Advise please,

I signed a roomate/houseguest agreement with the owner of condo in NW Washington DC for $825 per month. I gave a deposit of $825 cash. The "landlord" canceled my occupancy because she had a family issue and said she could no longer rent me the room. She agreed to refund my deposit on January 12th and said I would recieve it by March 1. She noted that this was in accordance with DC law (which I believe allows for 45 days to return a deposit). However, I do not feel trusting of this person and do not think this is right since she cancelled.

I have a bad feeling and think I may end up in small claims court over this. I never moved in and have in writing proof of my deposit along with proof of her cancellation. I need to know when is the earliest I can go to sue in small claims court on this issue. As it is I am planning to go on March 1 if I do not receive my deposit back. Can she take this long to refund it? After all she cancelled and I have been greatly inconvienced by this fact.
Can someone shed some light on the law relavent to this?

Thank you,
PB

ballengerb1

I don't know the law in DC but I do know that cash is never a good instrument for rent or deposits. Cash lacks a good paper trail. I would start a small claims suit immediately. The worst they can says is that you did not waite 45 days and come back later.

LisaB4657

The law in DC is 45 days. There's no point in filing a lawsuit until the 45 days have passed.

But what date did she notify you that she was cancelling the lease? That is the starting point for counting the 45 days, not the date she agreed to return your deposit. If she notified you on January 1 then she must return the deposit by February 14.

If she hasn't returned your deposit by the 45th day then you should definitely file a lawsuit. You should also consider filing for more than just the deposit. Since she broke a contract you can try suing her for your damages. That would include the interest on the deposit, your court costs and any other damages you suffered as a result, such as any non-refundable deposit you may have paid for a mover. Figure out exactly how much she has inconvenienced you.

excon

Hello porsche:

The reason a landlord has 45 days is because ALL the damage might not be discovered, repaired and paid for by then. It's a reasonable time period.

However, you never moved in, and there is NO damage. You AREN'T her tenant, and never were. So, in my view, landlord tenant law doesn't apply. I would file the suit now.

excon

ballengerb1

This is my thinking too. The landlord breached the lease and has not right to use it to claim 45 days. You never truly reached the point of becoming the tenant due to her breach. File now and include damages, this may included punitive damages. She may have family issues but that does not necessarily mean that she can assume the authority to set your lease aside.

landlord advocate

A security deposit is money that is given the landlord to secure that the tenant pays the rent on time and pay for any damages outside ordinary wear and tear. It is returned at the end of the lease if the rent is paid and no damage is done. You never moved in and there were no damages.

The money you gave the landlord was "Earnest Money". Earnest money is held by the landlord. In return the landlord promises to hold the property available to the tenant until a specific day. This landlord took the earnest money and failed to hold the property available to you.

Just an opinion, but I doubt that the 45 day rule can hold. It was not a security deposit. I would hate to see you go to court only to loose because you didn't wait the full 45 days, but if you are very uncomfortable and it is worth it to you to try earlier, go for it.