[terilaw]

My landlord told me before I vacated his apartment to leave him with a self-addressed envelope, stamped so he can send me my security deposit. I have called and asked for my deposit and still have yet to receive it. A roommate of mine called to complain about the length of time it was taking to get our deposits back and he told her that because one of the 6th roommates apparently did not pay one of the months to him yet, he is withholding EVERYONE's deposits now and is threatening to take the rent out of our deposits and not just the one who didn't pay the one month yet. It has been 50 days since I vacated the building. He is located in Ithaca, New York. Please let me know about this.. Is him withholding my deposit and him threatening to not give it back, lawful? Please help me in any way you can. Thank you.

[progunr]

While the agreement between your roommates may have been to split everything equally, I would expect that the lease agreement simply states a deposit total, and a rent total.

If someone is not paying the rent, the landlord would legally be able to withhold those and other fees from the deposit.

Unless there is a separate agreement between each tenant, I believe the landlord is completely within their legal rights.

[LisaB4657]

In NY a landlord must either return your deposit, or provide you with a written, detailed accounting of how your deposit was used, within a reasonable time after you vacate the property. Over 50 days is not considered a reasonable time.

File a lawsuit immediately.