Landlord Question and Answer Forum

My Tenant's lease ends 3/31. Their rent was partially paid by DSS on the 1st. The Tenant said they didn't have money to pay and to evict them and they would get DSS to pay their rent. I waited until it was overdue and issued a 3 day pay or quit notice on the 7th. Tomorrow (the 14th ) I was going to the courthouse to file the notice of petition and petition to evict. I contacted them today and the tenant told me they moved out on the 12th and have mailed me the keys since they had changed the locks and my keys no longer work. And they insist that they don't have to pay the full amount of rent for the month because they were given a 3 day notice and are no longer there . Are they responsible for the whole month or a prorated amount to the 12th? Also the tenant had been repeatedly texting me and demanding the full security deposit back immediately. I haven't even inspected the place yet since I just found out they moved out today. What is a reasonable amount of time in NY to return a security deposit? 30 days? Can I deduct the remaining balance of the rent and late fees as well as any necessary repairs from this? One more thing, the Security Deposit was initially paid to me by Catholic Charities and I received a 1099 misc rental income statement from them and had to claim as income on taxes. Should this even be returned to the tenant? or does it go back to Catholic Charities? or not at all?

update. I live about an hour away and since I did not receive the keys yet I decided to take the trip and go check out the property before going to the courthouse. It had lots of garbage and debris at both the front and back doors and curtains drawn on all doors and windows. I cannot tell if they have completely vacated yet. I went ahead and filed for the notice of petition and petition and received a court date of 3/24. I had someone serve the papers by posting and certified mailing since no one answers. If I do receive the keys in the next few days should I still go to court before entering the apartment? or is it ok to go in and inspect the condition of the apartment?

Posted by Laurie S, NY on Friday, March 14, 2014