Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Minnesota

Deposit returned

My husband is in the Army and we live in NY. We rented our house in Mn to a couple in MN, they gave us 30 notice that they were leaving.They demanded their deposit back right at the 30 days. I told them we needed to get our realestate agent over there to take a look at everything before we did that.We found that the house was fine but they had torn down a fairly large dog kennel that my husband had built without asking,( It stated in their lease that they could do repairs or renotations not tare down )I ask her through e-mails serveal times for a forwarding address to contact them at and she refused. I wrote them a letter and sent it certified to our house within the alloted time explaining why we were not giving them back their deposit and told them to contact us of they had questions. We heard nothing from them for two months & then we get papers for a court hearing on the return of the deposit.They are asking for their $375, $60 court fees and $200 interest. The hearing is in 21 days,with us living in Ny and my husband is preparing to deploy to Iraq we can not go back and fight this. We need some help. Should we just pay what their asking to save the hassel?

Thanks Angela


Asked on 4/01/05, 9:30 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys
David Anderson Anderson Business Law LLC

Re: Deposit returned

Which court? How did they get jurisdiction?

I have been a landlord 25 years, and former chair of the MN MultiHousing Assn.

Call if you wish my assistance.Do you still own the property?

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Answered on 4/01/05, 9:47 pm
Debra Palazzo Law Offices of Debra Palazzo, LLC

Re: Deposit returned

I can not see any scenario where it would be worth fighting over this small amount of money. It will cost more for you to fly there and/or pay an atty to rep you. Plus, the wording in your lease re: make renovations, may be ambiguous to a judge and held against you as the one who drew the contract. Just send them the $375 and they prob will go away.

My cousin is in Iraq and doing well, I wish your husband good luck.

Debra

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Answered on 4/02/05, 9:57 am
Maya Sullivan Law Office of Maya C. Sullivan, LLC

Re: Deposit returned

I am in agreement with Ms. Palazzo. By the time you come to MN, get lodging, get an attorney, etc. you will spend more than the total amount being requested. You should try to contact them to pay the amount they are requesting. If you do not contact them and a hearing is still held, they will obtain a default judgment against if you do not attend. You do not want to have to attempt vacating this as it will add to your expenses here.

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Answered on 4/02/05, 9:10 pm


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