Q: I’m shifting out of New York Metropolis, and I’m involved that my landlord is not going to return my one-month’s lease safety deposit, even when I depart the condo in good, clear situation. (The owner has a fame for not returning deposits.) I can not afford to lose that form of cash, and I’m fearful that since I’ll now not be in New York, I received’t be able to make a authorized problem to get the cash again if it’s withheld. To keep away from the danger, I wish to use the deposit as my final month’s lease, though that isn’t permitted within the lease. Is that this a nasty concept?
A: Withholding your final month’s lease just isn’t with out dangers. Greatest case situation, your landlord retains your safety deposit to cowl the unpaid lease, which the legislation permits, and you might be achieved with the condo.
Nonetheless, the owner might determine to sue you for unpaid lease to make a degree. You might need to journey again to New York to defend your self, or face a default judgment in opposition to you, in accordance with Carol Anne Herlihy, a Manhattan lawyer who represents tenants and landlords. In case you lose the case, which is probably going, you possibly can be on the hook on your landlord’s authorized charges, relying on the phrases of your lease.
“You might be leaving city hoping that it will simply go away, that they’ll simply pocket the deposit, name it even,” Ms. Herlihy mentioned. “But when they don’t, you’re coming again to New York as a defendant.”
Paying your final month’s lease might really feel dangerous, too, however you do have some rights. In 2019, New York State enacted stronger tenant protections for safety deposits. The legislation offers tenants instruments to push again in opposition to landlords who withhold the deposits, and lays out floor guidelines that landlords should observe.
Use these instruments to guard your self earlier than you progress out. Give the owner discover that you’re leaving, and demand, in writing, a walk-through of the condo at the very least two weeks earlier than you progress out. Your landlord should give you an itemized listing of any damages that may very well be deducted out of your deposit, and provide the alternative to appropriate the issues. “Put the owner on the spot the place it’s more durable for the owner to faux the condo was a wreck,” Ms. Herlihy mentioned.
After you progress out, your landlord has 14 days to return your deposit or give an in depth rationalization for withholding it. In the event that they fail, they may very well be ordered to pay you damages equal to the quantity of the deposit, along with the deposit itself, Ms. Herlihy mentioned. Even in case you’ve left the town, you possibly can file a criticism with the New York Legal professional Basic’s workplace, which might provide help to recoup the cash. Nonetheless, you’ll nonetheless need to sue the owner in small claims court docket to gather any damages.
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