Can a landlord still withhold a deposit if no notice of intent to withhold is given within 30 days?

By Lupa

Can a landlord withhold a deposit if he fails to notify a tenant of his intent to withhold and the required itemized list of what costs the tenant was held responsible for, even after the 30 day period?

CONTEXT: Last year I lived in an apartment with 2 roommates, all of us on different leases.  I fulfilled my individual lease term, notified my landlord of my intent to move when possible and wound up staying in the apartment for an extra 2 months.  The lease permits month to month renting.  I did give my 30 day notice before moving out.  To my knowledge, I did no damage to the property and I always paid my rent on time.  Anytime there was an issue, I immediately informed my landlord and discussed with him what to do.  I arranged repairs for things such as the dish washer, water heater and lock on the door, and billed the landlord (as agreed prior to each repair).  My landlord lived over 100 miles away and never visited the property, even as roommates moved in and out.  There was no walk through or any other visitation between roommates or any other time. 

I moved out of the apartment in October, after giving my landlord 30 days notice.  I never received any notification of intent to withhold my deposit, but never received the deposit either. I mailed him the key with my current return address within 30 days of moving out. I have yet to receive my deposit. I have tried to contact him via e-mail, phone and certified letter. I was panicked and worried that I might need to consider legal action and I e-mailed him telling him this. He finally replied to that, saying he feels my actions cost him multiple times my deposit and he will write me a detailed letter in 2-3 weeks. I’m fairly certain that I have caused no damage and I always paid my rent on time; I have racked my brains thinking of what I could have done to cost him anything. I cleaned the entire apartment, barring my roommates’ rooms, before I left.  I had good rapport with my landlord while in the apartment and I feel he had plenty of opportunities to inform me what actions he found unacceptable. 

I reread the lease and saw that there is NO mention of a deposit.  Was it right for me to pay one?  I can acquire proof I paid a deposit from my bank if needed (I hope it doesn’t go that far).  

 When I moved in, I was rooming with his daughter and a friend of hers. His daughter moved out and I found another roommate (I am aware that since my lease was separate, this was not an obligation and I would have been in the right not to do so because the burden of finding tenants is on the landlord). Then, the daughter’s friend moved out. Then the relatively new roommate moved out and the apartment was empty but for me. I found another roommate, who later let her friend move in. At NO time during these many roommate exchanges did the landlord do a walk through, or otherwise visit the property. This is why I doubt that he has been in the apartment since I left.

QUESTIONS:

1) For what reasons can a landlord in SC withhold a deposit?

2) What if the deposit isn’t mentioned in the lease?

3) Is he still entitled to keep the deposit, considering he was provided my address within 30 days of my move and he failed to send me a letter within 30 days?

4) What happens if someone (or anyone) does not respond to a certified letter within 30 days?  I know it "holds up in court," but how?  Is it evidence of guilt, ill will or what?

5)My landlord was absentee, having never visited the apartment (even as others moved in and out) and cannot know if damage had been done or what damage (if any) would have been caused by me or someone else. Is there a way he could know?

6) How much would suing cost me?  (Even if I could get 3x the owed amount, I want to know)

7) With separate leases like this, how would a landlord determine who to fault for damages, if they were to occur?

8) What are a SC tenants rights in such cases?

9) What exactly is ill will and how does one prove ill will?

My thoughts: He’s probably not seen the apartment and I made repairing things and finding tenants very easy by doing everything for him.  I do not regret or begrudge him this, as I volunteered and he was very nice to me.  His e-mail mentioned something about my room not being rented yet and having to pay 1000 dollars in fees.  I surely hope he’s not trying to pin me for the lack of roommate, as the lease says nothing about finding a replacement and my term was over anyway.  He was so nice!  I’m so confused as to why he suddenly thinks I’ve cost him multiple times my deposit!  I did not breach the lease agreement or cause physical damage to the property.  The only damage in the apartment was a broken doorstop when I moved in,  I told him about it and he told me to write it on the back of my lease. 

Please help!  I have read the SC tenent/landlord act online and there is no clear answer for me.  There is no mention of the failure to meet the 30 day deadline.

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