I rented an apartment and wanted to break the lease. I lost my job and notified my landlord immediately that I would have to move because I ...

Question

I rented an apartment and wanted to break the lease. I lost my job and notified my landlord immediately that I would have to move because I no longer had the finances. He told me that I would have to keep paying rent until he found someone else to live there. I let him know of my move out date and tried contacting after I moved to see if he could work out a payment schedule with me (since I didn't have any income at the time) but he could not be reached.

I was contacted by his attorney and was told that for one months rent, the landlord would agree to early termination. I paid the one months rent, along with a late fee and attorneys fee in order to receive early termination.

MY QUESTION IS: Can my landlord legally keep my security deposit? I was told by his attorney that I would receive documentation about the early termination, but I have yet to receive that.

Answer

You are negotiating a lease termination. In such cases of course the security deposit will be part of the "mix". Legally? You moved out, abandoned, broke the lease . . . and while the landlord has a duty to "mitigate" meaning he or she should be attempting to relet, you owe damages. While security deposits often are related only to condition, most leases also say they can be applied to past-due rent. So check your lease. Otherwise, the fact that the landlord and/or his/her attorney is willing to work with you is a gift of sorts. Don't screw it up.

Answer

This would be determined by the settlement you worked out. Read the agreement you signed when the matter was resolved. If you only had to pay one month of rent plus your deposit, you got off fairly easily. Unless the agreement says you only had to pay one month of rent, late fee, and attorney fees, you might have an argument that your security deposit was not part of the deal.