Ask Me Help Desk - Landlord witholding security deposit

I live in Florida.
The landlord we used to have was not a really good one -every time he needed to do something, he just didn't care (even when the neighbour above regularly soaked the place -1-2 night a month, and mold was growing on the drywall).
So we moved out. Cleaned up the place, bought a few pieces of furniture from him for a negotiated price, and left. This was in the first day of April. I kept calling him, but he never returned the call. Only at the end of October did I manage to get a hold on him, and he became very abusive, and uncooperative, claiming ridiculous things (like I left the place in ruins, and such), and that he keeps the money, more over he's going to sue me.
As I understand Florida law is pretty clear: a landlord has 30 days to give a detailed bill for repairs. After 30 days he forfit his claims.
So I'm planning to sue him. What should I do, and how can I best manage this thing on small claims court? How can I collect the money? Should I contact a lawyer? (I can't really afford to spend more on this than the deposit itself.) Can I sue the guy for interest since April, and for every expense for the lawsuit?
Thanks.

Assuming your deposit was not in the 1000's of dollars, you sue in small claims court for actual damages. You cannot use an attorney in small claims court. You go to court, supply proof that you paid a deposit, show where you gave notice and that is about all the proof you needed, He would be asked to state his case. You should be awarded your filing fee ( very small) and the amout of your deposit. I would ask for interest, the worst that canhappen is the judge not allow it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

assuming your deposit was not in the 1000's of dollars, you sue in small claims court for actual damages. you cannot use an attorney in small claims court. You go to court, supply proof that you paid a deposit, show where you gave notice and that is about all the proof you needed, He would be asked to state his case. You should be awarded your filing fee ( very small) and the amout of your deposit. I would ask for interest, the worst that canhappen is the judge not allow it.

Thank you for the answer. I hoped there would be another way, but I'll just have to sue this guy, don't I?
If the law says he had 1 month to present any bills for damage, then he can't make up stuff now, right? That train left. (He claimed that we trashed the place. I cleaned up twice, just to make sure, and took some photos... But according to the law it doesn't make any difference now, is that correct?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by degeneral

I cleaned up twice, just to make sure, and took some photos... But according to the law it doesn't make any difference now, is that correct?)

Hello de:

I wish it were that simple. NOTHING in the law is black or white. Plus, this is a low level court in most jurisdictions so you'll be dealing with a magistrate, or a justice of the peace, or a judge pro tem. They may or may not be lawyers. They may or may not know the law. They may be landlords themselves who just got screwed by a tenant. I don't know.

Why did you take the pictures?? Because you TOO know that the right thing doesn't always happen.

So, I think you'll win and be given a judgment... Then you'll have to collect... It's NOT automatic. However, if you have his bank account numbers (they're on the back of your rent check), then you can attach his bank account.

Go get him. I hate landlords who rip people off.

excon

While excon is right, this is as black and white as it gets. The landlord has to file an itemized statement of what he used the deposit for within a specified time frame or he forfeits the right to use it. You walk into court with that statue and present it to the judge and he should rule in your favor and order the landlord to pay.

Then the real fun begins. You need to get copies of your rent checks and check where the landlord banks and the account number. AFTER the landlord leaves the court you go back in and ask the judge for a garnishment order against the bank. You then take that order immediately to his bank and serve it. You might need to hire a sheriff to serve it, if so, you'll find them near the court.

You then hope that the landlord hasn't changed banks and has sufficient funds to cover the judgement. Because if he doesn't you are going to have hard time collecting.

Thank you all very much. I'll start the procedure probably in January, and then we'll see.

The landlord is an idiot. It'll be a hard time to collect the money- he would refuse to pay even if you put a gun to his head just to show you. And he loves to shout. That's why I preferred a way to persude him, because if the court orders so, then he'll defy it, just to make a point -and since he's wealthy, he can. (The typical mixture of little education and hard-headedness. Should I say, bone-headedness?)

The whole thing started when he fraternized with us (inviting us to his home) -we came from the same country. Since then he talked to us like we were buddies, and he didn't behave professionally at all...
He gave 50 off from the rent, and then a few weeks later, after we signed the papers, told us to pay a 40 dollar insurance or else -ever since we had to listen to him about how good he was to us. (We paid it, because didn't want any problems.) After that he refused to do anything saying we pay less, so it's not his problem...
It was ridiculous: the neighbour living upstairs regularly messed something up with this piping, so massive amounts of water (I mean gallons) came down to us in the middle of the night. The drywall was rotting, and the smell was like in a damp cellar, not to mention, that you had to change the buckets at 3AM once in every month or so for a half a year. He never once went to this neighbour to talk to him, and to make him fix the rotting wall. He categorically told us that he's not going to do anything -which is plain stupid as it was HIS property that was rotting away. He left the apartman filled up with junk -like a Pentium I computer. I asked him to remove them, and he said that he doesn't care. So I put them out to the trash for anyone to pick up. Now he wants 700 dollars for the computer. Another 300 dollars are asked for a 15 years old Panasonic TV that burst into flames -no kidding, I was lucky to have an extuingisher. (I called him to inspect it, he told me to throw it out. Now he wants 300 bucks for it... ) The mosquito net was torn up when we moved in, and his junk was on the patio for years -and the community was harassing us to take care of it. And the list goes on.
As I said: no reasoning.