Landlord withholding deposit in IL. I could use some advice

In My Humble Opinion
61

Okay so: question time. Today is day 30 after my move-out date (March 6th). Back when I moved out I sent her an email, which she did reply to–mocking me because she knows the tenant laws in Illinois better than I do, of course. :rolleyes: From me to her:

“I am entitled to an itemized list of the expenses, as well as copies of receipts proving you spent the money, within 30 days of my move-out date. If you supply your own labor you can charge a reasonable fee for it, which must also be itemized. If that list is not mailed to me, along with a check for whatever is left of the $450 deposit, by April 5 2011, you must return the deposit in full per Illinois tenant laws within 45 days of my move-out date–that would be by April 20th 2011.”

Today’s April 5th and I haven’t heard a peep from her by email or snail mail since our last email exchange on March 8th. Do these dates deal with received-by, or postmarked-by? Should I send a registered letter tomorrow demanding (in the legal way, not the shrill harpy way) that she return my deposit in full by April 20th or risk being taken to small claims court? Should I word it differently? Should I wait a couple days to see if she postmarked it today?

<3 your guys’ help.

62

Nope, keep your mouth shut. She knows the rules and she’s probably purposely dragging it out at this point and you’ll have it in your hand at the last possible minute.
At this point, the more you aggravate her, the more things she’s going to find to deduct money for. If you really do plan to take her to small claims over this, wait until after the 20th and serve her with papers, no warnings, no threats, just do it.

63

But at this point she owes me the whole thing, regardless of damages, unless I’m misunderstanding the law (as I’m not yet clear on the postmark vs received-by thing). And I haven’t sent her any registered letters yet so I figured now was a good time to do that. To the tune of pay in full by the 20th or go to court.

64

I don’t know anything, but if it were me, I’d have consulted with a legal type by now to know what to do. Not having done that, I’d now send a letter by registered mail reiterating that as it’s now been 30 days, she’s not in compliance, and to send the money. How could she rack up more charges? She’s already past the deadline to do so.

65

I was reading the USPS site and it said that registered mail can take 10-14 days to deliver and is not recommended for time-sensitive items. Is there some other way I should send it? Or would it be OK since she only lives about 10 miles away from me?

Here is the letter I drafted, any thoughtful corrections or additions would be appreciated. I need to send it tomorrow (April 6) or the next day at the very latest, so [need answer fast!].

Pursuant to Illinois state statute 765 ILCS 710 entitled the Security Deposit Return Act, within 30 days of my move-out date I, the tenant, was entitled to receive an itemized list of monetary damages deducted from my security deposit of $450, as well as copies of receipts proving you, the landlord, spent the money. Along with this documentation, I was to receive a check for the amount of the deposit, less said damages. I made this clear in an email to you dated March 7, 2011.

My move-out date was March 6, 2011, and the 30-day requirement was not fulfilled by April 5, 2011. I have not been provided with an itemized list of damages, nor have I received any portion of my security deposit. In fact I have received no communication of any kind since an email sent from you on March 8, 2011, in which you stated, “You can expect to hear from me through mail correspondence within the next 30 days.” You made clear, in an email dated March 7, 2011, that you have a thorough understanding of Illinois tenant law when you stated, “If you think that I dont[sic] know the law then you are mistaken. I will provide you an itemized list and reciepts[sic].” And again in an email dated March 8, 2011, “$450.00 may be a lot of money to you but its[sic] chump change to me, so you can bet that I will do everything the correct way.”

Pursuant to the aforementioned statute, and per our email communications in which you repeatedly claimed full understanding of the law, the full deposit amount of $450 must be received by me, via mail, no later than April 20, 2011. Failure to return said deposit will result in legal action.

If you fail to comply with this demand, the statute states (bolding mine), “Upon a finding by a circuit court that a lessor has refused to supply the itemized statement required by this Section, or has supplied such statement in bad faith, and has failed or refused to return the amount of the security deposit due within the time limits provided, the lessor shall be liable for an amount equal to twice the amount of the security deposit due, together with court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.” If this dispute requires me to file a civil suit, I intend to pursue the full amount of damages to which I am entitled, which would be $900 plus court costs and attorney fees.

