# That's it, I'm forfeiting the security deposit **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 6, 2015, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-it-im-forfeiting-the-security-deposit/719365 "2015-05-06T07:57:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-it-im-forfeiting-the-security-deposit/719365/1 "2015-05-06T07:57:39Z")
So I’m moving and the truck shows up in about five hours from right now. And, of course, time has caught up with me, because why else would I be posting at 3:45 AM? I’m still not quite finished packing, as there are still one or two last minute boxes that should only take a few minutes. But the worst part is the sheer amount of trash I have to get rid of. I figure I’m looking at two or three runs to the dumpster just to get rid of the rest of it. Plus, at this point I don’t have the time I wanted to sweep and mop and also vacuum the carpet. I did manage to get the major appliances clean and I’ll still get the sweeping done. That said, I’d think after 6.5 years the landlord would replace the carpet and vinyl anyway and the cabinets and appliances could all use an updating as well. And with the inadvertent wall damage and the like over the years I figure I was never going to get the deposit back anyway. But it was the principle of the thing to not leave a dirty apartment behind. (Believe me, I’ve seen and had to deal with much much worse. Congealed blood in a fridge from an evicted tenant was just the start.) If I had one more day I’d be happy to rent a hotel room and rent a vacuum and do it all after the movers have left, but I just don’t have that kind of time. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-it-im-forfeiting-the-security-deposit/719365/2 "2015-05-06T08:18:34Z")
good luck with your move ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-it-im-forfeiting-the-security-deposit/719365/3 "2015-05-06T13:56:25Z")
Sounds like you don’t have time for “the principle of the thing.” Don’t worry about it, and good luck with the rest of you move! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-it-im-forfeiting-the-security-deposit/719365/4 "2015-05-06T14:01:01Z")
If you don’t own a vacuum cleaner, I presume the carpet hasn’t been vacuumed very much over the last six years, and once now isn’t going to help very much. So your security deposit is probably history anyway. Good luck with the move. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-it-im-forfeiting-the-security-deposit/719365/5 "2015-05-06T14:43:21Z")
My advice is to take out the trash, do a quick sweep, and screw the final mopping. Then, if the landlord makes noises about security deposits, start quoting the section of your jurisdiction’s regulations that say that normal wear and tear is NOT reason to withhold the security deposit. If you’ve been there six years, that’s a fair amount of normal wear and tear. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-it-im-forfeiting-the-security-deposit/719365/6 "2015-05-06T14:52:57Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > My advice is to take out the trash, do a quick sweep, and screw the final mopping. Then, if the landlord makes noises about security deposits, start quoting the section of your jurisdiction’s regulations that say that normal wear and tear is NOT reason to withhold the security deposit. If you’ve been there six years, that’s a fair amount of normal wear and tear. This. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-it-im-forfeiting-the-security-deposit/719365/7 "2015-05-06T16:09:29Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > _Congealed blood in a fridge_ from an evicted tenant was just the start.) Evicted or Convicted? :eek: > [@Shodan](#): > > If you don’t own a vacuum cleaner, I presume the carpet hasn’t been vacuumed very much over the last six years, and once now isn’t going to help very much. So your security deposit is probably history anyway. > > Good luck with the move. > > Regards, > Shodan I’m thinking it’s packed & moved. I’ve done that before, left the current roll of paper towel out, but when I used that up I wasn’t going thru boxes to get to the unopened PT, so that was the end of cleaning. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-it-im-forfeiting-the-security-deposit/719365/8 "2015-05-06T16:52:03Z")
I got lucky with my last apartment. My mother came over to clean while I got the last of the stuff out. The manager wandered over, said her people were sitting around doing nothing and so I could just go and she’d have them clean the place. 🙂 Got my full deposit back too. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-it-im-forfeiting-the-security-deposit/719365/9 "2015-05-06T18:51:00Z")
After seven years, the landlord has to replace the carpet and repaint regardless, so don’t be so sure you’re not getting the damage deposit back, unless you didn’t tell us about the holes you left or if your landloord is a real swindler.