I see it all the time: landlords fail to return the security deposit, or when they do, they make bogus deductions. (Stay tuned for a blog series on the most ridiculous deductions I've seen landlords make.) You've sent a demand letter and your landlord laughed it off. Now your non-lawyer friends or the Internet are cheering you on, telling you that you should file in small claims court! Massachusetts is really tenant-friendly and you're going to get treble damages! Get you some sweet justice!
Except that's not always the case. People file security deposit cases all the time in small claims court, expecting it'll be an easy win, but sometimes they get the short end of the stick. They might only get the return of the security deposit, or worse—the clerk rules in favor of the landlord and they end up paying more money. Why is that?
Small claims is supposed to be user-friendly and designed for people without attorneys. And most of the time, it is an adequate way to get your claim adjudicated if you can't afford one. But there's a few things you should know about small claims: (1) the clerk magistrate, aka the person presiding over your case, does not have to have a law degree; (2) the security deposit statute is super technical and confusing, and small claims is a general court that does not specialize in this type of thing; and (3) as the plaintiff, you cannot appeal if you receive an adverse judgment.
This means that it is totally possible, if not likely, that you might get someone who doesn't know what they're doing and makes a bad ruling and you can't do anything about it. Ask me how I know! (Once upon a time as a baby attorney, I took a security deposit case in small claims court. Guess who's never doing that again.)
Now you're thinking, well what does that mean for me? I have to pay thousands of dollars to hire a lawyer to pursue my security deposit? Which is probably more than my actual security deposit? That's where contingency representation comes in.
If you hire an attorney working on contingency, they will get paid by the landlord. Period. This is because under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 186, Section 15B, landlords who violate the security deposit law are responsible for your attorney’s fees and court costs.[*]
1. You Don’t Pay Unless You Win
With contingency representation, you don't spend money upfront on an attorney. I've heard from some clients that they spoke with attorneys who quoted starting retainers of $5,000 or more to pursue a security deposit case. If you had that kind of money to throw around, you wouldn't be trying to get your security deposit back, now would you? Our model is different: if we don't recover anything, you don’t owe us anything.
2. You Get Someone Who Understands the Law
Massachusetts security deposit law is super confusing. Landlords have to strictly comply with it, but if you aren't careful, you can get tripped up by an aggressive landlord attorney who's threatening you with a bunch of legal jargon. With a lawyer, you maximize your chances of recovery and ensure that you have an advocate who's willing to go to bat for you.
3. More Convenient Than Small Claims Court
The main thing about small claims court is that you have to show up on the date of the trial with your evidence and present your case. Which is great if you don't have a job, or children to take care of, or just generally have a life. I guess if you really killed it at high school mock trial and regret not going to law school, you might get some joy out of going to small claims.
Most security deposit cases are incredibly straightforward. An attorney might send a demand letter and get the case settled without filing anything. Even if a case gets filed, as long as the attorney shows up to the hearings, you generally don't have to show up. If there's no dispute over the facts, an attorney can file a motion for summary judgment, which means you could win without ever setting foot in the courthouse. It actually can save you time.
4. Helpful If You’ve Moved Out of State
If you’ve moved out of Massachusetts, an attorney can usually handle everything for you. I suspect that sometimes, if you submit your forwarding address and it's out of state, landlords feel emboldened to make all kinds of deductions because they think you're not going to bother to file a small claims case and fly back on the day of the hearing. And most of the time, they're right, but not anymore.
Reach out to a tenant attorney if:
Your landlord hasn’t returned your deposit within 30 days of move-out.
You didn’t get a written, itemized list of deductions signed under the penalty of perjury.
Your landlord deducted for normal “wear and tear.”
You suspect your deposit wasn’t kept in a Massachusetts bank account.
You’ve moved out of state but still want to pursue your claim.
At the Law Office of Lin Wang, we represent Massachusetts tenants in security deposit disputes on a contingency basis. You don’t pay unless we recover for you. Whether you’ve moved out of state, don’t want to go to court, or just want someone to handle everything so you don't have to speak to your landlord ever again, we can help.
Submit our online form today for a free consultation. Let us help you get your deposit back and hold your landlord accountable.
–––
* Most of the time. Like I said, it depends.