Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Pennsylvania
Is a landlord required to refund deposit if you change mind about renting house?
My daughter put money down on a house to rent. She wrote a check for $385.00, it was supposed to be the first month's rent, and she had a month to come up with the security deposit. The landlord gave her a lease three days later, and she has still not signed it, nor has she moved in or cleaned the place. She decided she was too afraid to live by herself now, and does not wish to rent the house. She did not sign the lease, and does not plan to. We have to meet with the landlord tonight to tell him she no longer wishes to live there. My question is, Is the landlord required to refund her money she paid to him, or did she just lose the money? Thank you.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Is a landlord required to refund deposit if you change mind about renting ho
It sounds like your daughter may have ventured into an oral agreement to lease the property pending a copy of the written lease. It all depends on exactly what was said. A possible solution would be to offer to accept half of the money back thereby compensating the landlord for the period of time when he thought the apartment was going to be leased. If the landlord refuses to give all the money back you can consider bringing a suit but the costs of litigation and the chance of recovery probably are not worth it. I offer free consultations.
Re: Is a landlord required to refund deposit if you change mind about renting ho
Your daughter might have entered into an Oral contract, but this would need to be proven by the Landlord, in other words he said / she said. My recommendation is that you try to negotiate a deal w/ the landlord for a portion of the money. You can also review my website at www.AlleghenyAttorneys.com for further landlord / tenant information, I also offer flat rate pricing if you need to retain an Attorney.
Sincerely,
Marc V. Taiani
AAAL-Allegheny Attorneys At Law
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