It's almost an inevitability that, at some point in people's renting history, the landlord will keep some or all of the security deposit. In my own history, it hasn't always been for a fair or just reason. What can you do to ensure that your money is returned to you in full? Here are some basics to lead you down the path of 100% deposit refund.
I feel like there should be a class in high school that prepares people for real life. The nitty gritty, boring but important details about real life. Renting an apartment would be part of this syllabus. I don't remember anyone teaching me how to read and sign a lease, how to protect yourself from a landlord that wants to keep your deposit--even if you didn't mess the place up but actually fixed it up!
For me, experience was the best teacher. A strict, sort of mean teacher! I learned many things about renting before owning my own home, and by the time I was no longer a renter, I had become pretty good at it! Here are some of the things I learned about getting your security deposit back:
- Read the lease before you sign it! It seems like they all say the same things, but often times landlords use leases that are not standardized. Double check to see what the lease has to say about the deposit. Is there an automatic cleaning fee? Does the lease include a walk-through condition form? In almost all cases, lease clauses can be edited or changed if it is agreed upon by both the renter and the tenant. Make sure the lease is clear and fair before entering into a contract. They do teach you to read what you sign, but this is a reminder to actually do it!
- Know your renters rights and the housing laws of your state. Every adult that rents should be familiar with their rights in their state. Nowadays, it's as easy as a bit of internet research. Go find renters guidelines online and bookmark the site in your browser. Knowing your rights can make the difference between having a legal leg to stand on, and blindly arguing to get your money back.
- Complete a walk-through condition form! This form often comes with the lease, but not always. If not, create your own! Usually, renters require or appreciate that you complete it within 48 hours of moving in. The best time to complete this is when you first get the keys. Take 15 minutes to walk from room to room, inspecting the home and noting anything, anything that is not in perfect condition.You'll want to turn this into your landlord, and have them sign a copy to keep for yourself. If you cannot get your landlord to do this, send a copy via registered mail, to ensure that they receive it, and have proof of delivery in the future.
- Take photographs! While you are doing your walk-through, photograph everything that you write down, as well as wide-angle shots of the entire place. If you have the option of dating the photos digitally, do it! You can include these images with the walk-through, but at least notate that you took them for the landlord and keep them for your own reference
- If anything breaks, "goes bad" or happens to the home while you're living there, fully document it for your own records. To get something repaired, most landlords require a written request for service, but this also doubles as a record of things that happen to your home while you're there---especially if they're not your fault!
- Really clean your home before you move out. This is a hard one sometimes, because you're usually exhausted and ready to get the heck out of your old place and into your new place, when it comes time to move. Often, too, you'll think to yourself, "but it was dirty when I moved in! I had to clean it before I settled in, so I should return it in the same condition." This is one area where you ought to leave the place in better condition than you received it, without complaining. Just clean the place...well! It will behoove you to leave the home in as perfect condition as you can, if for no other reason than to start the landlord off on the right foot when they come to assess for damages and charges. It's worth it to clean your home well before moving.
- Schedule a walk-through with your landlord before turning the keys in. This isn't always possible for all landlords, but if you can, take the opportunity to do a move-out walk through. Have them look around and point out anything that they might charge you for, so that you can take care of it before you leave. Write down what they say, and then do it! In all of my pessimism, though, I have to say that you cannot always rely on this walk-through. I've had a couple of instances where the landlord says everything is fine, but then charges me for something anyway. That's why you should still follow tips 1-6!
- Provide accurate forwarding address information. This seems pretty basic, but making sure that your landlord has your new mailing address is pretty key in them sending you a check! It also prevents any blurring of the lines when it comes to the typical 30 days that landlords legally have to remit your deposit, or a full list of charges.
- If your landlord has charged you for something that you think is unfair, request more information. Many states require documentation of those charges, along with a receipt, bill, or quote from an outside company for the record of what they are charging you. This is where hint #2 comes in handy: know the rules and laws in your state. If the landlord is not following them, you'll have more leverage.
- If you have been charged unfairly, and haven't made any progress talking to your landlord yourself, seek the help of a renter's rights group. Many cities and states have organizations devoted to protecting the rights of tenants (and renters!) and will assist you in getting your money back.
