My Fiancé and I both leased a house three years ago in Ohio and I put down the deposit and first months rent. We have separated and the landlord said our month to month lease was finished and that both of us had to move as of August first. I did all the patching of nail holes and cleaning and the house was emaculate. The landlord did a walk through, which I was the only one present and when I asked for my deposit back he said he would have to split it between my fiancé and I. Since then I have found out that my fiancé is still living at the residence. What can I do to secure the full amount of my deposit? Furthermore, I left the landlord with a deck in the back yard with over 600.00 worth of lumber I paid for. I was hoping he would also return my full deposit knowing that I had made this improvement to his property. :rolleyes:

Tell your LL that he made no such distinction when he accepted your personal check for the deposit and first month's rent. Tell him you paid the deposit and expect full payment, if he refuses sue his butt. Forget the deck if there was not agreement in advance for him to do anything.

Actually, he should not be splitting it. He should be issuing a payment to both of you jointly, since that's how your lease was issued. That way both of you would have to endorse the check to be able to deposit or cash it and it would be up to you two to settle who gets what.

If he has issued her a new lease then he needs to return the entire security deposit to both of you and then collect a new deposit from her.

My guess would be that he doesn't have the entire amount on hand to return and he's trying to minimize his out of pocket. (Just a guess on my part.)

rockinmommy has a good point. The fact that you paid the deposit is of no issue to the landlord. He rented the property to both of you jointly. He has no proof that one party didn't reimburse the other for their share of the deposit. He should either issue a joint check or or separate checks for half the deposit to each leaseholder. If you want the money back from your ex, you will have to sue him.

As for the deck, unless the landlord authorized the construction and agreed to contribute to its cost, you made him a gift of it. He could, in fact, charge you the cost of deconstructing it.