Ok, so I just bought a house (Yay!) and I am pretty much completely moved out of my apartment. I really want to try to get my security deposit back because it was a hefty one ($579) and I could use the cash. Most everyone I know has said something along the lines of, “Might as well just forget it, they’ll find some way to keep your deposit.”
I’m trying to keep optimistic about it though, so I’ve been cleaning the hell out of the place. The main worry I have is with the carpet. I spilled about three big spots of red hair dye in the bathroom, burned a line in the carpet by the kitchen by dropping a hot pan on it, and then today I accidentally spilled a small bucket of bleach/water over near the red hair dye. It sounds terrible, I know, but it’s a two bedroom apartment and I’ve lived there for three years. Spots on the carpet are inevitable.
They gave me a checklist that has the basics on it. I think I’m pretty well covered on everything except the carpet.
Should I try to get someone in there to clean it or put new in the spotty areas, or should I just forget about it and hope for the best? If they’re going to screw me anyway I really hate to spend the money on carpet repair.
I live in central Indiana, too. Last summer I moved out of an apartment that I had lived in for three years. I got back my whole deposit, contrary to what everyone had been telling me–and this from a pretty shifty apartment complex.
I cleaned it before I left, but I didn’t take pains over it. Except the fridge. One of my “helpers” emptied the fridge for me, then unplugged it. We discovered four days later that he had left a piece of fish in the freezer.
Ugh. There wasn’t enough baking soda in the world.
I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Usually, if a tenant has been in a place for more than two or so years, the building replaces the carpet anyway. That isn’t to say that they won’t screw you, though.
Also, this complex has changed ownership at least three times in the three years I’ve lived there. The newest ones just started up a few months ago.
I don’t think they’ll give me any trouble over it. But I am prepared to take detailed pictures before I leave in the case that they try to keep my deposit. I will take them to small claims if need be.
I’ve rented in three different countries and only once had a problem getting my deposit returned (the agency handling that one had a below-zero collective IQ and no knowledge of local renting laws - I did get my money).
Dirty carpeting counts as “wear and tear”, it would happen anyway. OK; if the apartment hadn’t been occupied by someone with dyed hair there wouldn’t be dyed spots - but it would still need cleaning and periodic replacements.
The key point is, “will they have to do any work that they wouldn’t need to do anyway?” If the answer is “no”, then they have to give you the deposit.
In CA, they are required to give you an itemized bill detailing what any unreturned deposit money was sent from. College community housing offices are good resources for finding out tenant rights in your city/state.
I’ve had some cases where I’ve gotten all of my deposit back from places with normal wear and tear. And even my last slumlord apartment- which I cleaned the best I could but went through some VERY rough times before I moved in and was maintained poorly to the point of insanity (think black mold everywhere)- we got the majority of our deposit back and despite the fact that they justifyable needed to do some big work like replace the toilets and carpet. It wasn’t quite all fair, but they didn’t screw us completely either.
Still, it’s not a good idea to figure the deposit money in to any immediate financial plans or anything.
Well, from what I’ve seen, you practically have to destroy the place to not get any money back.
Example: I lived in an apartment for the past year (moved out in April) where I’d paid a $400 deposit. I had three cats that just adored my carpet; it was their favorite way to keep their claws short. :rolleyes: So, they tore the carpet up, padding and all in three different spots. Significantly sized ones, too. Well, I was a little bit stressed out about it, but short of replacing the carpet myself there was nothing I could do to fix it. So, I figured I just wasn’t going to get my deposit back. Since I’d given up on it, I didn’t vacuum or wash the kitchen and bathroom floors, or dust, etc. (I didn’t leave the place trashed either. It was just a little lived-in.)
Last week I got a check from them refunding $300 of my deposit.
FYI - In the state of Indiana, the landlord must provide a letter to the tenant detailing the breakdown of any charges against the deposit (cleaning, painting, repairs, etc.) within 45 days of the day you leave the unit. If the landlord doesn’t, they must refund the entire security deposit - and I think the tenant can demand something like three times the security deposit in restitution.
