What to do if your landlord refuses to return your security deposit

Did You Know...? The Security Deposit What It Can't Be Used For

Most landlords in various states will not use the security deposit for a number of things.  For instance, the security deposit can't be used for repairing general wear and tear or unsightly looking markings that existed in the apartment or home before you moved in it. The security deposit can't be used for cleaning your rental unit.  Also, a rental agreement or lease should never say that your security deposit is non-refundable.  Why would it be?  There is no way to know in advance if you or your tenants will damage the apartment and will need to cover those repairs with the entire amount of the security deposit. 

The security deposit is used to cover damages after you have been there, unpaid rent, cleaning the rental unit after you moved out, and it is also used to cover the cost of restoring the suite, replacing furniture, keys and other items that were on the property before you arrived.  Read your lease contract to be sure what other things the security deposit is supposed to cover.

Nicholl McGuire

14 Tips Residential Renters Can Do to Keep Their Place in Good Shape

So you want to receive most, if not all, of your security deposit back when you move, huh? Well what might you do now to get what you want? Well some would assume all they have to do is keep the apartment reasonably clean and don’t break anything. There is more to apartment living than that and it all depends on what you consider clean and not damaged. If your views conflict with the leasing contract, then you just might not get your security deposit back.

One. Take shoes off at your door.

The more dirt one brings in from outdoors, the harder a resident’s carpet will be to clean. Any cost to repair and clean the carpet will be deducted from one’s security deposit.

Two. Don’t use tape on walls.

The sticky adhesive, especially from so-called invisible tape, will leave unsightly markings on a matte finish wall. Since many landlords choose to go with inexpensive paints (rather than use a semi-gloss) just about any marking will appear on a wall painted with cheap paint from a marking from furniture to dye from one’s clothing, curtains or bed sheets.

Three. Cover heavy traffic areas with throw rugs.

Heavy wear will show up on carpet from repeated walking. So if you are the lucky one who received brand new carpeting, don’t allow it to become unattractive because your high traffic areas have been left uncovered. Plastic runners, area rugs, oriental rugs, any decorative rug will do. But watch for those that might have gripping or leave markings on carpet fibers and damage them. Also, don’t use masking or gray tape, staple , glue or other harsh items to keep the carpet in place. These items will also cause damage overtime.

Four. Cover low wall space with furniture when you have children.

There are areas in one’s unit where a child may paint, use markers, pens, and even drive toy cars along the wall. Center your child’s activities in an area where he or she can’t use walls as potential canvases. Flush furniture or hang maps, posters, or decorative carpeting low so that the child's creative space is well-covered. The mentioned decorative items also absorb sound which will help with noise.

Five. Don’t flush the full length of a bed up against the wall.

Sometimes people will line their bed up against the wall to allow for more space in a room. However, they don’t think about how bedding will rub up against the walls which leave markings on walls that have been painted with that cheap paint as described earlier. Also, children tend to bring toys to bed with them which might ruin walls and make their bedding area appear unclean.

Six. Use shelving that doesn’t have to be hung on walls.

Many people like to organize their home with the least amount of furniture. So what happens is many shelves are hung on walls. If items are not hung properly, they might damage walls. Sometimes wall space is badly marked up because a resident places far too many items on shelves; therefore, the unit begins to fall off wall leaving behind large holes and cracks. Buy furniture and decorative items that don’t have to be hung on walls with large nails or heavy duty Velcro.

Seven. Store bleach products in laundry room or bathroom.

When one is washing clothes, he or she might carry a bottle of bleach around the home or sit it on a floor with the cap loosely on the top. Accidents easily happen and before you know it, there is a large bleach stain in the middle of the hallway or elsewhere. A good idea would be to keep products with bleach (chlorine) in them near the areas you will be using them the most. Never use them to treat stains in carpeting which leads me to my next point.

Eight. Avoid spot cleaning products that turn carpeting.

How many times has a company boasted about how their product works only for you to find out that it does nothing but change the color of the carpeting? This is why on the back of the bottle they advise test in a discreet area. But some residents start spraying products everywhere and now their carpeting looks like a two or three tone mess!

Nine. If you’re not a pet lover, don’t become one unless you know how to properly care for an animal and your living quarters at the same time.

