My daughter was a freshman in college last year and she rented an apartment along with three other girls (none of them knew each other at the time of signing the lease). The house ended up being a "party" house and she was only able to spend a couple hours a day there studying. During her two semesters of college she spent about 20 nights total at the apartment and the remaining nights were spent at friend's dorm rooms due to the unending parties that were held at her apartment. I informed the landlord of these conditions and he told me that she was the one that was responsible for putting a stop to it. He told me that "she needed to get a voice and to put her foot down and demand that they stop the nonsense". His suggestion was for her to call the cops every time a party was going on! The landlord had even walked in once while the other kids were smoking pot and he did nothing about it! My daughter is majoring in elementary education and knows that if she gets charged with underage drinking that she will not be able to pursue her career because they are very strict about that.

Anyway, because of the parties there were damages done to the apartment and I know that my daughter would be held responsible even if she wasn't at the apartment when the parties were going on. Upon moving out she cleaned only her bedroom since she didn't use the shared living space at all. She didn't even use the bathroom at her apartment, she would go to the school and use theirs! She has no idea if the other three did any cleaning or if they just left it a mess. I do know that during one of the parties someone got thrown into a wall and there was some damage done to the drywall. Also, someone kicked a hole in her bedroom door when she wasn't there.

The landlord has our home address because he sent us reminders about the rent being due on certain dates. Also, as far as her returning the keys, he instructed my daughter to leave her keys in her desk drawer, which she did. My question is this, it has now been a month and a half since the lease ended and we haven't heard anything about the security deposit or the list of damages done to the apartment. I'm afraid if I threaten to take him to small claims court for the security deposit refund (in Pennsylvania I could get double the deposit back), would he be able to turn around and sue us for damages since he hasn't sent us a list of damages? Is it too late for him to send us a list of damages, or does he only have 30 days to do that? Or maybe I should just forget the whole thing and hope that he doesn't try to get more money out of us other than keeping the security deposit?

Any help would be appreciated!
Teresa

Most states limit the landlord's ability to use the security deposit. Generally they are given a window of time in which to return the deposit or an accounting of how it was used. If they do not do so within that window they forfeit the right to the deposit. Some states allow for double or treble damages.

Now, a lot depends on how the lease was set up. If she signed as an equal occupant with the other three, then she may be entitled to her deposit returned directly. On the other hand, the landlord may have given an accounting to the "lead" tenant. So you need to determine that before you take him to small claims.

If your daughter had a signed lease, she was liable for both rent and damage to the property for the entire time, not just when she lived there.

So if the damages was more than the deposits, I doubt there is anything to get back.

We just received the list of damages in the mail today. She owes and additional $200 on top of the $500 security deposit. The letter was postmarked on June 9th, which is 40 days from the end of the lease. PA law says 30 days, so is she still responsible to pay this since it was 10 days late?

Write the landlord back with a letter like this:

We are in receipt of your list of damages and bill for an additional $200. However, according to Pennsylvania statute 250.512(b) "Any landlord who fails to provide a written list within thirty days as required in subsection (a), above, shall forfeit all rights to withhold any portion of sums held in escrow, including any unpaid interest thereon, or to bring suit against the tenant for damages to the leasehold premises."

Since the list was not received within the thirty days required by law, you forfeited your right to use that money. Therefore, we expect you to return the $500 within 10 days or we will file suit under Section 250.512.

If you have an attorney it would be good to send that on their letterhead. But you need to follow through.

I would suggest contacting a Pennsylvania attorney that specializes in Landlord - Tenant issues.

The landlord is required to forward an itemized list of damages / deductions from the security deposit within 30 days of the landlord receiving possession of the property. If the landlord fails to do so, the former tenant can file suit to get their security deposit back. If your daughter sues for the security deposit only, then the landlord is prohibited from raising any issues relating to damages as a defense. However, if you choose to sue for double the security deposit as is allowed by law, then the landlord can present the damages as a defense to her claim.

The law is specific about the time frame, but the time starts ticking at the moment the landlord retains possession. Just because the lease ended on a certain day doesn't mean that the other girls were moved out and gave the landlord back the apartment. If I were you, I would make sure that the girls were all out by the expiration of the lease.

If they were, then the landlord's failure to timely submit the list of damages is unlawful and she can sue to get her deposit back.

However, as your daughter signed a lease, she is responsible for all rent payments throughout the term of the lease. If there is rent outstanding, the landlord has the right to sue her for the money.

I hope this helps!