Posted by eric on April 07, 2004 at 15:44:33:
You should sue him for the balance due. If it is under the amount for small claims court, just do it there. It is cheaper and faster. Once you receive a judgement, you can enforce that judgement in the form of a lien if the tenant owns any property. Also, you can get it on his credit report as an outstanding judgement. You need to go through the proper steps.
I’m not familiar with SC law, but many states have specific laws as to what a lanlord can and cannot do with the deposit. Some states require the landlord to provide to the tenant in writing within a certain number of days as to the amount of the deposit they are keeping and an accounting of why. Oherwise, the tenant can force you to return the deposit. In cases like this, most tenants who breach their lease don’t have the guts to enforce that.
Keep in mind, that you are required to mitigate your damages by re-renting the property (or actively trying to). You will only be entitled to the difference between what you would have received over the term of the lease with the breaching tenant and what you received from the new tenant. You can’t double dip.