My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: New Mexico
In NM, state law indicates, "Upon termination of the residency, property or money held by the owner as deposits may be applied by the owner to the payment of rent and the amount of damages which the owner has suffered by reason of the resident's noncompliance with the rental agreement or Section 47-8-22 NMSA 1978. No deposit shall be retained to cover normal wear and tear. In the event actual cause exists for retaining any portion of the deposit, the owner shall provide the resident with an itemized written list of the deductions from the deposit and the balance of the deposit, if any, within thirty days of the date of termination of the rental agreement or resident departure, whichever is later.”
Also:
"If the owner fails to provide the resident with a written statement of deductions from the deposit and the balance shown by the statement to be due, within thirty days of the termination of the tenancy, the owner:
(1) shall forfeit the right to withhold any portion of the deposit;
(2) shall forfeit the right to assert any counterclaim in any action brought to recover that deposit;
(3) shall be liable to the resident for court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees; and
(4) shall forfeit the right to assert an independent action against the resident for damages to the rental property.
E. An owner who in bad faith retains a deposit in violation of this section is liable for a civil penalty in the amount of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) payable to the resident."
We left the apartment on the day our lease expired, and we left our forwarding address with the employee who did the move-out inspection with us. When 42 days expired and we got no refund of the security deposit, we sent a certified letter stating that the owner was in violation of state law. The manager at the property called us on the day she received the letter and left a message saying "a check was cut" for a refund 7 days after we left, and she wanted to know if the forwarding address was correct. It was, so she validated that they have the forwarding address.
Here's the problem: We were receiving mail from the third day we were at our new address. The manager says "a check was cut," which doesn't mean a check was actually sent. She offered no verification or validation. She wants us to call back to verify the forwarding address she left on her message is correct, but it should be apparent to her that it is correct (it matched the address on the certified letter). There seems to be no way that we can know for sure if a refund was actually sent and whether or not she's simply making up a date to cover herself. What should we do?

