Landlord charging hidden fees
My finance and I recently moved into an apartment in Jersey City, NJ in February of this year. We have been having problems paying rent... new jobs and transportation have gotten too expensive for us. We have been paying on time but have just barely been making it by each month. So, we spoke to the landlord and she verbally agreed to us leaving as long as we found another renter to move is as we moved out.
This past month we wrote her a check and gave it to her on time on the 5th of the month. She waited until the 25th to deposit the check at which time it bounced by $2. The lease says that we will have to pay the bank fee, which is fine, but she says we owe her a late fee of $100. No where in the lease does it say we owe her a late fee if the check bounces.
Also, she is refusing to give us our security deposit back because she says by moving out we are breaking the lease. I thought NJ requires the security deposit to be given back even if the lease is broken. Also, it requires the deposit be put into a separate bank account that earns interest and that information be given to the tenants... she has not done this... :confused:
What do I need to do about getting this back?
I am trying to get it in writing that she is letting us out of the lease when we find a new tenant (she has been showing the apartment this past month)
Also, do I owe her the late fee ?