I look forward to hearing from you by April 20th,
Rachelellogram

66

I won’t comment on the letter, not being a lawyer but as for getting it to her faster, I can see two options, with both of them, I would consult with either your local bar association or the small claims clerk. I’d imagine either of them would give you free advice as to whether or not this would work. My first suggestion would be to send it UPS with signature required. If you send it on Wednesday, it’ll get to her on Thursday (you’re both in Illinois, right). The second, and I don’t know if this is even doable, would be to have a sheriff’s deputy ‘serve’ it to her, but even if they could to that, you’d be looking at $50-$100 to do that.
Of course, the courts may very well require that you use the USPS so this might all be moot anyways.

Also, something else to remember, she doesn’t have to sign for it. Typically, in these matters, you only have to prove that you attempted to send it (to her last known address). If she ignores the knock at the door, isn’t home or just plain refuses it, you just need to keep it all in tact and hand it over to the judge when he asks for proof that you mailed it to her…at least this is the case in my jurisdiction when I have to send a registered letter to attempt to collect for bounced checks. Of course they refuse the letter when they see my store’s name on the return address, but it doesn’t matter. I just need to show that I attempted to take care of it outside of the court system first.

One more thing, now that I think about it, when I would send something registered/signature required it was usually about a week and half before I got the signature card back, longer if they didn’t sign it because the mailman would make three attempts.

67

I just re-read that letter part, and I think someone else will probably back me up on this, but I would drop all the I said/you said stuff. It comes off as childish. Just limit it to the stuff a judge is going to give a shit about. He’s not going to care the she called $450 chump change or that she forget the apostrophe in “dont” Also, personally, I would leave out the part about the legal action*.
Maybe something closer to

*I’d leave out the “I’ll take you to court” stuff only because of something I heard once that if you say “Give me the money or I’ll take you to court” can be considered extortion. Now, don’t get me wrong, I really don’t believe it, and I tend not to listen to what I considered to be old wive’s tales. But it’s easy enough to just leave it out and take them to court. Of course, you’re welcome to leave it in. Part of it is deciding how you think she’ll react to it and what you want to do. Would you rather threaten her with court and get your $450, or do you want to leave it out, have her mail you $120 with some receipts and get to take her to court for $780 + costs because she was expecting you to bend over?

Personally, what I think is going to happen…I think she mailed you the $450 (or the $450 less the damages with a list of things she took money out for) today by registered mail. It’s postmarked with today’s date and she wants the signature card back showing that she mailed it on the 5th and you received it. I think you’ll have it in your hands in the next few days.

68

Thank you for the advice! I would really like to know whether the check had to be postmarked by yesterday, or received by yesterday. The only thing is that I can’t risk putting off sending the registered letter too long because it might not get to her by the 20th if I do. I’d rather they cross paths in the mail than not send it.

I would rather get the $450 than take it to court and get $900, which is why I put the legal action part in. A court date means I have to take a PTO day off work and see her again, which is all an extreme anxiety trigger. I’d prefer to avoid seeing her ever again.

69

I just ran across a random post on the internet saying that in California the Landlord can mail the check on the last date. If you want to mail your letter, go ahead. You can always send another one later or just take her to court based on what show up in the mail, but I’m going to stick with what I said above, that she probably put it in the mail at the last possible minute and that you’ll get the (well, a) check today or tomorrow.

70

The statute requires you to send it registered. So, you send it registered. Here’s the rub: you also send a copy via ordinary first class mail. That way, even if she doesn’t sign for the registered copy, she can’t claim that you didn’t notify her.

Make copies of the envelopes, as well as the letter itself. If you have access to a mail metering machine at work, so much the better - you can postmark it and then copy it.

71

At that point, you might as well send it via email also. But IME, she doesn’t have to receive it, you just have to prove that you attempted to send it to her last known address. Even if she refused it or ignored the mailman, that is, she can prove that didn’t get it, that’s still good enough.

