My tenants owes me $760 for cleaning and she vacated the house. How do I get the money back?

Many times, the most appropriate first step towards resolving a problem is to write a request/complaint letter. In general, it should include the following.

1. A concise statement of the problem(s).

2. A chronology of previous attempts to resolve the problem(s) and responses to those attempts.

3. A clear and well-defined statement requesting that the problem be resolved. This should explain the specific course of action requested and a specific time period within which the request must be met.

4. A clear indication as to what will be done if the request is not met within the time specified.

Letters should also include a full name, address, phone number, signature, and date. Always keep a photocopy for your records. When sending out the letter, go to the post office, request a certificate of mailing, and then staple the certificate to your copy of the letter. This certificate proves that the letter was mailed.

If you feel that your former tenant owes you money, the first step is always to contact the other party via a certified letter and request that they pay you the amount you feel is owed. Standard procedure is to give the other party 10 days to respond to the request, after which period a claim may be filed in either Civil or Small Claims Court, depending on the nature of the claim (see below). If the other party refuses to pay before the 10 day period has expired, a claim may be filed immediately.

After you have sent a certified demand letter to the other party and they have either refused to pay verbally or in writing, or have not responded to the letter after 10 days, you may file a claim in small claims court. Be sure to bring a copy of the letter and the mailing recipt with you when you go to the courthouse to file your claim and also to your court date, as these are your evidence of having attempted to get the other party to pay you voluntarily.

To file a claim in small claims court you must pay a filing fee of $15. This fee may be added to the amount of your claim if the court finds in your favor. After paying the fee you will be asked to fill out a few forms to initiate the small claims court process.

If your claim is for damage to personal property or has arisen due to neglegence on the part of the other party or your claim is for more than $3000 but less than $7000, you must file your claim in Civil Court. Procedures for filing a claim in Civil Court are similar to filing in SCC with a few exceptions.

The filing fee for Civil Court is $30 and you may file a claim without first having sent a certified demand letter, although this is still suggested. There is no charge for a counter-claim in Civil Court but there is a $15 answer fee which you must pay regardless of whether or not you have a counter-claim. There is also a $10 judgement fee levied on the prevailing party. However, both the answer fee and judgement fee may be recovered from the losing party. As stated above, the money value limit for Civil Court is $7000. Any claim for more than $7000 must be filed in District Court.

First you must fill out the Complaint form. You will need to know the correct and complete name and street address of the person you are filing against, a post office box is not sufficient. You must have this information so that the other party can be served with an order to appear in court. Also on the Complaint form you will need to state the reasons for filing your claim and the amount of money or the property you want to recover. The clerk at the SCC should be able to help you in filling out the Complaint form but they cannot give you legal advice.

After you have filled out the Complaint form , you must have the other party (the defendant) served with an order to appear in court for the trial. The clerk or judge will set a time and date for the trial when you file your claim. The trial date will be set for sometime from 10 to 40 days after you file. As the Plaintiff, you are responsible for making sure the defendant is served with the order, however, you may not serve the defendant yourself. Most people opt to have the county Sheriff serve the defendant, but you may decide to have a process server or some other disinterested third party perform the service. You should be able to find local process servers in the Yellow Pages. A disinterested third party may serve the defendant if they are at least 18 years of age. If you have the Sheriff serve the defendant, they will require a $30 dollar deposit plus an additional $20 for each additional defendant. The charge for service will vary depending on how many trips the Sheriff must make to serve the defendant and how far away the defendant lives. After the defendant has been served you may get some of your money back or be asked to pay more. Fees for process servers will vary with location. However you decide to have the defendant served, they must receive the summons at least five days prior to the court date.