Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Pennsylvania

The home my family and I were renting was involved in a fire. My landlord took full advantage of this and had the whole house remodeled. He then informed us that he may be putting it up for sale. He took months and never gave us a yes or no as to whether he was going to sell and if we could move back. My husband and I decided it would be best if we looked for something else and we asked for our deposit back. He only sent half of our deposit back. Deducting money for some damages to a door and railing from our dog, mold in the freezer and cleaning and restoration charges. He paid nothing out of pocket for those repairs or to have anything cleaned. My question is, is he within his rights to do that considering the circumstances? We did not voluntarily move out, we were forced out because of the fire so we were not given the chance to repair/replace things.


Asked on 8/25/14, 10:05 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
ANDREA G. TILLIS Law Offices of Andrea G. Tillis

You can sue the landlord in Magisterial District Court for the return of the other half of your deposit. You can tell the Judge the conditions and circumstances under which you were forced to move and did not have the opportunity to correct anything. The Judge might very well be sympathetic to your situation and order the landlord to return the other half of your security deposit. You have nothing to lose except your filing fee and the result would be well worth it. Good Luck!

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Answered on 8/27/14, 8:08 am


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