Landlord Question and Answer Forum

Hi, As a landlord, I want to settle/ mediate security deposit dispute and not go to small claims court. I received a letter of objection to my claim against my tenant's security deposit and demand for full refund of security deposit. The letter is from her lawyer. I am willing to refund partially and not go to court. I have 10 days I believe. Thanks for any help/advice.

You should have an itemized list of repairs of damage and cleaning for the property. You can not charge for repair of regular wear and tear. You should also have picture before the tenant moved-in and pictures of what they damaged. Deduct the cost of repairs from the deposit. Provide the remaining deposit funds and list of how the deductions were used. OR if its not a lot of money or it was a long time fairly good tenant just return the deposit.

Posted by Scott H, VA on Wednesday, May 30, 2018

I agree pictures are a must to protect yourself and prove your case in court. Wear and Tear is a deep subject in itself. Wear and Tear is from normal use and age. You can even charge for damages on carpet 5 years old but you have to prorate it given the expected life of the carpet which is usually 10 years so your loss is 5 years and you can charge the tenant for the 5 years lost. Now if they lived there 10 years and the carpet is destroyed, you can't charge them. Wear and Tear is not the lack of maintenance or proper usage by the tenant and I stipulate that in my lease. So if the refrigerator is disgusting and covered in mold, I would get rid of it and charge them for another frig. of similar style regardless of age. I rented to a judge one time and had damages, he tried to intimidate me when I made a deduction for damages but I sent him a copy of the receipts and picture of the damage and I never heard from him again.

Posted by Darlene D, AZ on Sunday, June 3, 2018