You might have to hire a civil engineer at this step.

Regardless of whatever you do with the security deposit, you do have to make sure that it is available to refund to the tenants upon completion of the leasing contract.I would tread lightly when it comes to security deposits though... as there are civil penalties (and potentially criminal) if you violate your fiduciary responsibilities.

Once again, let’s keep this civil and start an ongoing conversation.

Spend the $500 and save yourself $50,000 of litigation expenses in the future.  

So I guess we're just out of luck unless we want to litigate.

Almost always when the contracts are contested, it's a civil matter, not a criminal matter.

All that being said, the foreclosure process starts with the filing of a document called a "Lis Pendens" (latin for "litigation pending"), usually after the property owner is 3+ months behind on their mortgage. 

After obtaining my law degree from the University of Missouri, Columbia, I bought a house with my wife and started work in civil defense litigation in downtown St.

HOA is in litigation with the builder for the common area. 

The SSCRA was supplanted by the the SCRA (Servicemembers Civil Relief Act) in 2003 and has been updated several times since in an effort to stay ahead of the banks, businesses, and landlords that continually try to circumvent it.