My former landlord is harrassing me?

My lease expired and I did not renew. I let my landlord know 3 months prior that I would not be renewing my lease. The landlord and I set a scheduled time to meet and for me to return the keys. When I went to the home to pickup the remainder of my things and return the keys the landlord had begun to move in her stuff in (The home was still in my possession so I was shocked). I had planned on taking pictures and doing a walk thru but with all of her stuff in the way I could not. I was not happy but left her an address to send my deposit. After the required 30 days I requested in writing the return of my security deposit and an itemized list of all deductions if applicable. I knew there were none because I left the home in better condition than I received it, how else could she have moved in before I officially moved out. The landlord is now making up all kinds of reasons why she will not return the security deposit and has left several voice messages where she is using a lot of profanity. She keeps stating that I must return anything taken from the home but will not tell me what was taken from the home (I did not take anything, nothing was included and the house was empty when I rented it). I have asked for an itemized list and she is refusing and telling me if I take her to court she is going say my damages are double what the security deposit was. What should I do? I am new to Texas and have been looking on line but it seems tough. In the state I left there was a court just for landlord/tenant disputes and the procedures was easy to find.|||First, go here and read the info about security deposits-it's about halfway down the page under Tenant Remedies. http://www.rentlaw.com/dep/txdeposit2.ht鈥?/a>





You need to write a demand letter and remind her that she took possession of the premise before the lease was technically up, so the rental must have been in good condition or she couldn't have moved in. Next, tell her that she is also in violation of the Texas Property Code, specifically


搂 92.103 Obligation to Refund, she had 30 days to contact you with the refund or reasons why she deducted money.





Give a time limit for her response, like 10 business days. Tell her if she does not refund your money, you will be forced to seek legal advice. Send this letter certified.





You could hire an attorney. If you win, reasonable attorney fees would be added on, plus you could be awarded three times the amount of your security deposit.





Write a letter that says you're not backing down or going away and she will respond. Good luck to you.|||She's trying to intimidate you but she's bluffing. Accept her challenge and haul her into small claims court where she can try it on the judge.





I think you have a slam dunk.|||Is the landlord living in the state that you left?? or in Texas? This is going to determine jurisdiction. If the landlord lives in the old state, then that state has jurisdiction and those laws are applicable. And if they are tenant friendly, then it works in your favor.





What I would suggest is for you to contact a lawyer who specializes in landlord/tenant disputes. If you can not afford an attorney and you live by a major university that has a law school, contact the legal aid department. Most law schools allow their 3rd year law students to work in legal aid so that they can get some practical experience. They are supervised by a licensed attorney. So, if you don't have a lot of money for a practicing attorney this is a way that you can get some legal advice that is accurate but a lot cheaper and if you just moved, that might be a consideration.





In the meantime, keep all her voice messages and anything you have in writing. Emails are considered admissible in court so keep those also. If you send her letters, make copies and send it certified mail. All of these be used to cast doubts on her crediability especially if you have voice messages or emails where she is irrational, using a lot of profanity and sneering at you, taunting you to take her to court.





I don't know if you brought up court or if she did but I would be willing to bet if she brought up legal action, she has been down that road before and she has done this to other tenants.





Check with city hall and see if they have a "bad landlord" list. My city does. I'm not sure of the actual name but that is what everyone calls it. Report her. Also, file a report with the Better Business Buereua.





My guess is that she will, all of a sudden, come up with the deposit the first time she gets a letter from an attorney. Once you retain an attorney, cease talking to her. If she calls, don't answer. If you do, very firmly tell her that you will *not* discuss the situation with her and for her to direct all communications to your attorney, then immediately hang up. If she emails you, write the same and then make sure you put the attorney's address in the "Cc" line so she knows you are also sending it to the attorney.





The minute she realizes you are going to play hardball and she can't push you around, she is going to come up with the money and if she doesn't, take her to court, get a judgement against her.





Good Luck





Dena