This happened to my roommates and I just after college. One of my roommates took it really personally, and for the next three or four years, signed up our ex-landlord for various subscriptions like "judo weekly" and "NAMBLA today" every other month or so.

@Joe_Bloe: Ahhh, the annoyance of sweet sweet revenge....

@Joe_Bloe: That sounds like the 2 guys that I saw at the bank 2 months back cashing their paychecks and getting a couple stacks of $1 bills. When the teller asked them why they wanted so many small bills, their response was "We have a disagreement with our landlord"

This happened to me last may. I had a lawyer friend get on the phone with me and the landlord. "It's been in the mail for a week" he says. I tell him it's in my hands in 48 hours or he's being served with papers. I had it overnighted.

The blurb about what to do if you get food poisoning would have been helpful a few years ago...my wife actually managed to salvage the very piece of raw chicken that caused the entire mess from the, um, rejected food matter, and even that didn't sway the restaurant - the most they offered was to comp the meal.

I had a friend who went through this after rending in a completely new location for an internship he was doing. The guy refused to return his money because he claimed he hadn't gotten the apartment keys, yet my friend had send them signed and insured, which means he knows the guy got them. Of course, since he's now 3000 miles away, it's pretty difficult to do anything about it besides mail or court.

At the same time, my family owns a few small apartments, and we've had renters who have painted the place insane colors (why do you need your bathroom to be hot pink from floor to ceiling for the three months you decide to stay?), or left holes in the walls, and then expect their full deposit back. My grandfather usually gives it to them, and ends up paying to repaint and clean up out of pocket.

Renting can be a nightmare, really, on both ends.

Showing up at your land lord's office and filing a claim at your local court sounds good and all, but what are people to do when they are actually moving out of town? Are people who move a couple thousand miles away screwed?

In Maryland, the Landlord has 45 days within which to return the security deposit. If they withhold any part, they are required to itemize in writing the amount withheld (this, too, must be done within the 45 days).

If the Landlord fails to return the security deposit, or fails to itemize in writing any amount that is withheld, the Landlord forfeits the right to withhold any portion of the security deposit and the tenant can sue for up to 3 times the amount withheld plus attorneys' fees.

Also, in Maryland, the Landlord is required to hold your security deposit in an escrow account and pay interest of 3% (I think) per year.

Once the Landlord has missed his 45 day timeline, I send a letter laying out the law and his failure to comply. I then give him 10 days (or some reasonable time) to return the entire portion or I will file a lawsuit seeking 3x damages plus attorneys' fees.

They usually pay up then.

Find out if there is a tenant-landlord code in your area. I had this happen to me in Delaware and I found out they have two weeks to give you an itemized list of charges. If not in two weeks, you are entitled to a full refund. Regardless you have to have your deposit back in 30 days. If not, you were to get double the deposit back.

So I inquired a few times, then at 31 days I filed in small claims court. The landlord then called me and offered to give me a check right then. I said "Sorry, had your chance, I'll see you in court."

I showed up and landlord rep (from a large complex) was there, walked up to court counter, person behind counter said "Oh wow, this is a switch, you're a defendant this time."

Landlord again tried to give me a check. I said unless she had double the amount, I don't want it.

I walked in (no lawyer), told the judge my side of the story, referenced the part of the Delaware tenant-landlord code, gave him a copy of it even. Landlord's rep said she mailed the check, it must have gotten lost.

Judge then says the law says the tenant must receive it in 30 days. It's up to the landlord to ensure the tenant gets it in time. He then ruled in my favor for double the deposit plus court costs. Then asked the landlord's rep if she was going to pay me right then and there. She said she didn't have another check. Judge then said she had three days to get it to me else she'd be held in contempt and spend three days in jail.

I had the check the next day!

"Send biweekly letters to your landlord and save any written or voice-mail responses. After a few months, show up at her office and ask for proof of any damage and repair costs."

Not the best advice. Assuming that you are renting with a signed lease, make sure you document the state of the unit at checkout, walking through with the landlord. Your lease should specify how long the landlord has to return the deposit, based on local laws. If you don't have the check at the end of that period, send a request via registered mail demanding either the check immediately or an itemized list of deductions. If you still don't have anything back after a reasonable period (Id give them 2 weeks), take them to court. Based on a typical security deposit, most should be eligible for small claims or a landlord-tenant court if your jurisdiction has one.

WHy on earth would you give the landlord months??

ok, in regards to the one about getting hit by a car - what do you do when the driver runs off... (happened to my friends the other day, and the cops wouldn't do anything because the guys got into another car and they only could see the second cars license plate, which was out of state)
also - this is DC, not NY

@weave: To quote the Partridge Family, "I think I love you!"

