Getting back deposit

By Ana

Please advise if there is any action I can take against my former landlord for not giving me back half of my deposit in this situation:

I have been living in the apartment and renewed the lease in March for another year, however i the beginning of June I was offered a spot in a masters program abroad and accepted. I notified my landlord right away, 2.5 months ahead of actually moving out and told him I was willing to do anything to help him find a replacement and get my deposit back, I offered to sublease or advertise the place, etc. He said it was "fine" that I gave enough notice and he should be able to find something. Throughout the 2.5 months I asked him how it was going and if I needed to do anything he kept saying it was fine. On the day I was moving out I showed him my apartment, which I cleaned and made look perfect to get my deposit back and only then for the first time he said he will not give me back my deposit until someone moves into the apartment as is. He did not communicate this to me at any point before, however I do not have anything in writing stating otherwise either…. As soon as I found this out I posted an ad and got a ton of interest in the apartment and people willing to sign the lease right away however he seemed to turn them away on purpose until finally someone started the lease from September 13. If he prorated my deposit for these 13 days I should get nearly 60% back but he returned 50% with zero explanation. I feel that I had the right to the full deposit back because he did not communicate any of this to me throughout the process and definitely did not make any attempt to find another tenant nor let me know when I asked him directly multiple times whether I needed to look myself.

Please advise… I think this is very unfair and he shouldn’t get away with just taking advantage of renters like this.

Ana

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