- My second to last rule takes a bit of soul searching. If you have gotten to the point where you've been charged, you think it is unfair, and you haven't made any progress with the above steps, take one moment to really look at the situation as pragmatically and objectively as possible. Do you really deserve the money back? Is the landlord really being unfair? Do you have proper documentation to show that what they've charged you for is not legitimate? Hopefully you've thought about these things all along the way, but take pause before you make a bigger issue of it. Not all landlords are out to get you. They are conducting business and trying to cover their own hides as well. But if you feel that you've really been cheated, then move on.
- If you haven't been able to resolve your matter, and it is worth your time and effort, small claims court is a place to go to turn the issue over to the judge. I've done it. I've been in a situation where I've been taken advantage of to the extent where I felt truly wronged, and it was a substantial enough amount of money to warrant legal action. Small claims court gives you an opportunity to plead your case with a judge. If a judge still doesn't side with you, it might be time to call it quits! And if they do, I've heard that it isn't always easy to enforce repayment by the landlord. However, you have a good chance of resolving the situation, and it is often very affordable to do so. Hopefully you won't have to if your followed the above steps.
It may seem like overkill, and if your deposit is only $100, it might not be worth it. But knowing what rights you have is a powerful thing. Protecting yourself financially as a tenant is important. And if you're living in a place where your security deposit is very high (hello, San Francisco and New York!) then this is very important information!
Any other tips out there from readers who have become "professional renters?"
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WEll I just called my landlord to tell her that paint and pieces of other stuff are falling off the ceiling. It is a dropped ceiling. She claims that she delivered the place to me in perfect condition although I remember the cracks when I first moved in and I asked her about them and she said she didn't know why they were there and to ask the painter. IN any event she has been good about fixing things in my house so I know it is just that she has a terrible memory and 1.5 years later she really can't remember those damn cracks. I should have taken pictures of them when I moved in.
We broke our lease by *one* month (after 15 years!) and attempted to show the apartment while also packing to move, to try to get new renters in there immediately so we could get our security deposit back. So not worth it. The apartment was rent controlled and going to market price after we moved, and the management company had it overpriced by what it eventually rented for - 8 weeks later - by $500. It needed fresh paint and a redone kitchen anyway.
Instead I wish we had taken that extra month to move more slowly, painted and cleaned our house before moving in. Even though we would have paid one month more in rent, we probably would have gotten our deposit back (we kept the apartment in very good shape) so it would have been even. Live and learn.
Earlier in life, I had a landlord not give back the deposit because we hadn't notified her - when our year lease was up - that we weren't going to be staying. Apparently it was in the lease that we actually had to give notice, not just allow the lease to expire.
Oh, and then there was the landlord who used my deposit as a loan and it took me 6 months to get it back - because she didn't have the money anymore...
There's one more step beyond small claims court: putting a levy on the landlord's account.
My girlfriend's landlord pathologically lied about returning her full deposit. The infamous "check's in the mail" routine.
So she took the landlord to small claims court. Since the landlord was a no-show and acted "in bad faith", the judge awarded my girlfriend twice her original deposit (which is the law here in CA), plus court fees and serving fees.
The landlord still never paid, so my girlfriend found the landlord's bank account info on the back of her old rent checks that were deposited. She took that info and put a levy on the landlord's account, and the sheriff served the bank, and a check was FINALLY sent.
@ House Voyeur. our apartment HAD a drop ceiling in it during our walk-through, but when we saw it on moving day, they had removed it to reveal very large (room-spanning) cracks, especially in the ceiling.
you could tell right away it was from water damage to the plaster in our old building. it took 6 months of calls and letters before they came in to fix it while we were on vacation.
turns out the whole ceiling was rotted and it fell on one of the maintenance guys and knocked his arm out of the socket, on top of putting a huge hole in our hardwood floors that they had to replace.
i told them they were lucky it didnt fall on us because i would have sued for everything i could.
On the lease, you can typically find the most important points or changes in the "rider" which should be the last page of the lease. Everything else is pretty much standard. What you need to know is regular wear and tear is expected and all appliances should be in working order throughout the lease term.
Just moved AGAIN (for the 17th time including several times across country) and have always left my apartments, houses in "move in" condition. Some landlords are nasty and some have been nice. Was told at my last move it would be 45 days before I would get my deposit and was surprised to receive it in 10 days. I try to make sure I always read and understand my lease before I consider another move and then call the office/landlord to discuss any questions I have. So far things have worked out well.
