Alvin Howlett of Lake Worth and Margaret Vatkin of Sunrise have never met each other, but they have something in common. At the end of their renter's lease, both their landlords sent them letters saying they would not get their security deposits back.
"She sent me a certified letter that she was going to keep the money for cleaning and painting material," said Howlett.
"She came back with the letter saying many things were damaged that were already damaged," said Vatkin.
For Alvin, the loss was $600, money he planned to put toward his homeowner association fees for his new house. For Margaret, the $2,200 security deposit was money she needed to help with the down payment and closing costs of her new home. Both were about to become a statistic.
A survey conducted by rent.com reveals 1 in 4 tenants don't get their money back.
"The vast majority of tenants feel when the landlords keep their deposit they cut their losses and walk away because they don't want to deal with the stress or hassle or risk, perceived risks of pursuing it," said attorney Joseph Hughes, with The Law Office of Joseph Hughes P.A.
Alvin and Margaret both searched for help online. A 'How To Get Your Security Deposit Back' advertisement led them to real estate and civil litigation attorney Joseph Hughes in Fort Lauderdale. Hughes only gets paid if he wins your deposit back.
"If you don't do anything about it, it perpetuates that problem. They just do it to somebody else, then you have more victims," said Hughes.
Margaret had a strong case. Hughes recommends you document everything damaged before you move in.
"There was a lot of wear and tear," said Margaret. "Lighting fixtures were broken, I took pictures of that, the floor was broken and the tiles were broken and I took pictures of everything."
Margaret's landlord never did a walk through of the house when she moved in and Hughes said in some counties like Palm Beach, landlords are not required to.
"At the move in the tenant should obviously inspect the property thoroughly, go with a friend so that there's a witness," said Hughes.
When it came to moving out, Margaret took more pictures. She said her landlord sent her a letter itemizing the same damages that already existed at move in. The landlord wanted to keep the $2,200.
"It was very frustrating," added Margaret.
In court, her pictures and text message conversations with her landlord proved the money was being wrongfully withheld. In Alvin's case, he was sure his landlord was going to give him back his $600.
"We cleaned everything to make sure we would not have any issues to get our deposit back," said Alvin.
He took pictures of how he left his Lantana apartment, but shortly after moving out he too received a certified letter from his landlord.
The landlord claimed she was deducting from the security deposit for cleaning and painting materials. Under Florida law, a landlord cannot keep security deposit money for normal wear and tear on the property.
"When we took her to court, we won the case and we still haven't gotten the money," said Alvin.
Alvin won a civil suit against his landlord in February. She had 45 days to pay, but Alvin has not seen any money yet, so I went to her home to find out why. I had the door shut in my face. Alvin said it's not even about the $600 anymore.
"It's about the principle," he said.
Hughes also takes the risk of representing these tenants knowing they might still not get paid if they win.
"This is about holding people accountable for what amounts to stealing," added Hughes.
The biggest take away:
-Do a background check of your landlord
-At move in, do a walk-through of the property with a witness.
-Take pictures and videos and save it on an external drive.
-Document conversations with your landlord throughout your lease
-Take pictures and video again at move out
"Be careful, know who you're renting from," said Alvin. "And if they decide to take your security deposit for no reason, go after them, that's your money."