Deposit Being Withheld by Landlord

[rollie]

My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Colorado

Okay so here is the situation. Last winter I had taken over a spot in
a lease (I'm not 100% sure I actually signed the lease, as it was rather an informal situation of me taking over another persons spot) for one room in a 3 bedroom condo. I left a deposit, and all was well. For the last 2-3 months of my stay, I adopted a dog and kept him in the apartment, which already had one dog. Apparently, there is wording in the lease that there is only 1 dog allowed in the apartment. When the landlord heard about the dog, which I wasn't trying to hide or anything, he kindly requested I send him a $100 pet deposit. I figured this wasn't unreasonable, so I sent him this money. After I left, I called him to explain there was some water damage on the carpet, which he then informed me had been there when I moved in, and was not my fault. So all seemed good, landlord said nothing about not returning my deposits.

Fast forward, I don't hear from him for a couple months, try to call him, no luck. Try again, again, and again, still nothing. Email him, no response. Only today when I called him on my landline (different number) did he actually answer; clearly he had been ignoring my correspondence. He said he was debating whether to return the deposit, or how much to return, because I brought the dog into the condo despite there being no actual damage. He also claimed the pet deposit was non-refundable.

So my questions are:
1) if he isn't able to produce a signed copy of the lease, how would this affect matters?

2) Currently I live in Ohio, he lives in California, but still has the condo in Silverthorne, Colorodo. If there was legal action to be taken, how could I go about it without being IN CO?

3) To me, a deposit is always returned, unless explicitly stated otherwise. I imagine this will be in the lease in some way. Assuming the lease doesn't explicitly say the pet deposit is non-refundable, am I able to go after him for this $100?

Many thanks in advance for any advice!!

-Ryan

[Mr. Knowitall]

A deposit is only non-refundable if that is set forth in the lease. You have a copy of the lease so there's no need to assume anything. Did your lease require a pet deposit?

If you're renting a condo in Colorado you can sue for the return of the deposit in Colorado. If you want to sue him without going to Colorado, pack your bags and head to California.

Here's a summary of security deposit laws for Colorado.