I’m not quite sure how that works, but I was working for a property management company (in Indianapolis) before I went on maternity leave, and my boss (who’s been in the business for 25+ years) was totally anal about getting the “45-day letters” out in time because he knew we would/could be screwed if we didn’t.
Just be sure to take pictures if you are afraid of being screwed. Best of luck, and congrats on the new house!!
I’ve only had one apartment (for about 2 years), but I had no trouble getting the security deposit back when I moved out.
Like others, I stressed about things that didn’t end up mattering, including:
[ul]
[li]Several inches of ash in the fireplace (I was afraid of getting it in the carpet if I tried to clean it up.)[/li][li]Shower tile not in great shape[/li][li]Claw marks on many of the window sills from a squirrel that had gotten in and then tried to escape (their fault that the squirrel had gotten in, but I was still worried that they’d forget that and blame the damage on me)[/li][li] Tons of holes in the walls from hanging pictures[/li][/ul]
Since then, I’ve learned that most good landlords recarpet, repaint, fix up tile and get a professional cleaning between every tenant.
This is what I am going to do if it is at all possible.
And I’ve been keeping notes and photos of how badly the building I lived in is in disrepair. They basically defaulted on the terms of their own lease by not maintaining a reasonably clean and safe environ. I have photos of actual filth in the hallways and laundry rooms, and I have pictures of copious trash and used condoms that they did not clean up even after four phone calls about it.
Then there is the guy slinging dope in the building, etc. I think they should be rather accomodating to their one tenant who actually played by the rules.
Others have covered your question pretty well, but I need to comment on something:
:boggling mind:
That right there is one of the reasons I tried to convince my wife that we should move to Indiana when I started telecommuting. We’re breaking our lease to buy a house, and we’re doing all we can to get back as much of our $1,785.00 deposit as possible.
Anyway, one other thing you may want to do is paint (must be white) – especially if you’ve already painted any rooms something other than white, or if the walls are quite dirty. My FIL manages an apartment complex, and that’s one of the biggest deposit-suckers there – people who paint their apartment and leave it that way, especially if it’s a dark color.
It really depends on the individual in charge of returning the deposit. I have left apartments in not so great condition and gotten the full amount back. The one time I left an apartment in immaculate condition I was deducted $80.00 for not cleaning the windows on the OUTSIDE :dubious:
Damn! I paid a 800 deposit for my old apartment and my kitty did the same kind of damage you’re talking about. They took 500 out to replace the carpet. I was livid. My cat didn’t do THAT much damage, there were maybe 2 little spots that he tore up, otherwise, the carpet was perfect. You could have replaced those areas for under 100.
He’s doing the same damn thing in my new apartment and my boyfriend is freaking out. We’re having a friend of his come in and replace the areas the cat is tearing up before we leave so they can’t screw us again.
Heh, you’d really be shocked at how low my mortgage is on a really great house.
I’m not painting, it’s in the least that if you’ve been there over a year they will take care of paint and cleaning the blinds and such. And seriously, the only painting I’m doing is in the new house, and it’s been a bitch so far. Painting is hard work.
I hope you were in a ground-level apartment, or that request would be really strange. I once left an apartment in immaculate condition too and was charged $40 … just because. The management company had written into the lease that it automatically got to retain part of the security deposit. I didn’t like it, but it was the only apartment I could afford at the time so I had to deal.
After I moved to my current apartment last fall I told my supervisor about all the cleaning I’d done at the old apartment over the weekend. She said that my idea of clean was probably different from the landlord’s idea of clean. While I was scrubbing the shower, wiping out the fridge, vacuuming, etc., the landlord was probably just hoping that I’d left the apartment in reasonably good condition. She was right. When I went in to drop off my key the next day (I’d scheduled a walkthrough, but the office rep didn’t want to go out in the rain), the rep said that I’d be getting all of my deposit back, seeing as other members of the office staff had seen me Windexing the outside of my patio door. I ended up getting the full amount.
I think they were just grateful that I was cleaner than my former neighbors. The office staff had to hire guys in hazmat suits to clean out that hellhole.