There are those animal lovers who do well cleaning up after their pets, but others not so much. The ones who are nonchalant about keeping up with their pet’s hair and accidents are the ones who end up incurring a large bill. Sometimes their whole security deposit is used to pay for all the pet issues. Neighbors also tend to complain about pet odors and noise. Unfortunately, some animals attract bugs as well simply because they aren't bathed and treated so the resident will complain of having a flea issue. If time is short and so is money, do yourself a favor don’t get a pet.

Ten. Call maintenance as soon as issues arise from broken fixtures to inoperable appliances.

When maintenance issues go unreported, the resident might be held accountable. Don't be surprised after a move when your security deposit is not returned. Report problems in your apartment before you move.

Eleven. Wash hands.

This point seems to be simple enough. But you would be surprised just how many people don’t bother to wash hands after coming in from outside, working on something or eating something. Walls, outlet covers and other fixtures will easily catch food grease, hair dye, black fingerprints, blood markings, and more simply because people don’t bother to wash their hands. Sometimes these marks don’t come off with a multi-purpose cleaner without taking off the walls’ finish.

Twelve. Keep food primarily in kitchen and dining areas.

Once you tell someone, “It’s okay, you can bring that in here…” the food and drink products end up in the carpet, splattered on walls, cabinets and other places. There are those times that these products just don’t wipe clean. Many residents end up having to pay for damages just because a sugary, greasy or bright red something was too good to drink or eat in the kitchen or at a dining-room table.

Thirteen. Vacuum, take trash out often and perform your own pest control.

You can keep bugs from taking over your place if you maintain the upkeep of your unit. Schedule vacuuming your suite at least twice or more a week when you know you enjoy eating in your living-room and elsewhere. Crumbs and sticky messes attract bugs. Add mopping to your chore list too when you have linoleum, vinyl or hardwood floors. Don’t leave trash out. Buy a garbage can that controls odors especially if you cook often at home. At least once a month, spray cracks and crevices around piping in your home, doors, windows, floor boards, inside shelves, and other places bugs can get in. Although pest control comes at least once a month at most properties managed by corporations and less frequently at those managed by private owners, you will need to keep up with managing bugs both in and outside your home.

Fourteen. Entertain guests elsewhere more often than not.

The more visitors, the more likely something will get broken, tattered, stained, or damaged when living in a rented suite. So watch how often you entertain. People who have the most issues with management and neighbors are those who unfortunately party the most. If it isn’t one thing, it’s another. The problem resident never considers that just maybe serving and/or drinking alcohol and drugs at a party might be the reason why he or she is often in trouble with the law.

These are just 14 ideas, but there are others that with a little time, money and patience, you can be able to add a few more. Think about great pieces that not only decorate your home, but keep things organized as well. Cover hot spots or high traffic areas. Check http://organizerhome.blogspot.com for ideas on organizing your apartment or home.

If you begin to take action on many of the points mentioned in this article, you just might be one of the ones who will receive that nice note attached to your security deposit refund that says, “Thank you so much for all you did! The place was spotless!” Finally, do remember to take photos before and after your move.

Learn more about Nicholl McGuire, author, poet, and speaker at http://nichollmcguire.blogspot.com

12 Things a Bad Landlord Might Do to Keep Most or All of Your Security Deposit

The security deposit the most important thing residents are concerned about once moving from their old place. “When will I get it? How long does it take? Why am I being charged all these fees?” Upstanding property management companies usually provide you with an itemized list of charges before you move in, so you know how much you will be charged for things like nail holes and a new paint job. However, a private owner isn't so transparent. He or she doesn't tell you how much anything is going to cost before you move. “I have to get a quote for that...I don't know it all depends...I'll have to check with my guy...” While you wait for the approximate amount of your security deposit refund, you might want to find out what the going rate might be for repairs.

One. Overcharge for nail holes and other markings on the wall.

You know how many pictures you hung on the wall and so does the landlord. He or she is thinking, “This will need to be repaired and painted...that will cost me how much? Well, I will just take this out of his security deposit.” What some landlords won't tell you is that a do-it-yourself job of filling holes with something like toothpaste or painting the whole apartment some original color, only makes matters worse for you. A good landlord will tell you upfront “if you do this...it will cost you...” It's best not to make any repairs or upgrades yourself unless you have asked permission and know what you are doing or it will cost you and if the landlord is a bad one, he or she won't communicate any of this to you.

Two. Forget what he or she said about general wear, “Don't worry about that stain on the counter top or the wall. I won't charge you.”

Sure, the landlord won't. To be certain, you should have taken a picture before you moved in and sent him or her a long list of those “general wear” markings.