Thanks from all of us.

@Joe_Bloe: That's funny. Usually I don't pay more than 200 bucks for a deposit.

My old apartment charged an extra deposit for having cats. We ended up with 3 cats, so paid $300 extra deposit for them.

When we moved out, they told us that it was a fee, and not a deposit. Sure enough, in the lease it mentions this as a deposit, and not a lease.

We're still trying to straighten it out. :(

@Shadowfire: Not a fee, you mean?

@Shadowfire: Good thing you still have the lease. That'll be valuable in court.

Good luck!

The place I live, it's in our contract that you don't get your deposit back. The full amount is used for cleaning and other fees to refit the apartment for a new tenant.

Same thing happened to me, through the local real estate association I was able to find the landlord-tenant laws for my area. Armed with that I sent my landlord an email stating exactly how what he was doing was illegal and where he could see it for himself, and that at the end of the week I was going to file a small claims case against him for the amount of the deposit PLUS my court costs. I also had taken photos of the condition of the place before I moved anything in.

Anyway I got a frantic phone call the next day and my deposit back the day after that

@TechnoDestructo: Yes, not a fee. Crosseyed from studying for my final tomorrow. :P

In the State (excuse me, "Commonwealth") of Massachusetts, it is a violation of the law to charge a tenant more than the following at move-in:

1. First month's rent
2. Last month's rent
3. One month's security deposit
4. A reasonable fee to have a new lock installed and keys made.*

*If they charge you this, you should be damned sure that they actually follow through and have a new lock installed. Ask for receipts to make sure you aren't being jerked around on the cost. Note also that there's no such thing as a "key deposit;" attempting to collect and hold such a "deposit" is a big no-no.

In many cases you can get treble damages for violations.

[www.mass.gov]

What do you do if your landlord sends you itemized deductions...and they're outrageous? I had an apartment a few years ago in Arizona, I cleaned it before I moved out (excepting the stove and fridge--which I simply didn't have time to get to.)

I expected to get most of my deposit back...instead they sent me a bill. They had a list of deductions--the ones that stuck out at me most were $5 to clean the top of each door. Yes, $5 to run a rag and collect the dust on top of the door--that takes what, 2 seconds? And for each door! I think there was three total (front, bed, bath.)

They never succeeded in getting the money out of me, but I didn't think I could do anything to get my money from them, since I didn't take pics of the place and couldn't prove I'd left it in good condition. Still, you would think I could have contested the pricing at any rate. I realize it's way too late now, but what should I have done?

I hope you don't live in CA because there is no such thing as non-refundable security deposit even if you sign a lease saying as much. You should really get your money back.

@starrytrekchic: IANAL, but I'm pretty sure that in most jurisdictions they can only charge you for damage beyond normal wear-and-tear. Dust on the top of the door is not beyond normal wear-and-tear, and you could make a strong argument that it doesn't really fall under the umbrella of leaving the place in livable condition. So charging a cleaning fee would be unreasonable.

Even so, I'd imagine they'd be hard-pressed to demonstrate that $5 per door surface is the going market rate in your area.

we own a property up in Raleigh, and our tenant moved out last week, so we went up to clean up last weekend -
the previous tenant absolutely destroyed the linoleum floors - several tears and shoddy patchwork all over the place.

i don't know what the hell they were doing on the walls, but there was a dark grey "haze" all over the walls at about 3-4 feet high

there are about a dozen ceiling light fixtures in that house, and more than 75% of the bulbs were burnt out. we've had this issue every time a tenant moves out - how do you live like that, with so little light?

they left a ton of trash, which isn't too unusual, but the thing that really bugged me was that she decided to replace the lock (knob) on the front door. we didn't have the key to the new lock, just the key for the deadbolt, so we had to break into our own property (credit cards aren't completely worthless)

We went ahead and cleaned out all the trash, replaced blinds, replaced bulbs, replaced knobs and deadbolts, and other various stuff... but there's still roughly $2,000* of work that needs to be done (this tenant lived there for about 5 years)
(*number includes bid for carpet replacement... carpet is 10 years and 3 tenants old, and the latest tenant was a smoker. ew.)

@weave: I will second this. In California it's the same way. 2 weeks to get itemized invoice of charges, if not you have to get your entire deposit back within 2 weeks. Bottom line, know your rights but just as importantly, like weave, be ready to go to court. I was ready to file the papers, I let them know with one week to go via certified letter that I was about to take them to court and viola, 2 days letter I get a check via express mail.

@starrytrekchic: Ugh, from one place I got a $40 charge to remove 2 2-inch pieces of mounting tape (for a wall-mounted shampoo & soap dispenser).

