Landlords and security deposits.

[BlueJazz]

I happen to own my dwelling but a friend of mind has gotten screwed again by the old "The apartment wasn't clean enough" scam.
Yeah, I know that some tenants leave their former apartments in a wreck and they should rightfully forfeit their deposit but from folks I've talked to over the years, it's usually the tenants that get the shaft on their deposit money.

What makes this time so aggravating is my friend, his wife and I spent 6-7 hours making sure the place was spotless!
The Landlord told him that there was dirt and garbage under the heater and stove so the $250.00 wouldn't be refunded.

I've had the same Bullshit pulled on me before and I wonder?...
Anybody else been shafted by their former landlord?

[BlueJazz]

1. AHHH! ...Moderators...Please move to lounge...sorry

:)

[KissMyAsscroft]

2. Luckily my last owners were really cool...

Here's a little trick.

I went through an aggency that lists properties for owners so I wasn't dealing directly with the landlord but with a company. That's rule #1 so you don't get shafted.

Another thing is that I went in about a month before I was supposed to move out and told them that I feared for my life and that I might file a complaint but that I was being understanding. Said the place was a crime ridden hellhole(not those words, I sugar coated it) I told them that I wanted to keep renting from them but I was taking a little break and would come back and rent from them.

Between me being understanding about the condition of the apartment and them wanting me as a return customer, they were really cool about my deposit and I got nearly every penny back. And my deposit was pretty substantial.

[ieoeja]

3. Last month's rent in advance.

I had a landlord who, for some odd reason, required the last month's rent when signing the lease, but no security deposit. I actually went on to trash that apartment. It had a public-style vacuum toilet that lost its vacuum and ran continously for several days during which time the landlord did nothing. I finally went to a hardware store, bought some tools and figured out how to fix it myself. Then the windows would not open. So I took a hammer to the frame and tore them out when it got up around 90 degrees. I didn't take particular care to make it look nice when I put it back together.

So when the last month rolled around, I didn't pay any rent and he sent me an eviction notice. I pulled out the lease and pointed out that I had paid that month's rent a year earlier. He said I would have to pay the next year's last month's rent to stay which I had no intention of doing.

Despite all of this he STILL sent me a notice after I moved out that he wasn't refunding my (non-existent) security deposit. Whatever.

[amazona]

4. landlords are thieves

I think the scam gets pulled on everyone once. Then you realize it's stupid to clean up. The greater New Orleans area had great difficulty (and I believe still does) attracting tenants who actually pay their rent on time or even at all, so once I had a history in the area, I was able to rent on a basis of getting a month's free rent/reduced security deposit or I wouldn't take on the apartment in question. But when the price of houses crashed in the early 90s I became a homeowner and never looked back. Dealing with landlords is pretty much dealing with the lowest level of scum. I'm sorry, I'm sure there are some non-cheating landlords out there but I just never encountered them.

[myrna minx]

5. The key is to demand to be present during the inspection.

The company I had worked for had a "move out" sheet wherein the manager and the resident would sign at the same time, agreeing to the condition of the apartment. Then the resident would receive a copy of the document, assuring that no "hidden" charges would be added after the keys were returned.

[MsUnderstood]

6. My last apartment horror story (own a house now)

When we moved out, the inspector pulled out a black light and started scanning the carpets.

He found evidence of pet urine using the blacklight.

I pointed out that a) the spot where the evidence was found had been under an entertainment center for 1 1/2 years and b) we didn't scan with a blacklight when we moved in so there is no proof we did it.

Long story short, they kept an extra 300 of our deposit--it is okay though--we bring an big trash (that won't fit in my trash can) back by the old place and use their dumpsters.

[Skittles]

7. contact the local tenants association

this is pure theft; they are not allowing for the normal wear and tear of LIVING.

[Nikia]

8. That happened to us for a summer apartment

We spent time cleaning too and lost our security deposit. If we would have known that, then we probably shouldn't have cleaned at all. Why would they be able to keep the entire deposit or even a couple hundred dollars? Hiring someone to clean an empty apartment wouldn't cost nearly that much.

[BigMcLargehuge]

9. it happened to the McLargehuges

my advice, always take pictures before and after the cleaning. Then, take the bastard to court.

Check whatever renter protections there are in your state. That helped us recover the better part of 770 bucks.

[Suspicious]

10. Your friend needs to

check the landlord/tenant laws in your state. In Michigan, there are very specific laws/rules applying to security deposits. I don't know if the laws in your state are similar, but here, the landlord has no more than 30 days after the move-out date to provide the tenant with an itemized list of damages and charges. The tenant then has 7 days to dispute these charges. If the tenant disputes, the landlord has 45 days from the date the tenant moved out to respond or give the money back. In 99% of these cases, the landlord will not respond, at which point, the tenant is free to take them to court.

In Michigan, the courts are generally far more favorable to tenants, and if your state is similar, the "damage" charges you described would immediately be ordered paid back to your friend.

It's unfortunate that the onus is on the tenant, but tenants do have rights, and if they follow the letter of the law, they will undoubtedly get their money back in this type of situation (where the landlord is obviously a thief).

On edit: Forgot to add - in Michigan, a landlord can not charge anything for cleaning after a move-out. Cleaning can not be listed on the itemized damages/charges sheet, as it is considered a normal expense of renting.

[Fred Duke]

11. The key is to assume the deposit is gone...

...the moment it's paid. Leave as much mess as you desire since the odds favor a landlord screwing you anyhow. I'll never clean before moving again.

[grasswire]

12. what about...

....when the terms change while you are renting?

I've been in the same place for eight years, under the same owners. However, they have added new restrictions since I moved in, most notably that the carpet has to be professionally cleaned at the renter's expense on leaving despite the fact that a cleaning deposit and pet deposit was extracted on moving in. So to comply with their new rules when I move this summer, I'll have to spring for $150 in carpet cleaning and probably still not get my $450 deposit back.

The good part is that my rent wasn't raised in eight years. But I still don't think you should have to meet new rules when you entered an agreement on certain conditions.