deposit

[htpalmer]

hello there...
i am going to court on a "consumer transaction" claim by my former landlord.
suffice it to say he is justified for i do owe him the last two months rent. as it is he is seeking "action to recovermonies arising out of nonpayment of rent."
is it possible that i can pay him the last months rent and forfeit my security deposit?
my landlord has a pernicious past of withholding deposits(he is actually a disbarred lawyer)and claiming damages to whittle down the security deposit.
do i have any rights here?
thanx.........

[Aubergine]

You are being taken to Civil Court, not Housing Court, right?

Yes, if you show that the LL had a security deposit from you, you can get the unpaid rent set off against the deposit. You might also add to your answer a counterclaim for conversion of your security deposit, based on the LL's failure to keep it in a separate bank account in trust for you and notify you of the name and address of the bank. When a LL does that, it forfeits the right to use any part of the security deposit, even if the tenant is in breach of the lease. If for some reason the LL drops its lawsuit against you, you can continue to seek a refund of the deposit based on the LL's conversion; your breach of the lease is not a defense to that claim.

[Anna]

Did you browse down just a little in Housing Court forum? did you read this?:
http://www.tenant.net/.WWW/ubbgraphics/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=000163

[GumbyTenant]

The Attorney Generals office has a division that assists tenants with security deposit issues
phone number 1-800-771-7755 There is also a 2 page info sheet that describes
"recovering security deposit and interest". try the link below. Its a pdf file so you will need Adobe Acrobat too be able to view it.
http://www.oag.state.ny.us/consumer/housing/Rent%20Security%20Fact%20Sheet%2009-27-05.pdf

<small>[ October 30, 2005, 04:55 PM: Message edited by: GumbyTenant ]</small>