Forwarding Address Definition

Hello. I am moving out of my apartment in Pennsylvania. I have given my landlord my 30 day's notice to end the month to month rental agreement. I provided my work address as the forwarding address because I do not feel safe with him knowing where I will be living. He said that I have to give him the address of my new legal residence or he will not give me the security deposit back. He said that he is afraid that when I leave I am going to damage the apartment intentionally and he needs to know where to serve me the papers. I am not going to damage the apartment (it is in good condition now). And in the event that he did want to sue me, could he not serve me papers through my work? All the lease says is I must give him a "forwarding address." In the event that he does not return my deposit, PA law says I can sue him for twice the amount of the deposit, but that I must have given him a forwarding address. Is my business address sufficient, or do I have to give him the address of my new home?
Thank you.

The PA statute dealing with security deposits (see the PA Tenant Landlord Act linked below) says this:

(e) Failure of the tenant to provide the landlord with his new address in writing
upon termination of the lease or upon surrender and acceptance of the leasehold premises shall relieve the landlord from any liability under this section.

Are there no provisions made for situations in which the tenant feels their safety and well-being are at risk by providing the physical address?

http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/uploa...tenant_act.pdf

I would also like to know if there is some sort of statute of limitations that would affect my landlord refusing to return the security deposit on the grounds that I had broken the lease because of the use of controlled substances on the property that took place in December, of which he was aware and in which he also participated. If he were going to say that illegal activity on the property had caused me to have broken the lease, would he not have had to go through procedures related to said breaking of lease back then instead of waiting until after I had moved out to claim I had broken the lease so that he could keep the deposit? If I have to take him to court to get the deposit back, should I be worried about him bringing this up?
Thank you for your help.

Some states have laws requiring that you provide your forwarding address to the LL or he is not obligated to return your deposit at all. Please check your state laws. If your state has such a law, a work address would not be sufficient. (Also, would you want to be served by a sheriff at work?)

Do you have a police report of illegal activities on the premises? If not, you have no proof at all of this, and may not break your lease over it. Even the LL must have a police report to file eviction over illegal drug use on the premises. If you have no police report, you will be held liable for the rent until the unit is re-rented, advertising costs, agent fees if he uses an agent to find a new tenant, and utility costs if your lease said you were liable for them. Because of this, you will probably only get a statement of deductions (those above) instead of any money back from the deposit. And if this happened in December, why did you wait 5 months to break your lease? A judge would certainly question this.

Thank you for your input. I believe PA law requires the new residence address, but that I what I was hoping to clarify.
Also, I am not breaking my lease: the term of the lease is ending soon, and I have complied with all terms for appropriate termination of the lease (30 day's notice of non-renewal, providing with forwarding address, etc.). There is no police report, I am just worried about the LL bringing it up as a way to get to keep my deposit. I am glad that a judge would question why he waited 5 months to bring it up.

Most states require proof of illegal drug activity to take action. A few states say that the LL should have "reason to believe" that drug activity is present (these types of states don't require police reports or arrests). Even in those states, waiting until 5 months later would be questioned. Had he wanted to terminate your lease over drugs, he would have had to take action then. Failure to take action shows am implicit approval or acceptance.

If the statute is worded as you posted, you must provide your forwarding address or he has no obligation to try to return your deposit. That statute says YOUR address, not a work address. If you are in fear, get a restraining order against the LL to prevent him from coming to your new place. Good luck.