Demand Letter to Landlord
You can use this form letter to demand the return of your
application deposit. You can send it to the manager of the
property, the management company, and even the owner of the
property. Hopefully, a landlord will be reasonable and
consider resolving your complaint without further incident.
It is certainly easier, cheaper and faster to work out a
problem without getting the courts involved. But, if the
landlord is stuborn and wants to take you for as much money
as possible you might consider filing suit in justice
court.
Petition for Justice Court
You can use this form for filing suit in justice court,
also called justice of the peace or JP court. If a landlord
improperly keeps your application deposit you are entitled
to: $100, three times the amount of the deposit, attorney
fees and court costs. Justice court has a jurisdictional
limit of $5,000 and is sometimes more friendly to landlords
because JP courts hear evictions in their courts
frequently. But, it is easier to represent yourself in
justice court, cheaper to file the suit and you get to
trial much quicker. The form comes with instructions, but
see Sue Your Landlord to learn how to file
suit and try the case in justice court.