#when you first move in
Landlord finding any reason not to give a security deposit back
I had a landlord try to pull this shit with me over a $2600 deposit. I took over 200 pictures of the house on move out, so anything she said was broken i had a picture ready to prove her wrong. My roommates were cowards and wanted me to back down. I ended up sending her a certified letter threatening to sue her for treble damages if she didn’t return the deposit.
I ended up getting the full deposit back
Do not be a doormat for these bastards. You have rights. Fight them and you can win
Carpets usually only last 5 - 7 years in rental units, due to general wear. Usually, landlords cannot charge you if your carpet is 5+ years old. (I don’t know if this differs from state to state, so check it yourself.)
You can also ask for an itemized invoice for each individual thing they want you to pay for, especially if you moved out years ago and collections is pursuing you.
Apartment complexes often change property management companies and their standing staff is usually incompetent. So it’s probably likely they will be unable to itemize or provide an invoice.
^^ good tip here
Stay savvy my friends
Check your state rental laws, because otherwise I would not have known how very strong tenant rights are here. In some places, a landlord legally cannot withhold a security deposit without them providing itemized proof. And the penalty for failure to return the security deposit can be a few times the value of the deposit. The law can be very much on your side, and the landlords are pretty much hoping you don’t know that. How much can they be on your side? Let me tell you the tale of my Two Roommates vs. Shithead Landlord.
A few years ago, my roommates and I moved out of an apartment we had been living in for almost 7 years. The landlord was already a dick, and essentially kicking us out by massively jacking up the rent. Needless to say, we already weren’t parting on good terms.
Guy tried to hold back a $4k security deposit, citing that the floors were worn. Again, after sevenyears of at least five people living in the place. Oh, and also because he had found dust in a corner.
I shit you not. He tried to hold back the security deposit because he found dust in a corner.
This, my friends, is what we would like to call “some fresh bullshit”.
So two of my roommates looked at the state law, and discovered the wonderful section on tenants’ rights. Then one went and grabbed lunch with someone from Legal where he worked and asked a few questions. He also got them to write a “friendly” letter. The landlord then received said “friendly letter” from a lawyer at a Major Software Corporation, informing him of the relevant state law and that should he pursue this, we would take him to court and with the law very much saying he couldn’t do what he was doing, how did “triple damages” sound?
Meaning: was he prepared to owe us not only the $4k security deposit, but an additional $12k for being a dick?
We got the deposit back.
Check your state laws.
Post link