Shit's outrageous. :(

@Gstein: I'd kinda think that 10 year old carpet that's been through three tenants would be somewhat normal wear and tear. There are a number of apartment buildings around here that re-carpet every 5 years.

@Joe_Bloe:

Wow, your buddy was not that bad. I had a friend who was ripped of big time and he did break a large glass window three times, pissed in a old gallon of milk carton for a month then poured in into the air intake vents of the managers car and then burned "slumlord" into in his lawn twice before giving up on the manager.

Visit your local magistrate; in some places you can get three times the amount of your deposit back if your landlord doesn't send it to you within 30 days of you moving out.

If you live in NJ and you rent, remember one simple thing about Tenant Landlord law, You are a Tenant for life according to NJ state. Meaning at no point does your lease ever "expire" it's just a simple formality.

My best advice for both parties is take lots and lots and lots of pictures and document every single thing that happens via Email/Cert. letters. Try to do very little over the phone. Both parties benefit from things being in writing.

Phone calls are never a good idea.

Also remember that if you have something broken in your apartment and you have requested it to be fixed more than once, you may have somebody fix it yourself and deduct that from your payment of the rent provided you gave adequate time for the landlord to respond. If the landlord claims you owe them simply explain that it's the law and if he has a problem take you too court. They'll most likely back off but if they're stupid they'll end up paying all kinds of fees and lose.

This is NJ law BTW not sure about other states. I imagine many have this particular clause though

@AlexDitto: In most states, you can't deduct from the security deposit for 'reasonable wear and tear', such as small dents in the floor and walls, or paint.

You can, however, add an additional clause to your rental contract specifying how, and under what conditions the renter may paint the walls.

Holes in the walls would be beyond regular wear and tear and justifiably carry a deposit deduction.

@Alexander: My friend in California had to deal with an angry landlord who tried to keep a portion of the deposit unlawfully. It was only like $50-100, but the main point was that there was no cause, and the landlord was making up a bogus reason to keep some of the deposit because he was angry at my friend. He stated that since my friend didn't drag the garbage cans to the end of the driveway, he was deducting a fee. California lease laws clearly define what can and can't be used to justify withholding deposit, and unemptied garbage was specifically identified on the 'cannot' list!

My friend had specified that he would 'try' to be out of the apartment by the 27th, but he ended up taking till the end of the month because the closing on his new house took longer than expected. Of course, his lease specified that he had till the end of the month, which he had already paid for. The landlord was hoping to show the property on the 27-28, then do some quick weekend refubishment and have it signed for rental by the 1st of the next month. So basically, because of that lost 'opportunity', the landlord was just bitter.

After several heated exchanges that ended in yelling, my friend filed papers in small claims, as the minimum award in California is like $1500 + unreturned deposit + court fees for this sort of dispute. The landlord, having clearly been sued before, 'returned to sender' the certified letter, thus preventing himself from being served. A couple of us offered to stop by his place pretending to be renters to serve the papers properly, but by then, he decided it would be better for his temperament and blood pressure to just drop the matter

@Shadowfire: In Massachusetts, those kinds of pet fees OR deposits are illegal so you might want to check your local laws. If its unenforcable either way, you'll have an easier time getting a judgement in small claims court.

@Shadowfire: look up your local statutes for allowable deposit withholdings. It will probably have something specifically to cover pets. When you can send the landlord the law, and they can clearly see that they are in the wrong, hopefully they'll take that opportunity to right their ways before you make them explain it to a judge who is well aware of the law, and doesn't like having their time wasted by deadbeat landlords.

@krispykrink: Um, is that even legal? In that case, its not a deposit at all. It's just a fee of some sort. In most states, you can't justify keeping deposits to repair/replace items that experience regular wear and tear, like carpets, walls, paint, etc. These things wear out over time regardless of what you do, and are a sunk cost of owning a rental property.

There are lots of statutes and laws that govern what a deposit can and cannot due in a residential lease, and this seems questionable at best. I don't know how you feel about it (it sounds like you've already accepted it), but I know for a fact that this isn't legal in any state that I've rented an apartment in (Massachusetts, Maine, California).

Landlord-tenant laws vary by state. It takes some searching, but I have been able to find the statues online.

Be sure to complete a checklist when you move *IN* and note any existing damage to your apartment, and give a copy to your landlord. Most properties or landlords will provide one, but if not you can find samples online. Be wary of any lease that says you "accept the premises as-is."

When you move out, you need to provide your landlord, in writing, with the address to which they can send your deposit. If you fail to do this then they might not be liable (check your state's laws).

As mentioned, take pictures when you move out to prove that the apartment is clean and empty. Include a copy of that day's newpaper in the frame to prove the date (save the first page of the newspaper showing the date).

