Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in District of Columbia

I signed an application for an apartment and gave a security deposit in order for them to hold the place and not offer it to anyone else while they approved me. I signed a separate sheet of paper that said if I did not give them at least 16 days notice of cancellation they would consider the application a lease and hold my security deposit as that month's rent. The employee with whom I was signing the papers told me the "move-in date" did not matter - all that mattered was the date we'd put on the lease. Shortly after I was approved, I ended up not being able to take it. They are now telling me that because of the sheet of paper talking about 16 days notice, they are using the date from the application as the move-in date and I only gave them 11 days notice. Is it legal to convert an application to a lease? The page that talks about converting to a lease has no move-in date and the application says nothing about a non-refundable security deposit. Plus, I never got copies of any of this even when I asked for them. Is any of this legal?


Asked on 8/14/09, 10:12 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Carlean Ponder The Ponder Law & Advocacy Group PLLC

Based upon the information that you provided and without seeing the actual application--it sounds as if the date that you put on the application was the move-in date. If that was a date that you and the employee put-down as an estimate of your move-in date, then the landlord has a legitimate claim if you gave less than 16 days notice from that date.

If that is not the situation and no move-in date was firmly in place--then you should press the issue and seek a refund of your security deposit. I would suggest writing a letter to the management company, explaining the facts, and request that your security deposit be refunded. Sometimes a letter to the right person in a situation like this can resolve the issue.

www.ponderlawgroup.com

Read more
Answered on 8/14/09, 12:15 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Landlord & Tenants questions and answers in District of Columbia