UPDATE: small claims won — landlord paid back deposit + bad faith damages

UPDATE on the mold remediation deposit theft thread from a week ago. demand letter went out 4/24 (used the template generator on this site for a draft and added the bad faith citation). landlord's property mgmt company called me 4/29 offering full refund. signed a release this morning. they paid the full $3,200 + $400 "for the inconvenience." total $3,600 vs my potential $6,400 maximum (deposit x 2 for bad faith) but i'll take the win.

thanks everyone for the help. would not have known about the bad faith doubling without this thread. paying it forward.

nicely done. that's the standard arc — calm letter w/ specific statutory citation = property managers fold. they don't want the small claims hearing on their record.

great outcome. and signing the release in exchange for full payment is the right move — settling beats holding out for max damages especially with PM uncertainty.

congrats. this is why i tell every renter friend — DEMAND LETTER FIRST. half the time the landlord folds without a court appearance.