II. Plaintiff's Claim for Return of First Month's Rent Payment is Denied
As for plaintiff's claim for the return of her first month's rent payment, that portion of her claim is denied for the following reasons. Plaintiff testified that in April 2019, before entering into the subject lease, plaintiff visited the subject apartment when the prior tenant still lived and had belongings there. It was undisputed that plaintiff paid Empire $1,175 to hold the subject apartment prior to plaintiff receiving approval of her rental application. According to plaintiff, Empire told her that she would only be approved if she paid an additional $3,525 as a security deposit due to her not having good credit. It was undisputed that after plaintiff's application was approved, her $1,175 payment was applied by Empire as her first month's rent payment for June 2019. On May 31, 2019, when plaintiff was given the keys to the apartment, plaintiff testified that was the day she saw the subject apartment empty for the first time.