What you should do is not pay your last month's rent and let the landlord keep your security deposit (leaving the apartment in perfect condition, of course). I believe this is even legal (at least in Illinois), according to a reliable professional source. I always did this when I rented and it always worked out perfectly for me. Otherwise, I feel the landlord would've found some reason to keep some of my money.
Vic: except for when you have to put up 1st, last and deposit.
Matt: your girlfriend is Kickass.
Frankly, I see the security deposit as the fee I pay in advance to paint without getting permission and to not have to repaint or deep clean on my way out. I've lost too much deposit money after leaving a place in move-in condition to bother. Maybe it makes me a bad tenant. Shrug. I don't live like an animal, so it's not like they're going to have to put more than my deposit back into the place.
This is a little off-topic, but I learned the hard way to ask for (demand) an addendum to the lease that requires the landlord to maintain all amenities that were present upon the signing of the lease, and to replace or repair any appliances that break or are stolen because of factors beyond my control, even if their absence does not render the unit uninhabitable. The community washer and dryer in my old building were stolen, and the landlord claimed that since he wasn’t legally required to provide laundry, he wasn’t going to replace it. He might not have been legally obligated, but when I agreed to the rate of rent, it included use of a washer and dryer. This BS went on for over a year until the tenants got together and threatened to withhold rent until he replaced them. Surprise, a week later I was doing laundry in my own building.
@vic, using your security is not legal in some circumstances, as the deposit is put in often put in escrow. My last building (60 units) was owned by a leasing company, and I received a letter of interest from the bank which held my deposit every year for my taxes.
Not that it mattered; when I moved out they kept a portion of the deposit for "damages." I never saw the interest.
Regarding no.6- hire (semi)professional cleaners! They have the tools, cleaning agents and a TEAM of people. A friend did it when she moved the last time: $60 and they got it done in an hour and she got the deposit back 100%. She knew she would be cleaning for hours and probably crying from exhaustion into the mop bucket.
Regarding no.8- this happens more often than you would think.
I had a landlord try to charge me for things which broke during my lease, she failed to repair and told me she wouldn't charge me for upon move-out. When she lied and I presented her with her own letters saying I wouldn't be responsible for the damage, she still sent a bill. I fought and fought and fought until I realized something....there was no due date on the bill. I also examined the lease to make sure there was nothing with a date by which I would have to pay for repairs by....there wasn't. I decided since the bill could never be past due, I never had to pay it so I stopped fighting. It hasn't shown up on my credit report a year later, she hasn't called, no one has called to collect. I wish I had my deposit back, but at least I didn't pay any additional fees. If anyone does ever call, I'll tell them the check will be mailed before the due date. Ta-Da!
Moral of the story: Due dates, they're important.
@Mattgomery Burns - I'm going through a very similar situation as your girlfriend was (also in CA). Might you be willing to talk me through the process in more detail?
Just printed out those cashed checks and yep, just like you said, landlady's account info is printed very clearly on the back... Something to smile about on a Friday afternoon, for SURE.
I set up a fake gmail account just for this occasion! If you see this (crossing fingers), would you mind contacting me? Email:
for dot mattgomery dot burns @ gmail dot com, dots and spaces replaced and removed
Thanks again for the tip!
When we broke our lease buying our house, I was surprised and pleased to see the apartment complex offered an option to pay $100 and have them just do all the cleaning, and give you the rest of the deposit back. (Minus obvious renters stealing appliances or other huge issues.) It was easy, and SO MUCH LESS WORK.
Anyone know if in Illinois a landlord can take part (or all) of a security deposit INTENDING to repair "damage" you do in the future, but not immediately? You think it's normal wear and tear, but the landlord sees it as damage, yet he doesn't plan to fix it for at least another year since a new tenant has signed on.
Thanks!
When we were grad students in TX, we left notice in writing that we were moving 45 days before we intended to move (legally were required to only give 30 days). We got a letter stating they had gotten the notice, etc. THe day we moved, when I went to turn in the keys, one of the rental agents said we hadn't given notice and they were not going to return the deposit (even though they had inspected and we were a-ok). Although I am not this kind of person, I pitched a fit (with the letter they had sent in hand) while there were people in the leasing office viewing apts. They gave us the $$ on the spot, which was important since that was our book money for the term. I feel sure that if I hadn't made a scene (which I still blush thinking about) we would have never gotten the $$ back.
