Security Deposit: Know Your Rights

Return Of Tenant’s Security Deposit

Q. My landlord is not returning my full security deposit. I live in California and leased my apartment from a landlord who uses a very unprofessional property management company. Here is my situation:

When I first moved in, I signed a one-year lease. I paid a hefty security deposit. When I moved out, I received a letter from the landlord’s property management company. It stated that they had deducted nearly all my security deposit for making repairs and cleaning the apartment. They included a $23.00 check with the letter.

The property management company claimed there were many cracks in the walls (it’s an old apartment!) that needed to be repaired and that the bedroom carpet needed to be replaced. I am livid about the situation and want to know my legal rights.

A. Unfortunately, your predicament is a familiar one in landlord-tenant law. Most disputes arise from the tenant’s right to receive her security deposit back, less the cost of reasonable repairs for damages caused by the tenant during her tenancy, which was not the result of normal wear and tear.

When The Landlord Can Legally Hold-Back Returning Your Full Security Deposit

Cleaning And Repair

In many jurisdictions, including California, a landlord is legally justified to use a tenant’s security deposit for the following reasons: for unpaid rent and cleaning and repair of the apartment.

The tenant is legally obligated to return the apartment to the condition it was in when the tenant first took possession of the unit – save and except for damage caused by reasonable and normal wear and tear.

Beyond Normal Wear and Tear

The management company can legally only deduct that amount from your security deposit to make repairs and clean the apartment, which was beyond reasonable and normal wear and tear.

Also, you are entitled to receive a full explanation and accounting of all cleaning and repair fees deducted from your security deposit.

It should include copies of your records of the actual receipts for the cleaning and repair services rendered on your unit.

Cracks in the walls

Unless you caused the cracks in the walls, the landlord is prohibited from using your security deposit to repair them. This is because the teanant can not be held responsible for normal settling of the structure and the natural cracking of the walls it can cause.

Further, the natural settling of a structure is almost always considered a form of normal wear and tear and should not be the subject of a security deposit deduction.

The rule is simple. If you did not cause it, you are not responsible for paying for it.

Replacing the carpet

Unless you stained the carpet beyond repair (and this rarely occurs), the management company has no legal right to deduct the cost of the new carpet from your security deposit.

If you left the carpet in a worse condition than when you first moved in, the most you can be legally responsible for is the cost to have the carpet cleaned.

However, suppose a pet had permanently damaged a portion of the carpet. In that case, the management company would be within its rights to replace that portion of the carpet that had been permanently damaged, leaving the rest of the carpet intact.

Useful-Life Rule

Under California law and in many other jurisdictions, there is legal principle known as the useful–life rule.

The rule states: that normal wear and tear to carpets and drapes, as well as other types of furnishings, cannot be charged back to the tenant where the change in its condition has is caused by normal wear and tear, including natural aging, ordinary dirt, and blotching of the carpet and drapes.

The Small Claims Court Option

When Informal Negotiations Fail

If you believe you have been cheated by the landlord or the owners property management company, and after trying to resolve the dispute informally but without satisfaction, your best option would be to take your case to small claims court to recover your security deposit

Sadly, some landlords refuse to return all or parts of the security deposit, knowing that it is difficult for a tenant who has moved away to return and sue. So, when you move out, it’s a good idea to clean the premises and then ask the landlord to tour the premises with you to work out any issues then and there.

After you vacate the premises, you might not be able to get back in to verify your claim, especially if another tenant has already taken possession.

If everything else fails, don’t be afraid to sue in small claims. If the landlord refuses to return your security deposit, you can sue for breach of contract. Some states, such as California, even allow you to recover extra damages if you can prove the landlord withheld the deposit “in bad faith.”

Landlord Increasing Security Deposit After Tenant Moves In

Q. I have lived in the same apartment complex for over two years. When I first rented the apartment, I paid a $650 security deposit, equal to my monthly rent.

I have been a good tenant. I have neither damaged the apartment nor have I brought any pets to my residence. A few days ago, I noticed that the landlord raised my security deposit by $100. Without a justification for raising my security deposit, it does not seem right that he could do this independently and without cause. Is it legal?

A. That depends on whether your lease or month-to-month agreement gives your landlord the contractual right to increase your security deposit. For this, you will need to review the lease’s specific terms.

The landlord does not need an independent reason to raise your deposit, such as bringing in a pet, noticing that you have become a smoker, or any other reason that might suggest damage is being done to the apartment.

Landlords right to increase the deposit is purely a contractual one

In some states, security deposit increases apply only to leases for a fixed term, such as one year. In periodic such as a month-to-month lease, additions to your security deposits can usually occur unless your periodic lease expressly prohibits them.

Suppose your month-to-month lease is silent on the issue. In that case, many states permit the landlord to increase it, assuming, of course, the landlord provides you with legal written notice of the increase.

Some local ordinances limit the landlord’s right to increase security deposit

In some jurisdictions, if the amount you have already paid as a security deposit equals twice the monthly rent, your landlord will be prohibited from raising the security deposit. The rationale is that your landlord already took a hefty security deposit from you when you initially leased the apartment from him.

These property ordinances are designed to prevent the landlord from overreaching and dissuading landlords from exploiting tenants. Finally, the landlord is almost always prohibited from insisting that you pay the increase in cash.

Notice of increase in security deposit

Most jurisdictions require landlords on periodic leases to provide the tenant with at least thirty days written notice of the increase.

If the information was not in writing or the landlord did not provide you with the required notice, you will be under no legal obligation to pay the increase in most states.

Tenant Rights Lawyers

Should you have additional questions consider consulting online with a Tenant Rights Lawyer