We expected him to keep some of it for some minor repairs.

He just recently sent me an email with some vague numbers like "the faucet was broken", $89. Not at all itemized and summarized it by saying "It would be great if you paid me the remaining amount due for all the repairs, but I don't suspect you will". So this is the "conclusion" that the total amount of repairs exceeds that of the deposit.

I haven't responded, and don't see any value in doing so, it isn't for very much, but it would be worth the experience to go through the filing process from the tenant side.

It looks like if he didn't return the deposit or send the receipt of damages and the charges corresponding to the damages then he forfeits the deposit all together. Because truly the deposit is the renter's money unless they damage the property and the law requires the landlord to report the damages (so you know the landlord isn't a sleaze bag). This is a small time landlord too, so I don't think he put it into a proper escrow account either.

Any advice or input?

[Jon Holdman]

You may need to speak to an attorney in your area who's familiar with commercial leases. Laws regarding commercial leases are often different from residential leases. Don't assume residential lease laws apply to commercial leases. Residential lease law often assume a relatively unsophisticated tenant and tries to project them. Commercial RE law tends to assume everyone involved is knowledgeable and provides less protection.

Hows that for a gross generalization? Speak with an attorney in your area.