Getting a security deposit back in Florida

I rented a house in Florida on July 1st 2008. I gave a 35 day notice and moved out when the lease ended on July 1st 2009. Our lease did not specify a timeframe that I had to give a notice that I am leaving in, so I thought that was appropriate. Since I am nice and I thought we had a good "landlord-tenant" relationship, I offered to pay rent for ten days in July even though we were not going to be living there so the landlord could have a full 45 days to get replacement tenants. The landlord (which will be referred to as "she" from now on) turned my offer down. The house was left in great condition; better than when we moved in.

The landlord has not returned our $1100 deposit nor has she sent us any letters informing us of anything. She does have my new address; I handed it to her personally. I know Florida law requires her to notify us if she is keeping a portion of the deposit within thirty days or return it to us in full, and the thirty days has passed. I emailed her on August 2, 2009 and asked her about the deposit. She responded that she would have it to me by that weekend (August 9th). The weekend has passed and she is not responding to phone calls or emails. I know she spent the deposit money because she asked me to "live-out the deposit by staying at the house for an extra month", but that was not an option for me as per I rented another house.

I know the house we moved out of is now in foreclosure (she didn't pay the mortgage for 8 months while we were there paying rent!). That is partially why we moved out because I did not want to deal with that drama even though she said "everything is fine". She has two other lawsuits against her from Chase and Discover banks.

How should I go about getting the deposit back at this point? Should I send her a certified letter giving her X amount of days before I file suit? Or should I go ahead and file now? Also, if she decides to file bankruptcy, am I just screwed? Money is tight for everyone right now, but I am so tried of people doing me wrong.

Thanks for any advice!

[sunlover]

Talk to an Attorney find the process and documentation you need before you sue. Now if you its likely you will not see any of the awarded sum as there are other suits as well with better Lawyers

Don't worry about her other lawsuits... that's her problem. I would go ahead and send a letter certified with RR outlining all the time you have given her and letting her know that she has 10 days inwhich to respond with a check in the full security amount or a list of damages. If she does not respond, I would file with small claims.

I agree with the other posters. The amount of notice you gave (35 days) was sufficient per FL law unless your lease agreement specified more. Only 15 days notice is required once the lease ends.

You should send the notice certified, rrr, as states. Demand the full deposit back in that notice. If she fails to respond, file in small claims court for the deposit and any penalty to which you are entitled. But if she files BK and lists you on it as someone she owes money to, that will wipe out any chance of you ever receiving it. But since that is not a definite, I would file anyways.