New information about an investigation by ABC11 Troubleshooter into a landlord who is accused of keeping thousands of dollars in security deposits from renters and students at NC State University.
Many of the people who used to rent from Evagelia Eustathiou, who is also known as Lisa, are getting their security payments back.
There was a parent of one of the former renters who said, “It’s not just for my daughter and her roommates; it’s for everyone going forward.” What I thought about in the beginning is much smaller than this. It’s a lot bigger, and I’m so excited.
In the fall of 2018, Mitchell and her daughter Samantha talked to Troubleshooter Diane Wilson about Eustathiou. Several people who used to rent from Eustathiou say she lets out homes that aren’t in good shape and then keeps their money, including thousands of dollars in security deposits, after the lease is over.
“I texted her to ask when we could expect to see our deposit. Sam Mitchell said, “After 30 days, we got a letter in the mail with all the charges.” It cost more than $5,800 all together.
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Charges of more than $20,000 were shown by other renters who spoke to ABC11.
After we looked into it, the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office also looked into Eustathiou. Eustathiou agreed to repay more than $25,000 in security deposits as part of a consent ruling.
The landlord and her business denied all claims that they broke state laws in the consent agreement. They decided to enter the consent judgment because they “wish to resolve this controversy without further proceedings.”
It took a while, but Mitchell’s daughter and her friends finally got their damage deposits back.
“Getting the $800 back was a payment on my student loans.” “Getting that back was very helpful,” Samantha Mitchell said.
“I didn’t know how much it was until I got it back. I feel like she didn’t deserve to keep it.” That’s how it was. My roommate Jenna Stamatov said, “I’m so happy and excited.”
“Thank you so much to my mom for pushing us to fight this and for getting in touch with you and giving us a voice. Because of that, not only would we not have gotten our deposits back, but neither would the previous tenants.” She also said, “Now college students won’t have to deal with this for years to come, and their deposits won’t be taken away for no reason.”
The consent ruling also said that from now on, the landlord can’t take any normal wear and tear out of the security deposits. The owner can’t charge illegal late fees or interest, and the security deposit has to be kept in a trust account.
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