My boyfriend and I rented an apartment with JRA Investment Group in Baltimore, MD on June 1, 2013. Upon move-in, the apartment was a mess; caked on grease and rodent feces in the kitchen, dirt on the windowsills and mantles etc. This was AFTER the landlord (JRA) hired a "reputable" cleaning service. Regardless, we just finished the cleaning ourselves because we wanted to settle in.
After around a month of tenancy, issues arose back home in Illinois for me, so for personal reasons my boyfriend and I came to the decision to move to Illinois. We notified the landlord 30 days prior of our decision to break the lease and vacate on August 1 and he informed us that our only duty was to find a new tenant. We immediately posted an ad on Craigslist, Reddit and spread the word through friends; we showed the apartment to 10-15 potential new tenants. A couple from Chicago, who sent their friends to view the apartment on their behalf, decided to apply. They passed the credit check and gave a deposit to the landlord, securing the apartment. Both the landlord and the new tenant communicated to us, through email, of the approval and that we were in the clear to take the posting down. I should also add that during this whole process the landlord was extremely difficult to reach and often went 3-5 days before responding to an email or phone call which was frustrating and unprofessional, to say the least.
Come move out day, JRA informs us it had "slipped their mind" to come for the move-out inspection, as we had previously scheduled for that morning, and we were informed to just leave the keys on the counter and that as long as the apartment was clean (it was) we would receive our security deposit by mail within 45 days.
The next day, after arriving in Illinois, we receive an email from the landlord informing us that after the walk-through with the new tenants (who had seen over 15 photos of the apartment as well as a video that their friends had taken) the couple had decided the apartment wasn't what they imagined and would not be signing the lease and moving in that day as planned. I just want to emphasize that this decision was not based on cleanliness, but only because of some apparent confusion on their end. The landlord then told us that we would be held responsible for paying rent until a new tenant was found and that our security deposit would not be returned, as they were keeping it in place of rent for that month. They had not only previously stated to us that we were in the clear and that the responsibility of the unit had shifted to the new tenant but they even had turned down other applicants who were interested in the unit. If anyone should've been responsible for finding a new tenant, it should've been the couple who had put down a deposit to secure the unit and, therefore, assumed responsibility from that point forward, not us.
Maryland tenant law states that a security deposit can not be retained based on anything but PHYSICAL damages to the unit and in the case that it is retained, a letter stating the reason must be sent to the former tenant within 45 days. The 45-day mark has come and gone with no letter and we've tried working with JRA multiple times to resolve this issue but they refuse to cooperate. We even sent a demand letter citing the specific clause in tenant law pertaining to this case but they still will not admit responsibility for their negligence.
Neither my boyfriend or I have the time or finances to hire an attorney and take off work to travel to Baltimore for small claims court, so at this point all we can do is move on and cut our losses. But we both felt that it was important to warn others against renting from JRA Investment Group - not only based on their difficult, unprofessional nature but also their noncompliance with the law. We have been sick with stress ever since moving out and really disappointed in the company and the events that have transpired since then. A little humanity goes a long way and we're just sad to have experienced what being completely taken advantage of feels like. So please, save yourself the stress and rent from a law-abiding landlord. read more
