My son is trying to rent an off-campus apartment. We put down a one-month security deposit to hold the place, but when we got the lease, all the rent due dates are two full months in advance. In other words, by the time he takes possession on August 1 after 6 p.m. (as lease stipulates), he would have paid August's rent on June 1, September's rent on July 1 and October's rent earlier in the day on August 1. I want to walk away, but they said the security deposit is nonrefundable. If this payment schedule is outside the law, I thought maybe I could get the deposit back. Note: we have not yet SIGNED the lease.

If you have not signed a lease agreement and you have not taken possession of the apartment then your deposit should be refunded in full, but how is the rental market in that area? Maybe it might be worth paying an additional month's rent in advance to secure an apartment in what might be a tight rental market. In any case what you are paying is for for rent, not an additional deposit or other unearned fees.