There's a different between the actual cost of any damage (reduction in the value of the property), versus how the landlord chooses to remedy the damage. For example, I was in an apartment once where my dog scratched a hole in the carpet that was about 6 square inches. The property office claimed they needed to recarpet the entire apartment. If you end up in small claims court, be sure to make this distinction.

@Gstein: See, here is the thing. Your tenant isn't liable to replace carpet, blinds, or light bulbs unless the damage was well beyond normal wear and tear. With someone living there for 5 years, MOST of what you're "fixing" is normal wear and tear. You did collect rent for those 5 years. So that's what? 3% of the rent you collected on the property being turned around to improve it to protect your investment? Wow, cry me a river already.

Look, the locks and trash are valid reasons to be upset. Confine yourself to that instead of expecting your tenants to pay what should be YOUR costs. That attitude is what people are complaining about here.

In Quebec, you don't need last months rent or a security deposit. You just pay the upcoming month up front on the first of the month, or the pro-rated amount if you're not moving in on the first. If you don't pay for 3 weeks they can evict you, though.

It is "Mototov" cocktail. The guy it is named after was Russian foreign minister in Stalin times

@Gstein: See, that is the wonderful part of rentals. I am probably a nearly idea tenant. I work as a professional in a very respectable industry, am a VERY neat and clean person, and generally leave places cleaner than I got them. OTOH it is a pain for me to find a landlord that is not a prick. So it really hurts everyone.

Ex: I moved to town six months ago on a Saturday night and had to start working Monday. I had my hotel until Monday night and could not keep it any longer. All the landlords wanted to spend at least 2-3 days (up to two weeks) running credit checks and whatnot and then they would let me know. Amazingly, I went with the first one that was not going to jerk me around. They wanted to do the same but quickly understood that they should make an exception.

@BStu: but blinds shouldn't be torn off the walls.
and i acknowledged that the carpet was normal wear, i just wasn't sure what part of the quote was for carpet

and i just can't believe that they had so many burnt out bulbs in the unit

Check your local law. In NJ, it's the law that the landlord must give you notice with the name and location of the bank holding your deposit as well as the account number (to prove he's not betting your security deposit in AC, perhaps) and if they don't you have a right to send them a letter that you are applying the Security deposit as rent. The law also says that if you do this, they have no right to ask for a security deposit for as long as you are renting the apartment.

N.J.S.A. 46:8-19

In California, if you live in an apartment for 2 or more years, you can't be charged for normal wear and tear. You get your full deposit back, unless you totally destroyed the place.

So if after 2 years, they try to deduct for carpet cleaning (or replacement) or wall repainting, you can threaten to take them to court.

For California residents, here's a site that has info on tenant rights..

[www.megalaw.com]

My sister and her husband's first landlord in Kileen scammed them out of the deposit. Everything they said they damaged was actually on the pre move-in inspection. She went so far as to go to a JAG attorney at Ft Leonard Wood, but never did get a dime of the deposit back.

Mrs. No49 is suing our previous landlords because they didn't do any maintenance on the property and she fell with our newborn daughter in her arms. They say that we left the place filthy. We both know that she was in such physical pain after the fall that trying to keep up with the three kids was impossible. If she took the painkillers that would have let her clean, she couldn't breastfeed. So, instead, she suffered. The management company wanted "vindication" over the "damages" we supposedly caused.

We lost in residential tenancy. No lawyer wanted the case even though we could prove fault. So she's suing in small claims. They didn't show on the first court date. If they don't show on the next one - and they do have a lawyer - she's going to ask for an arbitrary judgement against them. The owners are where the buck stops and she's going to be a pain in their arse until our youngest is 21. Our son got hurt, twice, due to their negligence. And the baby may not ever show her injuries, just the thought that a baby was harmed because they didn't authorize the repairs is disgusting.

@LatherRinseRepeat: In California, it's also typical to pay $1000+ for security deposit, so the wear and tear clause is good... i didn't know that. (Thanks!) I was so paranoid about getting my deposit back at my last residence, that I hired professional cleaners myself.

Well in Washington State I know that the landlord is suppose to return the security deposit in 14 days or a letter explaining why they cant. If they don't, take legal action; that usually gets their attention really fast. Also not to mention security deposits are different than cleaning fees that you sign the in the contract. Most cleaning fees are non-refundable. Know your contract and your rights

www.rottenneighbor.com

I live in Provo Utah. If there is one thing I have learned it is that if there is a property management company involved, you can count on not getting your deposit back no matter what.

The only recourse I have is to make no effort to leave a place clean. If I can't get my money back, I can at least make sure they have to spend it cleaning up after me.

p.s I now only rent from private individuals and take good care of where I live!