State Specific Question About: SOUTH CAROLINA (SC)

CONTEXT: I moved out of an apartment in October, after giving my landlord 30 days notice. While living in this apartment, I did no damage to the property and immediately informed the landlord, who lives over 100 miles away, of anything that broke (water heater, dish washer, lock). I did no damage to the property and had good rapport with my landlord during my time there. I never received any notification of intent to withhold my deposit, but never received the deposit. I mailed him the key with my current return address within 30 days. I have yet to receive my deposit. I have tried to contact him via e-mail, phone and certified letter. I was panicked and worried that I might need to consider legal action and I e-mailed him telling him this. He finally replied to that saying he feels my actions cost him multiple times my deposit and he will write me a detailed letter in 2-3 weeks. I'm fairly certain that I have caused no damage and I always paid my rent on time. I cleaned the entire apartment, barring my roommates' rooms) before I left.

QUESTIONS:

1) For what reasons can a landlord in SC withhold a deposit?

2) What if the deposit isn't mentioned in the lease?

3) Is he still entitled to keep the deposit, considering he was provided my address within 30 days of my move and he failed to send me a letter within 30 days?

4) What happens if someone (or anyone) does not respond to a certified letter within 30 days?

5)My landlord was absentee, having never visited the apartment and cannot know if damage had been done or what damage (if any) would have been caused by me or someone else. Is there a way he could know?

Thank you! All input is appreciated!

Section 27-40-410 of the attached covers the Landlords obligations regarding Security Deposits in South Carolina:

www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t27c040.htm

You do have options, including suing for three times the amount of this deposit.

I am always disappointed to hear about Landlords that take advantage of their position. It happens much too frequently.

I suggest that you learn about what your rights are, and then sue the Landlord in Small Claims Court. If you get a judgment, you may be able to order that his tenants pay their rents directly to you, until his obligation to you is fulfilled. It would serve him right. So would Gail's suggestion that you may be entitled to 3 times the value of your deposit.

As I read postings on this site, I am always disappointed to read about landlords that think that life is all about triumphing over tenants, and squeezing extra money out of them. Landlording is a good business, with adequate profit available from running a clean business in a professional manner. Too many landlords aren't content with that.

Apparently, your letter and lack of response will be good evidence that the landlord did not fulfill his responsibilities. That will help to refute his claim about the damage that you did.

Hi SC... good note...

This will be a little general until a SC LL replies

1) For what reasons can a landlord in SC withhold a deposit?

Usually a LL can withhold funds for 2 reasons... failure to comply with the agreement, that causes damage or costs to the LL.. or actual damage or non performance.

There is a time frame in law underwhich the LL has to send you an accounting of the deposit funds if any were used.

he is late and your remedy is a legal action in the small claims system..

Deposit: there is no mention of a deposit on the rental agreementt ??

or did you get a reciept for the monies you gave at move in? there should be some proof of what you paid and how it was used or went to.. maybe a canceled check .

Keep deposit:

well he could keep it if there were failures of the preformance under the agreement or damages as outlined above..

Absentee:

He would not have to visited durinng your tenancy..

he would have a proof of condition prior to your and your roommates move in..

At move out.. he has it inspected again.. and there would be the proof of his claim to keep the depoist if there was a problem

Two points

you had roomates.. you are all just 1 tenant or a 'family/group' to him

If in your roomies did not clean.. or damaged.. he holds the whole deposit.. it is not devided..

hope this helps

Hi SC... good note...

This will be a little general until a SC LL replies

1) For what reasons can a landlord in SC withhold a deposit?

Usually a LL can withhold funds for 2 reasons... failure to comply with the agreement, that causes damage or costs to the LL.. or actual damage or non performance.

There is a time frame in law underwhich the LL has to send you an accounting of the deposit funds if any were used.

he is late and your remedy is a legal action in the small claims system..

Deposit: there is no mention of a deposit on the rental agreementt ??

or did you get a reciept for the monies you gave at move in? there should be some proof of what you paid and how it was used or went to.. maybe a canceled check .

Keep deposit:

well he could keep it if there were failures of the preformance under the agreement or damages as outlined above..

Absentee:

He would not have to visited durinng your tenancy..

he would have a proof of condition prior to your and your roommates move in..

At move out.. he has it inspected again.. and there would be the proof of his claim to keep the depoist if there was a problem

Two points

you had roomates.. you are all just 1 tenant or a 'family/group' to him

If in your roomies did not clean.. or damaged.. he holds the whole deposit.. it is not devided..

hope this helps

Roommates still living in the apt?

Did your rental agreement have a clause that says something like this?:

"Each Tenant agrees to be jointly and severally liable to the Landlord for the entire rent and the entire amount of any other charges incurred under the Rental Agreement."

If it does that is the source of the problem. What the above clause means is that all roommates are responsible for the entire rent amount even if they have moved out and the other roommates have not moved out.

My guess is that your roommate/s are still in the apt. They are not paying the full rent if they are paying any rent at all.

You could be still responsible for paying rent on your old apt. You need to get this straightened out right away.

Did you start this tenancy with your roommate/s? Or did you let them move in with you and not tell your landlord? Perhaps you and your roommate/s were not getting along? So you gave notice and moved out leaving this/these roommate/s for the Landlord to deal with getting them out? Doesn't work that way sweet cheeks sorry.

Ah, roommates.

Look a the terms of your lease.

Typically, "jointly and severally" means NO deposit is returned until EVERYONE vacates.

Is the lease with you alone, or with you plus roommates?

What Others' have said; deposit is not divided, so if your roomies left a mess/damage, you're all on the hook for the money.

You mentioned that you returned the keys within 30 days. You are considered to have been in posession of the unit until the keys are returned and all occupants vacate the apartment.

I forgot to mention that my lease is separate from the other roommates. We were NOT one group; we were separate tenants. My lease, that is signed ONLY my myself and my landlord gives the dates of my occupancy, which I did fulfill. I did go month to month since I was unable to find an apartment to my liking at the end of my lease. I informed my landlord that I would be looking for housing when my lease ended. I did give the required 30 days notice.

There is no mention of a deposit in the lease, but I did pay by check and can get the information from my bank. I can prove I paid it.

I reread the lease and I was in compliance with everything. When I moved in, I was rooming with his daughter and a friend of hers. His daughter moved out and I found another roommate (I am aware that since my lease was separate, this was not an obligation and I would have been in the right not to do so because the burden of finding tenants is on the landlord). Then, the daughter's friend moved out. Then the relatively new roommate moved out and the apartment was empty but for me. I found another roommate, who later let her friend move in. At NO time during these many roommate exchanges did the landlord do a walk through, or otherwise visit the property. This is why I doubt that he has been in the apartment since I left.

With separate leases like this, how would a landlord determine who to fault for damages, if they were to occur?

I have read the Tenant/Landlord Act online and I cannot get any clarification on this particular case.

What happens if a landlord fails to give notice of why a deposit is withheld within the given 30 day time period? In Colorado, the landlord forfeits the deposit. I would love to find this is the case in SC! But there is nothing online discussing what happens after the 30 day period if no action is taken.

I wish I had a copy of your lease, if I were an Attorney I could charge you, I am not an Attorney and can not give legal advice, I do not have all the facts.

I do not know SC law.

Martha,

Since your first roommate was the landlord's daughter, it makes me wonder if he's not a professional landlord, and this may be his only rental and he doesn't know the laws.