I had two apartment places, both in Rochester, NY, keep my entire deposit (which was a full month's rent) to replace the carpets. When I asked what was wrong with the carpet aside from normal wear and tear, the answer was that nothing was wrong, it was standard policy for them to replace all the carpet before a new tenant went in. Ok so um.. why am I paying for that, and why does your cheap crap off-white carpet cost $1200 for < 1000 square feet (half of which isn't even carpeted)?
At least in my current studio they were up front about it. My deposit was only a few hundred dollars, but then there was almost $400 in fees --i.e. it's all the deposit but that part I know I'll never get back. I'm fine with that.
The last time we moved we hired some people to clean our carpet and our apartment for $200 total. Best decision ever. Sure we did live in a small place, but the cost is minimal compared to the results. We would've had to purchase all the cleaning supplies, plus the work that would take (after packing and moving to a new place) and it still wouldn't have looked half as good.
Ohhh, reading through I had to add my experience with carpet in an apartment I lived in. I have a cat, and I paid an extra deposit to have it there, and I also paid an extra $50 a month for pet rent. I left the apartment cleaner than when I moved in. Up until that point (and since then) I've gotten most of my deposits back.
However, this was the first time I'd ever lived in a big managed corporate complex. They kept my deposit of one month's rent, my pet deposit and they charged me $800 on top of that...all for the carpet. So apparently this crappy beige carpet covering 800 sq. feet is $1,600? They said it was for "pet damage", but my pet never did anything to it. She's declawed!
Anyway, I unfortunately ended up paying it because they kept hounding me for the money and threatened to sue and I was moving out of state or else I would've fought it. What a nightmare!
Well, I was an apartment manager for both a small complex and one with hundreds of units and some tips I can give are:
1) Hire LICENSED (!!!) professional cleaners- it's not that we're out to get you for your deposit, but new tenants are a major pain in the you-know-what. We always wanted to make sure that everything was perfect for the new tenant, so that later we could prove what damage had been done. SAVE YOUR RECEIPT and keep copies (just in case you need to fight it later)! Same thing for the carpets, we gave the tenants the option of calling our carpet guys directly (and they we're usually willing to make a deal). Turn in copies of the receipts with your move out inspection.
2) Be very thorough with you walk through. Take your time, look at the house in different lights. And see if you can amend your walkthrough within the first 48 hours if you find something new.
3) Take pictures of the carpet upon move in AND move out. Don't be afraid to lift it up at the corners and look for pet stains on the pad from previous tenants. If you get charged for a carpet and you feel that it was "needing replacement" before you move in GO TO COURT! In California a landlord has to PROVE when the last carpet was installed, after a certain amount of time passes it falls on the landlord to replace.
Also, if you've lived there for a long time (usually over 2 years) they can't charge you for most paint (unless you repainted), carpet cleaning, nail holes, etc it's considered "normal wear and tear"
And if you you feel you were wronged be nice to the manager! We don't always have the final say when it comes to money. Be polite. If they aren't the ones writing the check, ask who does and harass them instead! If you're dealing with a management company and get no results call the OWNERS! The owners don't want to deal with it, that's why they hire a management company. If you aggressively complain to them (even if it's bank owned) they might to tell SOMEONE to give you your money back!
Oh, and if your property goes into Receivership or REO (bank owned) while you are living there- you can kiss your deposit goodbye. Chances are, the owners ran off with it and the court appointed receiver is not entitled to pay it unless the foreclosed upon owner turns it over.
You can sue whoever stole your money, and you'll probably win... up to 3x the amount you are entitled to, but you'll never see a penny.
Don't hire professionals, just get a really good vacuum cleaner brush. One of those "pet" ones. If we'd hired professionals, we'd have paid the entire deposit in cleaning fees!
Also, we'd painted the walls in bright colours, but because the curtains we left matched, the landlord was fine with them.
