We are having a problem recovering our rent deposit from the brother of the house owner who lives in the States.
We vacated the house in August andadvised thebrother that he could reduce our deposit by the amount of the rent that was due. He agreed, as did the owner. It has now been 2 months since we vacated thehouse. We left it in as good a shape as when we moved in. We lived there for 4 years, oid our rent on time, kept up the exterior and interior paint as if the house was our own.
Now, the brother will not answer phone calls, nor return messages left on his voice mail. His sister, the owner, is difficult to contact since she lives in the States. At last contact, she promised to have her brother contact us regarding the amount owed us, but have not heard from him.
Question is, do we have a legal recourse, or some legal method of recovering the remainder of the deposit?
I know the stateside solution would be "Small Claims Court", but is there such a thing here, and are they effective?
Can we have the brother arrested andcharged with anything? My boys have an uncle who is on the local police force. Would coercion from him help?
Suggestions/answers, please.
Just hate to take matters into my own hands and use forceful, or other methods to resolve the matter.
Texas Bill
We vacated the house in August andadvised thebrother that he could reduce our deposit by the amount of the rent that was due. He agreed, as did the owner. It has now been 2 months since we vacated thehouse. We left it in as good a shape as when we moved in. We lived there for 4 years, oid our rent on time, kept up the exterior and interior paint as if the house was our own.
Now, the brother will not answer phone calls, nor return messages left on his voice mail. His sister, the owner, is difficult to contact since she lives in the States. At last contact, she promised to have her brother contact us regarding the amount owed us, but have not heard from him.
Question is, do we have a legal recourse, or some legal method of recovering the remainder of the deposit?
I know the stateside solution would be "Small Claims Court", but is there such a thing here, and are they effective?
Can we have the brother arrested andcharged with anything? My boys have an uncle who is on the local police force. Would coercion from him help?
Suggestions/answers, please.
Just hate to take matters into my own hands and use forceful, or other methods to resolve the matter.
Texas Bill