Legal Question in Real Estate Law in District of Columbia

I signed a lease to rent an apartment in Washington DC for a period of one year at $1200/month in Nov 2008 with a security deposit equvalent to one month's rent. After about 6 months, I decided to buy my own place and as per the landlord's requirements, I found him a new renter at a higher rent of $1400/month who was added as a co-tenant until the end of the lease term at the higher rent, even though I am no longer living in the apartment. The new lease asks for $1400 in security deposit, which the co-tenant paid at the time of signing of the lease on Jun 29th.

The problem is that the landlord is refusing to return my earlier security deposit of $1200 in full. He is insisting on returning half the amount now and wants to wait to return the other half at the end of the lease term. So effectively, he wants to keep $2000 as the deposit. His reasoning is that there is no provision in the lease that says I should be refunded the deposit before the end of the lease term. Since the lease only has a provision for a security deposit of $1400, which the landlord has already received from the co-tenant, is he entitled to keep part of my earlier deposit as well?


Asked on 8/13/09, 6:30 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Send the landlord notice via certified mail(with copy also sent first class regular)that you must

have your entire deposit returned to you by November, 2009, or you will be forced to file suit against him in either DC Small Claims and Conciliation Court or the Landlord-Tenant branch of the Civil Division for this amount plus all recoverable related costs.

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Answered on 8/13/09, 9:35 pm


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