I just had a landlord withhold $120 for "re-painting the deck" after we moved out. An unfinished, weathered, wood porch. We hadn't damaged or stained it. I was furious that he charged us for a home improvement project (probably because the new tenant is his daughter), but after calling and sending him a letter asking him to reconsider, didn't push it because I'm afraid of not being able to get a good reference from him. How do appeal without burning bridges?
We've always gotten deposits back. We're very good at cleaning and we've always been willing to push to get a deposit back.
Sunset, I wouldn't be shy about pushing to get your $120.00 back. What about small claims court? I'd give him one last chance by registered letter to do the right thing and then pursue it legally.
Document, document, document! Keep all records, be they receipts, emails, phone records, copies of check, etc.
The last place I lived, I walked through with the landlord after moving out and cleaning--everything was OK. I always leave parments in better shape than they were when I moved in. He said he'd send the deposit check in 2 weeks. This was in October.
The week after Christmas, I finally got him to bring me a check to my workplace (after the first check getting "lost in the mail"). The check bounced, I was charged a fee by the bank. I called... emailed... called again... emailed again. Called his boss, called the property owner... this drug on into the spring. He never returned my calls or responded to my emails.
Finally I went to the district court to see if I could take him to small claims court, but because he had written me a bad check over $200, it was now a criminal matter. So I had to get the police involved. I finally got my money, but it wasn't pretty. I was just glad I had all the documentation to back me up.
Clean behind the fridge and stove. I helped a friend move out and we didn't pull the appliances out and the landlord totally checked!
Getting your deposit back is overrated. I always considered it a cost of the rental. :o)
Know your rights should be number 1. I'm astonished at the number of people in my province who don't know the rules. The laws here definitely favour the landlord.
Thank you for this article. As a tenured property manager, you hit both sides of the fence with your tips. Ultimately it's about each party being fair and honest.
Take pictures and make copies of notes! I just moved out of a place that had a mgmt firm work with me on move-in, but they were no longer using them. That firm didn't have immediate access to the move-in notes (lots of details / imperfections noted on move-in). I left the place better than found, but could tell (heard the couple) that they didn't want to give me back my deposit - even though they got to keep $200 as per the lease. Money makes people do funny things. Protect yourself: know the rules, put things in writing and let them know you will consider all your options (including small claims court, etc). Be firm, but polite.
Taking pictures and notes before unpacking a single box is absolutely key! But not only that, sharing a property condition report with landlord / building manager so you have agreement on your report and it can't be questioned later. I know of an iPhone app for the express purpose of rental documentation, Imfuna Rent Lite. Full disclosure: they're a client.
Link: www.imfuna.com/products-rent-lite.html
The only deposit I failed to get back was once when we changed our minds about moving to a particular complex. We knew we risked it, but the place was just more of a dump than we were willing to live in and it was worth it to get out from under. (It wasn't a damage deposit, it was to hold the place and would have applied to the deposit had we moved in.)
We own now, but when I rented (most of my life) I made an effort to impress potential landlords with my high degree of responsibility. Since they usually paint between tenents, I asked for a little jar of touch-up paint for nail holes or little scuffs. I always discussed, before agreeing to lease, what they did and did not approve of my doing to the place and asked about making improvements. (Usually if I asked before making an improvement, they authorized it. They allowed me to submit the receipts with my rent check, deducting the amount from the check for materials if I provided the labor. This was common for me.)
I tried to never rent from someone I felt would be a problem or be unreasonable, and I ALWAYS carefully documented pre-existing damage. Since I'm at least as picky as most landlords, this was a detailed list -- and so much the better if at move out, I could point to a couple of things as fixed my me!
Great list, above! And I agree, it would be an excellent course in high school.
Know your state's law regarding security deposits. In Texas it is illegal to not pay the last month's rent and trying to use the security deposit to pay the last month. The landlord can then sue you for 3 times the normal rent.
I have never got a security deposit back, and as each time I moved out of a place, my ex-landlord was always at least two states away and/or a corporately owned complex, each time I considered the time and effort it would take to reclaim the deposit as more valuable than the actual deposit.
Excuse my intrusion but it looks like it might be welcome here. We go directly after people and businesses that steal security deposits. It's all we do. We have a brand new way of making them pay up. It involves a combination of legal and social networking resources. http://SecurityDepositRefund.org Process is FREE. We only get paid if you do.