We ended our lease early. The lease stated that we could do this and we were responsible for rent until a new tenant moved in. So, I got to work. I put an ad on Craigslist, showed the house to multiple families and the first one I showed it to moved into the house. This was all done within a week.

In the mean time, my landlord hired a real estate agent. She came and put up the sign and said she was leaving for vacation. I handled ALL of her clients that came through. She didn't even put an ad in the paper.

I've been out for 30 days. I just received a letter from the landlord saying that he is keeping the ENTIRE security deposit to pay for the real estate agent - $1100.

Is it worth taking him to small claims court? I think that is an absurd amount of money. He hired the agent and he didn't have to. That was on him.

Definitely file a lawsuit against that landlord. If you win then the judge may even grant you double or triple the amount that the landlord wrongfully withheld, depending on the laws in your state.

Go for it!