My landlord and I had a good relationship, or so I thought. I had rented a shop space from him for my business.
Everything seemed to be going well until one day when I was late to pay him the shop’s electricity bills.
He wanted to eat my whole $5,000 deposit
My landlord was furious because of this and he demanded that I pay him the full deposit of $5000 that I had given him at the start of the lease.
I was shocked and appalled by the amount he was demanding. I had done everything I could to ensure that all the bills were paid on time and I had been punctual with all of my payments.
I mean it was an honest mistake, just a day late in payment because we overlooked it and he wanted to do this. I had no idea why he was asking for the full deposit back.
When I tried to explain to him that I had done my best to pay the bills on time, he wouldn’t listen.
He kept insisting on the full deposit and said that if I didn’t pay him, he would evict me from the shop. I was devastated and I knew I couldn’t afford to lose the shop.
I pleaded with him and finally he agreed to lower the amount to $3000. But it was still unreasonable and I was still in shock.
It was totally unfair to be demanding this kind of money just because I was late.
It was then I realised that maybe he was a ‘black’ shop owner but I had already signed the lease for two years and should I want to leave earlier, my deposit would be forfeited anyway.
I am at a loss of what to do.