Attorney General James Recovers More Than $123,000 for Plattsburgh Renters Denied Security Deposits

December 13, 2024

NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Letitia James today recovered more than $123,000 for 150 New Yorkers whose security deposits were illegally withheld by a Plattsburgh-area landlord, Thomas Latinville. Latinville owns two real estate companies, 11 Plattsburgh, LLC and 15 Champlain, LLC, which operate 41 rental buildings with approximately 157 rental units located in Clinton County. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that Latinville illegally withheld full or partial security deposits without providing tenants with a written itemized list of deductions, as required by law. As a result of today's agreement, Latinville must return $123,927 to 150 tenants who had their security deposits illegally withheld and pay $100,000 in penalties.

"Security deposits are supposed to be returned when tenants leave an apartment without serious damage, not kept to line landlords' pockets," said Attorney General James. "Thomas Latinville ignored state laws and wrongfully withheld thousands of dollars from hardworking New Yorkers. Today, we are returning that money to the New Yorkers it belongs to and holding Latinville and his companies responsible for their actions. I encourage any New York tenant who has faced similar situations to contact my office."

New York law requires landlords to return security deposits within 14 days after a tenant has vacated a rental unit. New York law also requires landlords operating buildings with six or more units to deposit tenants' security deposits into an interest-bearing account and to provide tenants with an itemized list of any deductions from security deposits within 14 days or else a security deposit must be returned in full. Latinville failed to provide the security deposits or the itemized statements to tenants, and although he claimed that his companies applied security deposits to last month's rent per tenants' requests, he did not provide proof of those requests.

As a result of today's agreement, Latinville will return $123,927 to 150 tenants who left a Latinville rental property between June 14, 2019 and May 31, 2024 and who had some or all of their security deposit withheld. Latinville will contact former tenants about their refund checks and will be required to provide reports to OAG about his companies' compliance with this agreement. Latinville will also train current staff on correct security deposit procedures and will provide annual trainings in the future.

"The Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York (LASNNY) is thrilled to have a partner in New York state Attorney General Letitia James, who is committed to enforcing the rights of tenants created by the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) of 2019 reforms," said Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York Executive Director Nic Rangel. "LASNNY's Housing Justice project works to keep people housed and security deposit requirements are a tremendous barrier for many of our clients. The timely and accurate return of security deposits is crucial to tenants needing to move in order to secure new housing. These funds are rightly the assets of those tenants, and they should not lose their money to unscrupulous landlords for personal profit."

This agreement is part of Attorney General James' ongoing efforts to protect tenants and hold bad landlords accountable for violating the law. In September 2024, Attorney General James and New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas reregulated 263 illegally deregulated apartments throughout New York City, and reduced rents for an additional 43 apartments. In March 2024, Attorney General James reached a $175,000 settlement with Syracuse landlord Todd Hobbs for failing to address lead-based paint hazards at his rental properties, where most tenants were low-income families. In January 2023, she recovered more than $422,000 for hundreds of tenants whose security deposits were illegally withheld by Fairfield Properties on Long Island. In December 2022, Attorney General James barred a Queens property manager from locking tenants out of their homes.

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Allison Mussen and Assistant Attorney General in Charge of the Plattsburgh Regional Office Susan Griskonis. The Division of Regional Affairs is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Jill Faber and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.