One more thing to remember, and this goes back to what I was saying earlier about leaving out the I said/you said stuff. Remember, she knows what she’s supposed to do, she knows the law. She’s well aware of what’s already transpired between the two of you. At this point you are writing things intended for a judge to see. The judge is interested in things like you not getting your check by a certain date, or your check being shorted by X amount without the proper receipts etc…He’s not going to care about the drama. All he wants to be able to do is say “Ms Landlord, you have been a landlord for a long time, you know you have to return the deposit within 30 days, Rachel clearly tried to get this matter taken care of outside the court system, I’m awarding her court costs in addition to $____”

ETA, you might want to add on that all future correspondence takes place in writing and from here on (don’t write this part, just do it) don’t take any calls from her. If she calls and you do pick up the phone, when you realize it’s her just say “What ever you need to say you need to put in writing and mail (email?) to me”

72

Sure, but the point is that the OP wants her money back, and sending the letter certified- and regular-mail is the best way to ensure the landlord gets it (and hence hopefully just sends her the damn check).

73

I realized it after I posted that it came off snarky, I meant send it as an email also so that in addition to the registered mail, she get’s a copy right now instead of in a few days.

74

The problem with e-mail is that most courts do not consider it to be proper service (where notice is at issue) unless the recipient has agreed that it is an acceptable medium of service.

75

I mean email in addition to registered mail. Registered mail for proof, email so she get’s it right now so if this letter were to somehow make her say “Ya know what, Rachel’s right, I’m gonna send her $900 right now” she’d have the letter a few days sooner and Rachel would have her money a few days sooner.

76

I’m of two minds here.

You’re under no obligation to inform your landlady she’s in violation of the law on this point - it’s her responsibility to know the rules. Screw the letter and the hassle, wait until the 21st of April and file a small claims claim.

However, that’s also a pain in the ass and even if you do win and get the award it doesn’t mean you can collect it. If you file a lien against her property you don’t get paid until she sells and if she’s upside down I suspect (but don’t know for sure) that her mortgage lender gets the first kick at the can, possibly leaving nothing for you.

I think I would wait a couple of days and see if a cheque/package arrives from her. If not, ship that mother-fucker off about 10 different ways. Registered, regular 1st class mail and I would have a friend slip a 3rd copy in her mail-box or under her door. Finally, I would e-mail her saying that all 3 copies are enroute so look out for them.

Then, if you hear nothing after the 21st, sue her anyway.

Regarding the body of the letter - I agree with Joey P - take out the ‘She said, I said’ stuff - just the facts, ma’am.

77

Thanks Alice!

Is filing a property lien the only way to collect a court judgment? She bought the house with the intention of staying there for the rest of her life so I would rather go another route if shit goes from worse to worst. And wouldn’t non-payment of a judgment hurt her credit rating?

78

Hmm - you MAY be able to hire a collection agency, but I think they work pennies on the dollar meaning they’ll get you your money but their cut will be so much you may as well not bother.

I believe that you can file a lien against ANY property she owns, including her car if she has one.

If she’s somewhat with it and has a job and owns property you should be able to get your money eventually - I think it’s a pain in the butt though.

79

Here’s a link that looks somewhat helpful:

http://www.law.siu.edu/selfhelp/info/court/collect.pdf

Warning, it’s a PDF, from 1998 and in Comic Sans Serif but the info looked reasonable.

80

When you go to fill out the small claims paperwork, they should give you a pamphlet on different ways to collect your money.

Many years ago, I took someone to small claims and won. He paid me by check the next day and we both went our separate ways. Fast forward many many years later and I got a call from him out of the blue saying he needed me to fill something out saying that he satisfied the judgment. At the time I didn’t know I needed to let the courts know that he had paid me. After he called me I did it right away.
It was kind of nice to know that even with me doing nothing whatsoever to attempt to collect this money, the judgment still stood between him and a new house. If he had never made good on the judgment, that would have been when I finally would have seen my money (hopefully).