This bastard seems bound and determined to keep some of our security deposit. I just don’t fucking get it. We were good tenants- quiet, never had problems, paid the rent on time. He was a not so great landlord- kept “accidentally” taking our mail (The shithead even opened and read one of our bank statements- then commented on it :mad: ), he never fixed things, we had to supply our own smoke detectors because there weren’t any, and it took him a GODDAMN week to fix a sewer/drain that backed up into our living space and soaked into the carpeting!
We moved out at the end of last month, and we left the place cleaner than we found it. The apartment was spotless and I even cleaned all the carpeting. Well, the day after we moved out, he left me a voicemail saying we needed to repaint the walls The walls were the same color they were when we moved in, and we have pictures that prove it. I called back, and he wouldn’t answer the phone. We stopped by, and he was out in the driveway, so we talked. He basically said “Oh really? I must have forgotten, ha ha. I’m not trying to put one over on you. I’ll have my assistant send your deposit on Tuesday.”
Well, so far no deposit. Then, yesterday, we got a letter from the shitstain saying that he was keeping some of our deposit due to a “cat odor.” I called him again. He immediately told me he “wasn’t trying to put one over on me.” I asked him to describe the cat odor, and he couldn’t. I asked him where it was, and he couldn’t tell me. I asked if we could come over and verify this, and he said he’d already had the carpets professionally cleaned. I asked how much of our deposit he was taking and he said he didn’t know!
Now maybe I’m more suspicious than average, but why keep telling me you’re not “trying to put one over” on me if you’re not? Makes you sound like a used car salesman. :dubious:
Listen fucknugget- just give us our deposit back! You kept telling us how fucking rich you were, this can’t be that much money to you! :mad: <becomes too mad to keep typing>
We’ve checked up on the law, and if he doesn’t do everything by the book or give back our whole deposit, we’re going to try to take him to mediation with us and the city.
Don’t know the specifics of your case, but in general, it’s the complete deposit PLUS the interest it gained while saved in the bank. Just trying to shed a little light on a frustrating situation.
Where I live, if you have not received either your deposit or a complete accounting for the expenses that were withheld within 30 days, you can sue for double the amount of the deposit.
Indeed. Isn’t opening someone else’s mail a federal offense?
Back in Texas, I knew these two guys who left the place they’d been renting in much better shape than they’d found it. But the elderly landlady kept a substantial portion of the deposit for what she termed “invisible damages.” The father of one of them was a lawyer, and a brief formal letter from him outlining the legal action that could and would be taken against her got the rest of their money back pronto.
My daughter just successfully sued her former landlord in small claims for the security deposit. She had done everything right: pictures after she cleaned, log of unanswered phone messages she left him, timeline of notices given, documents mailed, etc. And, she was a quiet, clean, prompt-with-the-rent tenant. They ended up with a mediator, and the landlord had nothing to rebut my daughter’s claim. The mediator rolled her eyes and it was over quickly. And in this state, she was able to sue for double the amount.
He’s an asshole who owns a lot of units and routinely keeps deposits. Most of the tenants don’t bother or don’t know how to pursue their money. He never answers his phone or returns calls, and tenants give up in frustration. If one or two a year come after him hard, he’s still way ahead.
I’ll only comment on the deposit issue, not the obvious other issues this guy has with mail etc.
The deposit is *never * returned in full. It is basicly a payment, in advance, to make your apartment re-rentable. That includes carpet cleaning, paint, other cleaning etc.
No matter how clean you leave it when you move, the owner/manager of rental units MUST clean, paint, repair as necessary. Its nothing personal. They aren’t digging you for not cleaning, you just made thier job easier. (in other words, why bother? It’ll just get done again…)
Think of it like a resturaunt. You clean the table, and reset it after every party leaves. You don’t re-use the tablecloth or silverware if it wasn’t used, or didn’t “appear” dirty. You change it. Period. Same with apartments. You clean everything, paint most of the time and do repairs. This costs money. That is what the deposit is for. Get over it. Its a sunk cost, paid in advance. Consider it lost the day you move in. I’m suprised to hear anybody ever actually getting anything back!
Seconded. Although I didn’t get my deposit back when I moved from my college town, either, even though I left the place in much better condition than I found it.
So, you make it clear in the lease that you intend to keep the deposit even if there are no damages, and you still get tenants? I guess P. T. Barnum was right.
Absolutly. Its a “cleaning” deposit. Right up front about it. The “security” deposit may also be forfeited, in the case of other expenses, such as non-payment of rent, lock-outs, excessive damage, whatever.
I’ll go step further: My favorite screech is “I only live there a month, and left it clean as when I moved in! Why don’t I get my whole cleaning deposit back?”
Because if you live there a month, a week or a day there, it still needs the whole cleaning job. How do I know, or more importantly, the next tenant know where you do your nasty bodily functions, like toe-nail clipping, cat bathing or embrio incubating? People do nasty shit where they live. Go back to the resturaunt metaphore.
Also, if you live there a month, you cost me money, ass-pipe! I gotta clean again, ostensivly a clean place already, run an ad again, interview prospective renters, run credit checks again… all cost money, and all are a cost of doing business. Deposits are a cost of renting. Real simple equation.
You are in Canada. I don’t have a clue what goes on up there. Everything “down here” is perfectly legal, ethical and the norm. Except in California, which is a renters paradise. You can live for free, tear shit up and if you know just enough about the law, live free and never fear eviction for as long as your personal constitution can stand it.
Its “called” a deposit. One for cleaning, one for security. I make it clear that the “cleaning” deposit will almost always be used up upon the tenant moving out. The “security” deposit is usually refunded, or used up as “last month rent” in most cases.
I have never ripped anybody off, or taken thier mail.
I have never heard of a “cleaning” deposit, and I assume that the OP is talking about a security deposit. He says “security deposit” in the first line. That being the case, he shouldn’t “get over it”.
The walls were the same color they were when we moved in, and we have pictures that prove it. I called back, and he wouldn’t answer the phone. We stopped by, and he was out in the driveway, so we talked. He basically said “Oh really? I must have forgotten, ha ha. I’m not trying to put one over on you. I’ll have my assistant send your deposit on Tuesday.”
One for cleaning, one for security. I make it clear that the “cleaning” deposit will almost always be used up upon the tenant moving out. The “security” deposit is usually refunded, or used up as “last month rent” in most cases.