So many tenants have continued to ask me questions about how to fight a landlord. Even though I try to dissuade tenants from taking this route, I understand where they are coming from. Many landlords have exhibited characters deserving of a fight, whether individual or collective fight. You may be wondering what kind of fight a tenant wants to have with their landlord. It is a fight to preserve one’s dignity, a fight to regain self-confidence, a fight to win over a tenantable accommodation and a fight to prove that a landlord is guilty of tenant-bully.
How to fight a landlord for a deposit
A deposit is any amount that a tenant makes to a landlord or his agents or manager in advance for an apartment or space being let. Rent deposit is common when the apartment or space being paid for isn’t ready for full occupation, the prospective tenant pays an agreed amount in advance as a deposit to indicate interest in the space upon completion.
Now, the issue of fighting a landlord for a deposit comes in if the landlord gives out the property to another person despite someone else’s deposit to secure the property maybe because the second party who finally gets the property offered an amount above the initial person’s.
Upon finding out that the property is no longer available, the first party requests for refund of the initial deposit paid and any possible interest as compensation for the breach of contract. When the landlord refuses or delays in returning the money paid, the concerned tenant can take legal action against the said landlord in a court of law. That’s where “how to fight a landlord in court” comes in.
Mind you, this is not a physical fight, it’s a legal one. In disputing a landlord, original copies of receipts, and any document to show that there was a transaction that is, money exchanged hands should be presented in court as “evidence”. Where no receipt was issued, the plaintiff could present a Bank Statement or Bank Teller and supporting documents to show the final destination of the money transferred or paid as a deposit.
Sometimes it’s advisable to appeal to the landlord for a refund before appearing in court to reduce the stress and expenses that come with court proceedings and time wastage.
It is obvious the person who eventually got the property won over the landlord by inducement or fake promises. It is no longer your business how the transaction faired, recovering the deposit and interest becomes the main interest.
How to Make a Complaint against a Landlord
Making a complaint against a landlord about an unreturned deposit is easily achieved when the tenant or plaintiff engages the services of a good lawyer who issues relevant notices to the landlord and defends the matter in court and a judgment is gotten in favour of the first prospective tenant.
How to deal with a disrespectful landlord
Any landlord who disrespects his tenant is a toxic tenant. The best way to deal with this type of landlord is to avoid the disrespectful landlord while preparing to serve him a court notice.
A deposit not returned within 10 days is unlikely to be returned.
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