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This is great. In my experience the single biggest thing that allows landlords to take advantage of tenants is the inaccessibility of real estate law. Anything
by keiferski 2y ago
This is great. In my experience the single biggest thing that allows landlords to take advantage of tenants is the inaccessibility of real estate law. Anything that makes contract terms more easily understandable is a win, as far as I’m concerned.
Linking to a comment I made about dealing with this:
…one time a landlord didn't return the security deposit. I called him, messaged him, left notes in his mailbox. No reply. One month, two months went by. So, I looked up the relevant legal code, found the part that said "landlords have 30 days to return the security deposit with any deductions listed. Failure to do so results in the landlord owing the tenant double the original amount with no deductions." I printed that out, highlighted the relevant section, and mailed him a letter saying that he can return the original deposit amount to me immediately, or I will file at the local court and he'll owe me double. I got a check in the mail two days later.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35760541 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35760541
Having an app point this statue out when signing a contract would be great.
- idiotsecant 2y agoThat is a satisfying story but it makes me wish you stuck it to the landlord, as they're almost certainly doing that to every tenant and making a killing. I get that court takes time and everything, I just want to hear a story that ends in justice!
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- beefnugs 2y agoHuh???? do the tiny amount of paperwork and get the double, he won't learn until he feels the pain, you are not helping anyone with this choice
- nh23423fefe 2y agoBut I dont want double in 3 years. I want what I'm owed today.
- anon373839 2y agoIn reality, something like this wouldn't take you 3 years. However, I can't fault you for not wanting to go into court pro se; it's not a good position to be in. Interestingly, in some jurisdictions, provisions like these also carry attorney's fees to the prevailing tenant (i.e., asymmetric fee-shifting). So your landlord would be facing exposure to not only the underlying deposit and penalty and their own attorney's fees, but also possibly yours as well.
- tptacek 2y agoIt takes for-fucking-ever every place I've lived.
- phonon 2y agoSmall Claims Court would only take a few weeks
- kulahan 2y agoCurious what your retirement plan looks like…
- nh23423fefe 2y agofxaix and chill
- keiferski 2y agoI was twenty-something and in college, and just wanted my $300 back. I really didn't want to get involved with the courts.
- qingcharles 2y agoA late response to this, but my friend was having problems getting her deposit back and I did exactly this (with help from GPT to find the statute) and had her text it to the landlord. 5 mins later the deposit was in her Cash App.