All Forum Posts by: Sofiya Cherni

Thank You!!!

Thank you for the info, would you happen to have a link to the Maryland Tenants' Bill of Rights that we are supposed to attach to the Lease an addendum? I've been on the scavenger hunt trying to find it, county site has a summary only.

Thank you for the update, I believe the security deposit for leases signed after October 1, 2024 is maxed at one month (including any pet deposits which must be refundable). Two months for leases signed prior to October 1, 2024.  

Hi,

I noticed last year in Montgomery County Landlord-Tenant Handbook that landlords may no longer charge non-refundable pet fees. I do not recall this statement last time I browsed it a few years prior. Does anyone know when this went into effect? My realtor at ReMax said they still charge non-refundable pet fees which is states on their leases.

Tenant refused to leave forwarding address for obvious reasons (damages 5.5k), I am still waiting to get back the certified letter as "unclaimed" that I sent to their last known address with disposition of deposit. I've recently found their new address via investigator who ran a skiptrace and determined that they're living with a family member who purchased a house a year ago, seems kind of crowded to me so i'm not sure how long they'll stay there. I don't hope to get any money back from them, they don't have any assets besides cars, wife owns a business which is probably not documented (office is at home and i haven't found any info suggesting the business is properly documented, licensed etc) and husband gets paid under the table. I didn't realize certain things when I accepted their application, asked for paystubs but never got them (didn't put the 2 & 2 together, water under the bridge). Best I can hope for now is to warn other landlords, the only way I can do this is by getting a judgement and then applying for debt collection (again not thinking i'd get any money back) or skipping judgement and going straight to debt collectors. What should be my next steps?

Should I send certified mail disposition of deposit to their current address? Then go to court to get a judgement? I was hoping for small claims court but the limit for small claims is 5k, can I sue for $4,999 in small claims court if they owe 5.5k or is that not allowed? Or do I just skip the court and go straight to collections (if you've got a name with a good debt collector please share).

My state law is different, I have to send security deposit within a certain amount of time without tenant asking for it. If new address not provided then it will go to current address. I plan to request return address service so if they left forwarding address I’ll get their new address in this manner.

It’s hard to take someone to court if you don’t know where they live but I plan to figure that out if need be. There are other nuances where they may be interested in keeping things out of court. There are steps to what docs should be filed in order to garnish wages, didn’t look too complicated, will try without attorney.  

I was going to list quite a few reasons (unauthorized occupants, providing false info on application etc) but they requested a notarized lease termination so i haven't sent notice to vacate.