Leigh Kamping-Carder

In honor of the Fourth of July, BrickUnderground will be taking a break from posting until Monday morning. Have a safe and enjoyable long weekend!​

When furniture designer Ben Erickson told us about his remarkable living situation in June—he gut renovated the top floor of a Bed-Stuy brownstone in exchange for a $1,000 monthly discount on the rent—we were pretty impressed the arrangement worked out for him.

“We just kind of vibed," he said at the time, referring to his landlord. "We just connected and somehow instinctually knew that we were just going to be friends and everything was going to be cool.”

Q. My ex-landlord has my security deposit and hasn't returned my numerous phone calls and emails. How do I get it back? Will my renter's insurance cover it? Should I go to court?

A. Your best bet is to create a paper trail, both with email and snail mail, and to keep logs of any phone conversations you have with your ex-landlord, our experts say.