Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Ohio

Re: Rent deposit being held.

You may be eligible for the return of your deposit, depending upon the terms of your deposit agreement. Did you sign anything when you submitted the deposit? If not, did you have a verbal agreement as to what the $485.00 was for? If there was no documentation, perhaps the deposit was simply a "hold" fee for the apartment and you should be eligible to regain all or a portion of the deposit if things did not work out. You have a few options for dealing with the situation. 1) Write a letter yourself demanding return of the deposit with a threat of pursuing your remedies in a court of law; 2) Have a lawyer write the letter for you; 3) Go directly to small claims court and file a claim. You can represent yourself in small claims court. It is really no big deal. You file the paper, they assign a court date a few weeks down the road, you show up, state your case before the magistrate and hopefully walk away with a settlement or a judgment in your favor. Unless you have some specific documentation stating that the deposit is nonrefundable, I would go for it. Do not be bullied into giving up your deposit.

Re: Rent deposit being held.

Absent a lease staing anything to the contrary a landlord is required to return the security deposit within 30 days after vacating the unit or give a detailed list as to what the security deposit was applied to. The landlord can deduct for damages to the property or vacating before the lease is up. Generally the security deposit is returned to the tenant. If it is not you can go to small claims court to recover the deposit.

Good Luck!!!