I know you are not my lawyer.
The condo is in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
I am unemployed, and I really need to get my security deposit back to put done on a new place, also, I need to give the deposits back to my two subtenants. Who can I contact in Chevy Chase, Maryland, Montgomery County, for legal assistance? Details below.
I reached out to a landlord to rent a three bedroom condo. There were red flags, for example, rather than putting both myself and the other two tenants on the lease he had me sign the lease, and my dad co-sign (I know, I should have read the signs).
The two tenants paid their rent to me, and I paid the rent to the landlord. The two tenants paid their security deposits to me, which I paid to the landlord.
One of the roommates felt that there was mold in her unit shortly after moving in. There was a musty smell.My dad moved her bed away from the heater so that air was not being blocked and he sprayed the room with Lysol. The landlord had air quality control come and test the air and apparently there was no mold.
However, it did still bother the roommate.
Fast forward six months and over the holiday break my heating unit burst a pipe. Many of my clothes were ruined, as were my roommates'. The water leak naturally made her even more concerned about mold.
The landlord never did air quality testing in the unit after the leak. There is a clause in the lease that states that if you are unemployed, you can break the lease with a 30-day notice.
I gave proper documentation to break the lease.
Key facts:
For the last month, the roommate lived in the family room because she was concerned about mold in her room.
The condo was a mess, the floorboards needed repairs, and virtually all of the baseboards were removed.
The landlord kept saying that air quality would come and someone would come to fix the floor boards. No one ever did.
The lease states that if you break the lease due to reasons beyond your control (unemployment) that you are liable to pay rent until the landlord finds a new renter or up to one month's rent, whichever is less.
To mitigate my damages, I tried to find new renters. However, when I showed the unit naturally, folks asked about the mold and the floorboards, which I have no answers for.
I moved out on January 28th. I asked the landlord about the results of the walk through. He said that he is keeping the entire secuity deposit because:
1. he has to pay an agent one month's rent to relet the condo
2. he was unable to show the condo because one of the roommates was living in the main room which apparently would make the condo "unshowable"?!
Do I have any defenses? I am most concerned about the roommate who was not living in the family room. At the very least, she should get her deposit back. |
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