My landlord kept most of my security deposit

By chafik

A couple days ago I received a letter from my previous landlord , with invoices and refund check , which the landlord took most of my security deposit ,out of 520$ deposit I have got only 207$, in the invoices it doesn’t mention no repair just , normal repairs , like cleaning cobwebs , washing walls , cleaning fridge , stove ,ceiling fan, vacuuming  ….ext which I think all of these are normal wear and tear . in the invoices I have got the stove cleaned in one invoice , and then in another invoice , I cleaned almost all the stuff fridge , stove , bathroom and kitchen , but still the landlord re clean them and charged me for them , and he was generous with the cleaning company , so what I can do to get the rest of my deposit ?

Edited on: Tuesday, August 21st, 2012 1:03 am

11 Responses to “My landlord kept most of my security deposit”

My response: (We welcome stories, examples, explanations, answers and a touch of your personality)
 

Anonymous

January 14th, 2013 8:40 am

I was a really neat person and still am.I took 4 days for cleaning my residence before leaving,I made sure it was extremely clean and fresh.And my landlord said he had to contact a cleaning woman and he have to keep the damage deposit.I didn’t understand because it was REALLY clean.it was more clean,the day i left then the day i came there.


Anonymous

January 17th, 2013 12:00 pm

You should have had him examine before you leaving.If you have no proof that you cleaned(like pictures) then there is not much you can do. You can try suing in little claims court but it is probably not value the stress and you would probably reduce unless you could get affidavits from other ex-tenants to demonstrate a design of scams.


Anonymous

January 20th, 2013 3:20 pm

If you don’t have any photos of before and after Or do you have a reliable witness?then you may need to take the property owner to small court to get a refund. Then it will be your term and your witness vs. him and the cleaning woman.For the future take photos when you arrive and when you leave.


Anonymous

January 23rd, 2013 6:40 pm

Can my landlord keep most of my deposit for a dirty oven and pet hair on the carpet?I just shifted out of my apartment and my landlord is trying to keep most of the security deposit(625). because she said the oven was unclean, there was pet hairs on the carpet(we compensated a pet down payment of 150), and the screen sills were unclean. I steam cleaned and vacuumed the carpets myself, though I did neglect the oven and the window sills. She is informing me her husband has been there for 14 hours cleaning and expect much of my deposit returning.This cannot be right. Can she do this? There was maybe Half an hour value of cleaning that should have been done for that place. She said she would deliver me an itemized record of what she was subtracting, but if it’s an irrational amount, can I do anything about it?


Anonymous

January 26th, 2013 10:00 pm

As a Landlord my self I have come to understand that one person significance of clean can be another people pig pen.With out photos,I can not say if you cleaned or not.


Anonymous

January 30th, 2013 1:20 am

I am a landlord and get sick of cleaning empty apartments that tenants say they left clean.SoHere are things I expect to be clean when a renter movers out Bath rooms,no soap scum build up in the sinks, tub, and shower.The toilet no rings no stains, no hairs,clean under the seat,and behind and beside it as well.In the kitchen wipe down all surfaces,no grease build up around the stove or fan.Clean the metal round things under burners on the stove,the oven and the refrigerate.If you put any shelf paper in the cabinets or drawer remove it.Then you have the windows, window ledges, and the baseboards.Don’t leave every light bulb in the unit burnt out,and dead battery’s in the smoke alarm.


Anonymous

February 2nd, 2013 4:40 am

I have a question about landlord penalty for leaving furniture and not cleaning?I have a lot of useless trash in my residence and already strategy on my property owners maintaining my down payment. They know I’m going out by the end of the 30 days. Can they punish me for making A LOT of factors there like couches and couches and things? BTW, I haven’t finalized a rental in quite a while.


Anonymous

February 5th, 2013 8:00 am

Yes, it expenses a lot for the property owner to remove your products. They can and will take you to judge over it and if they get a verdict, you will gradually have to pay for ALL the expenses, such as judge charges. Put the Craigslist or freecycle now – someone should take it off your arms. Then begin now to put your other things in the refuse – not the big things, as you will be billed for that as well. Whether you have finalized a rental or not is unrelated. A several times of washing and disposal now will keep you a lot of stress so when you want to lease a property. Why would you not just fresh up and get your down payment returning.


Anonymous

February 8th, 2013 11:20 am

They can cost you to have all the trash remove from the residence, such as work and whatever charges they may have to pay to have it delivered off.


Anonymous

February 11th, 2013 2:40 pm

They can charge you even if you never signed a new lease, the general rules of your original lease are still valid. The lease expiring does not mean no rules.You still must give proper notice as required by the lease. If you fail to give proper notice then that is also grounds to keep your deposit. They can also charge you one more month rent for not giving notice.


Maris

June 4th, 2013 9:47 am

YOU Will Never GET Your Security BACK …… No Matter How i cleaned like a dog they always found some one elses mess on me …. unless it is an honest landlord , who really took your security in a safe place and you were doing your part as well tenant


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