Comments on: Landlord charging security deposit

By: Randy Hepworth

Randy Hepworth — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:13:21 +0000

Hey Andrew–
I was just reading your blog and thought I would give my 2 cents. If the charge has gone to a collection agency, it may still not be on your credit report; so you may still have time to defend your credit report. The very worst thing that can happen is for you to do nothing. The $210 will quickly turn into $400 to $500 and possibly even more after they tack on fees and court cost.
I would contact your previous landlord to see what is going on and to find out why you never recieved a break-down of charges against your security deposit. I’d start there. But you’ve got to do it quick if you want to save your credit. You may even consider paying the $210 to the collection agency to stop it from getting worse, then dispute the charges.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:35:37 +0000

Yes, I left the landlord with a forwarding address, and no, I never received anything at all from the landlord until the notice from the collection agency.

By: Richard

Richard — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:06:35 +0000

Problems with security deposits is very common and can be a bit tricky to deal with. Each State will have different State laws governing security deposits. Some may require interest to accumulate on your rent deposit, but most likely it won’t. The bigger issue is how the landlord proceeded after your move-out. Did you provide the landlord with a forwarding address? Did the landlord ever send you a break-down of the charges?
I’ve seen many landlords that quickly send things to collection agencies without following proper deposit reporting laws.
The RPA can deal with the collection agency to request a proof of charges and hopefully mediate a fair resolution. The worst thing you can do is ignore the collection notice. It will ruin your credit.