I’m in Illinois. I’ve lived in my current place for just over two years. The security deposit on my place is $100 (limited by Illinois law, I believe).
Legally what can a landlord stick you for after moveout? I’ll leave the place clean but there are two things that have me worried:
There is a stain on the kitchen counter, decent size. It doesn’t scrub out. This one happened when I was cooking, spilled some chili and then forgot about it for a day. It’s not hideous but I doubt it could be fixed - the counter would need to be replaced I suppose.
There is damage to the paint under the living room window. This happened when a particularly strong rainstorm hit while I was out and water ran down the wall.
I’m not worried so much about getting back the deposit (only $100) but could a landlord legally bill me for replacement of the counter or anything like that?
There is definitely no Illinois law limiting a security deposit to $100, because I’ve rented in numerous places in Illinois and never had a security deposit that was less than a month’s rent. And you don’t mention where exactly you are, but in Chicago and everywhere else I’ve ever lived, the landlord can certainly bill you for the documented cost of repairing damage you caused to the unit beyond reasonable wear and tear (see sec. 5-12-080), and I sure don’t think that’s going to be limited by the amount of your security deposit, especially if it’s only $100. $100 doesn’t buy much in the way of apartment repairs these days.
The fun part is deciding what is “reasonable wear and tear.”
If you’ve been there over two years, you may be off the hook on the paint - some paint damage is to be expected here and there as “normal wear and tear.”
The countertop is a harder call. If it’s a big black blotch on an otherwise pristine white countertop, expect to be charged a lot. If it’s more like “If you look at it from this angle…” and the rest of the countertop has years’ worth of cuts and chips, the landlord may overlook it and decide that they finally could stand to be replaced after all these years.
If you’ve had a good relation with the landlord all along, they may cheerfully overlook the wall and the stain as normal stuff that happens. OTOH, if you’ve been habitually late with rent, or a pain in the neck, don’t expect any favors now.
I’ve been perfect on the rent; always on time for the two years in my current apartment and in the two before in a different apartment (same landlord).
The stain isn’t horrible. It’s a grease stain. A slight discoloration.
Oh well, guess I’ll just see what the landlord says after I do move out. They weren’t bad when I moved out of my last apartment, aside from charging me $40 for forgetting to clean the crumbs out of the oven’s bottom storage compartment.
I can always lawyer up if need be, I suppose. I’m enrolled in a group legal plan, finding it fantastic so far in getting legal representation in buying my new condo.
Try diluted bleach on the kitchen counter, the stuff’s amazing. Sneak up on it rinsing often, to detect any damage early enough to quit and deny everything. And of course you might want to wear rubber gloves.
If the wall damage is just paint and not the wall board they can’t reasonably ding you. If the wallboard is damaged, I’d fix it with spackle and paint to match. Then they won’t have a leg to stand on.