My house was recently broken into on October 18,2009 and on October 20,2009. The thieves broke out 2 windows. on October 21,2009 I moved out. I am on a month to month lease. I moved in on September 25, 2009 so my month is not even over with. Now the landlord is saying that I am responsible for the broken windows and he is keeping my deposit. Is this legal, is he entitled to keep my deposit.
No. If these damages are a result of vandalism or robbery and you filed a police report, you are not responsible for these damages. Additionally, this incident should not affect your deposit because the damages resulted from someone other than yourself (the tenant). If the Landlord refused these repairs, this is cause to break the lease because dwelling is not safe or secure and the Landlord is aware of these unsafe conditions.
Marsha Dixon
Adroit Legal Services, Inc.
1901 Northeast. 54th
Oklahoma City, OK 73111