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Recovering A Security Deposit Through Small Claims Court

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  • 02-08-2005, 02:59 PM
    kjax_pq
    Recovering A Security Deposit Through Small Claims Court
    Hello,

    I moved out of a townhouse in April 2004 after living there for 2.5 yrs. When I handed over the key to the landlord after he inspected the house, he said he will settle with me later. He had my security deposit of $950.

    Mean while I found out that a new tenant had already moved in within a month.

    After I didn't hear from him for 2 months, I called him so many times and finally got him. He said there are 3 red stains and the present tenant does not like the stain marks. He said he would get back once the issue is resolved. 2 more months passed and I didn't hear anything from him. I tried to call him and got hold of him after so many repeated phone calls. He told me that he would send me a letter indicating the situation.

    A few days passed and I received a first class letter from him indicating that there are 3 stains and that he would have to replace the carpet because the tenant has an issue with it. And that replacing new carpet would cost him more than the deposit amount. This did not look like an itemized list.

    I sent him a certified letter indicating I am willing to replace the portion of the carpet that is stained at my own expense, but at the end of this he would have to give me my deposit in full. He did not call back or respond and the certified letter returned to me which I still have unopened. So I filed a suit again him in small claims.

    The first court date was in December 2004. After receiving the court notice my previous landlord called me to resolve the situation and as verbally agreed I set up an appintment with his present tenant to have a service man come to the house and patch the stained carpet. (Keep in mind that almost 6 months had passed and the carpet was not replaced.) In 2 days the tenant called me to tell that she would not be at home that day. So I called my previous landlord and told him that I tried to resolve it and it could not be done. Then I offered him to Pay me 800 Dollars which includes the court costs. He didn't agree and indicated that he would have to replace the carpet and that would be more than the deposit. I said okay, i will see you in court.

    When I went to the court in December the landlord had already requested to reschedule the date. The next scheduled court date was Feb 25.

    I didn't get a chance to retrieve my mails until Feb 7th for some reason. When I did get my mail on 7th Feb, I found a letter mailed my my previous landlord which had a line:

    "Please take notice that on February 4, 2005, 9.30 AM the undersigned will move the court to continue this case because of unavailability due to business trip."

    What does it mean? Should I have done something before 4th February? What should be my next course of action?
  • 02-08-2005, 03:30 PM
    Anonymous
    Problem Landlord
    That's probably just a notice of hearing for the date the landlord will ask the court to adjourn the date. If you didn't appear, it will likely be treated as an unopposed motion. You should contact the court to find out if an adjournment was granted, then get the date of the new hearing.

    Incidentally, as the small claims magistrate should already be aware, you are not liable for full replacement value of a carpet, even if you damaged it. Carpet wears out over time, and like anything else it depreciates. You should only have to pay the reasonable cost of repair (as you suggested), or the depreciated value of the carpet.

    Also, check out the resources at this site, as it seems likely that your landlord violated the inventory and notice provisions typically associated with claims of damage by a tenant, and thus may have waived any right to claim a portion of your damage deposit. (I don't have time at the moment to find the specifics of Virginia law, but I would venture that you will find them on that site.)
  • 05-05-2005, 04:14 PM
    kjax_pq
    Judgement has been satisfied - sample letter
    Thanks for the help.

    I finally won judgement and the landlord has paid me the deposit (but did not pay me the interest and $50 court cost, but i am okay with just the deposit back).

    But I am supposed notify the court in writing that the judgement has been satisfied. Can someone please point me to a sample letter for such type of notification. Also simply sending the letter by post is okay? Should I send a copy to the landlord too? Thank you in advance.
  • 05-05-2005, 10:11 PM
    aaron
    Satisfaction of Judgment in Virginia
    You can download a satisfaction of judgment form (Notice of Satisfaction Form) here in PDF format. You should serve the original on the court, with a copy to your former landlord (or his attorney of record, if he was represented). First class mail should be fine.
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