Three. Charge you for every stain on the carpet that can't come out and/or carpet burns and holes you didn't do.

You know the spill in the corner that you hid with an area rug? What about the burn in the carpet or the hole? Well, if you didn't list that in advance (that is if you know you didn't do it) your landlord will charge you for it. Did you take pictures of the carpet or note that before you moved in the place?

Four. Inflate the cleaning fee.

You remember how you left the place, don't you? Well the landlord might have a short memory when it's time to pay out your security deposit. If you didn't make certain to clean out everything including some things left behind by a previous resident or even the maintenance staff, he or she might charge you for that too. But you say, “I was just being nice. I left a nice chair that I thought she could use for the next resident.” Doesn't matter, it's garbage and although you thought you had an understanding with her, suddenly she is all business when it comes down to her, I mean, your money.

Five. Keep you in the dark about what it costs to repair something.

You know how much it costs to repair a door, buy a new screen, or something else you may have damaged. However, your landlord has “expensive taste,” he or she may not say anything about the contractor he or she will be using to make repairs until you see the deductions out of your security deposit.

Six. Hold your security deposit past the time required by a state law.

If you don't know when you are supposed to get your security deposit back, you best research for tenant laws in your state. The bad landlord is hoping you don't know too much about the law, this way he or she can do what he or she wants with the security deposit for how ever long he or she wants. “I think I don't like the way she spoke to me on the phone, I'll hold her security deposit until she calls for it!”

Seven. Expect you to pay for repairs that he or she was already notified about before you moved out.

You conversed with the landlord about the things you noticed in the apartment. Notice “conversed” not “sent letter to landlord,” now he or she is charging you for things you already told her about. Your word against her's in a court of law.

Eight. Accused you of leaving the apartment unclean.

Although this point is similar to one discussed already, the difference is the landlord is blatantly saying, “You didn't clean the apartment, so I took out X amount of dollars out of the security deposit.” There are general charges, because for the safety of other residents she has to go over your cleaning work, but then there are hyped up charges just to take more money out of your security deposit. You can dispute the charges with photographs and price quotes from area cleaning companies in a court of law.

Nine. Interview other residents to build a case against you in case you have threatened to sue he or she.

Sometimes you just can't let the left hand know what the right hand is doing. “So you are going to sue me! Well, I know some people who will help me counter sue you!” If you were using drugs in the apartment, making loud noises and the police were called, or doing other things that caused a problem in the apartment complex, a landlord just might use the counter-suit to pay you back! Be sure your “i” is dotted and your “t” is crossed!

Ten. Lie about correspondence and/or phone call.

Let's say you told the landlord you were moving out in thirty days. You sent he or she an email then followed up with a phone call. The closer it got to time for you to move, the landlord starts to have amnesia, “I think you gave me a 25 day notice, didn't you?” You know that he or she is mistaken, and you claim you gave he or she plenty of notice. The idea behind this is to reduce the security deposit refund by penalizing you for not giving the landlord proper notice. Be sure you keep copies of all correspondence and for suspected bad landlords, record phone call conversations if need be.

Eleven. Reduce your security deposit for holding keys although you may have told him or her you need them for a day or two after your move-out date.

You may think, “I will hold on to my apartment and mail box keys a little longer because I can't get a truck until a certain time to get the rest of my stuff and I don't know if all my mail will be transferred over.” Not a good idea! A good or bad landlord will surely charge you for staying in the apartment even if you aren't living there, but just holding on to the keys passed the move out date. This isn't a bad landlord move, but it can be if you aren't reminded that he or she will take money from your security deposit everyday that you don't hand over your keys. “You should have told me!” you yell at the landlord. “You should have read your lease!” Meanwhile, you thought that you had a good relationship with the landlord by telling him you needed the keys. “Nothing personal, just business.” The landlord says.

Twelve. Charge you for things that other residents have done.

You might have a parking space, and noticed other residents have been parking in it while you are gone. Their cars leave stains on the concrete and a few times they hit the wall surrounding your parking space. You may have told the landlord about those bad tenants, but he or she claims, “I forgot.” The next thing you know you are receiving a deduction out of security deposit for damages and cleaning fees you didn't do.

Now that you have 12 possible scenarios that a bad landlord might inflate to keep most, if not all, of your security deposit, be sure that you have a solid case against he or she by: having photographs in your possession, video, audio recordings such as a voice mail messages, and any correspondence related to your case if you should choose to sue.

N. McGuire