Landlord has not returned deposit check within 30 day time?
I rented an apartment in Canonsburg, Pa and put up with flooding, heating issues, and lack of maintenance problems for the entire year of my lease, but I sucked it up. My lease ended on the 30 of April 2010. I went into the landlord’s office on the 29th with my keys and information regarding where to send the deposit check. I had her write it down, read it back to me, and watched her place it in my file. Two weeks later I was informed by an old neighbor that new tenants had moved in. I call my landlord 6 times and left messages to see where we were in the process of getting my deposit back. The constant calling was the only way I got anything done with them. I left messages repeatedly and received no response back. On the 24th of May I sent a letter stating my concerns and continued calling daily for the next week. I finally got an answer by calling from my friend’s phone on the 6th of June. I was informed that “the check was cut” on the 28th of April. (I believe this to be a lie as it doesn’t take two weeks for a letter to travel 2 1/2 hrs from Pittsburgh to Greensburg PA)

I was counseled by a friend that it is PA law that the landlord get the deposit in full or in part back to me with a list of damages, if any, within 30 days or they pay double. I called and left a message to this fact. I was informed by the landlord today (the 10 of June) that cutting the check was all she had to do and it was in the mail. I asked if it would be possible to void the check as it appeared ot be lost in the system and I could use my time and gas expense to drive to pick up a new one. She responded she would not void the check until it came out of the postal service to her or me. This might never happen.

I have filed a formal complaint with the Attorney General of PA’s bureau of consumer protection office. And I have informed my Landlord I have taken action.

I was unable to pay my bills on time due to this and if by law I am owed then I think this is right.

My real question is. . . Is there anything else I should do at this point? And has anyone else been through this.

PS I am watching for the check still in the mail and even if it does show up I will be documenting the time, date, and also take pictures of the post mark on the envelope.

I found out from a listing in my local newspaper that the house im renting is in foreclosure and scheduled for auction May 4, 2010. I have tried to contact the landlord/property manager, with no success. I was able to confront my landlord face to face about the listing and the fact that the bank who holds the loan said that their policies dealing with foreclosure properties are “24 hours notice to vacate”. I was then told by my landlord the bank had made a mistake and everything was corrected, the house was not in foreclosure, and she would try to have someone contact me to provide proof regarding the situation. The landlord-tenant association told me to send a certified letter stating that I am breaking my lease (which i still have 18 months of, not to mention the equivalent of 3 months rent fee for breaking the lease) to my landlord, the reasons why, and to pay a prorated amount of rent from the current due date to May 4th. I also had an attorney tell me to do the same things. The county told me I have approximately 40 days from the date of auction to vacate. Another attorney told me to send a certified letter stating that “i intend to pay rent upon proof of property not being in foreclosure”-except i cannot pay rent, if the landlord actually did get screwed. i decided to be responsible (i have 3 kids and 3 dogs) and make sure that no one could show up at my door and tell me i had to leave, and not be prepared. i rented a storage unit, a uhaul and signed a lease with another landlord. I can pay the prorated amount, but because of having to put down another deposit on another house, i cannot pay the full months rent for the house im currently in. After all this rambling/explanation, how would i state the letters to make sure that what i say is legal, correct and current with todays laws. ugh, advice would be great too.