Hi all. I come bearing what may be an out-of-the-norm set of circumstances.
I have lived in this particular apartment since 2001 and have my own security deposit in place. My boyfriend lived in another unit in the same building from 2002 until 04-30-09, at which point- he left his apartment and moved into mine (the landlord knew about this and agreed to it).
My boyfriend left his apartment in good repair and clean. In NJ, landlords have 30 days to return a deposit or an itemized list of deductions to the deposit. Obviously, it has been over 30 days since my boyfriend moved out. However, he has heard nothing from the landlord about his deposit.
After doing a bit of research online to see what the rights were in this case, we drafted a letter to send to the landlord as a prod to cough up my boyfriend’s money.
Dear Mr. Landlord:
I am writing to inquire about the status of my security deposit from Apartment #13 in Blah Blah apartments.
I have been vacated from that unit almost two months, since 04-30-09, and am now living in Apartment #4 of the same building, as we had previously agreed upon. Apartment #4 has its own full security deposit already in place from when my girlfriend, Meetzemonsta, moved in during May of 2001.
Upon completion of a walk-through you did on my Apartment #13 while I was still in residence, you said that you had planned on doing nothing more than cleaning the carpets after I had moved out. When I vacated that unit, I left it clean and in good repair. With this in mind, I would like an estimate of when I can expect to receive my security deposit, with all applicable interest.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Meetzemonsta’s Boyfriend
My questions are:
Anyone ever have a similar situation?
Is this a good letter for landlord-prodding?
What’s the likelihood of getting this money?
If this winds up going to court, how difficult is it going to make it for us to continue living here?
Any viewpoints or advice would be greatly welcome.
Thanks!
