Landlord Question and Answer Forum

I recently went over the move-out list with a tenant. The tenant did not do several things as stated on the contract - maintain the lawn, leave the house in the condition they moved-in, etc. When going over the list, I forgot to include several things, such as the lawn (tenant did not water the grass, thus killing it - it used to be like a golf course, plus weeds), leaving the house somewhat dirty (blinds, vents, cabinets, carpet, etc), and not giving me a written notice (it was verbal). On the move-out list, I put OK on the above mentioned items. I do have a provision saying that if any of these are not met, they forfeit their deposit. Can I keep her deposit, or deduct these items that she did not do - even though it doesnt state this on the move-out list? Can she take me to court for not having these listed, but are stated on the signed contract? I did take pictures of my dried up lawn, dirty light bulbs, dirty this and that, just in case! Thx in advance.

Dirty light bulbs? I think you are pushing to hard there. There always is normal wear and tear and once you have signed the move out list that it is okay I think you would have a very hard time defending going back and deducting any damages for it.

Posted by Curtis B, IN on Sunday, June 17, 2012

Curtis, you fail to see the WHOLE picture here!! It is not only light bulbs, but, as mentioned the grass used to be like a golf course before. Have you heard of "curb appeal?" Plus, leaving the house somewhat dirty is not acceptable!

Posted by Charles M, TN on Sunday, June 17, 2012

In my opinion, the only thing you can hold the tenant to is the fact that the house was not left in a clean condition. Did the tenant receive the house in a clean fashion? No, you cannot hold the tenant to anything that was not clearly written within the lease document which was subsequently signed at the time prior to move-in. Therefore, you cannot hold their security deposit against them. If you do, I think you risk a big chance of going to small claims courts. If I was the tenant and you were my landlord - if you tried to hold something against me that was not clearly stated in the lease document prior to me signing, I would definitely be taking you to small claims court. In the future - write you lease as if you were the landlord to a tenant and then flip it. Would you sign this lease if you were the tenant and somebody else was the landlord? Hope this helps.

Posted by Anthony F, VA on Sunday, June 17, 2012

In response to Anthony's answer - everything that the tenant did not do (maintain the lawn, leave it in a clean condition, give written notice, etc) is stated very clearly in the lease in plain simple English! Again, my concern is that everything she did not do/was supposed to do was not listed on the move out list. Do I still have a case even though it is mentioned on the contract, but not on the move out list that the tenant refused to sign?

Posted by Charles M, TN on Sunday, June 17, 2012

Charles - if it's in the signed contract, then you do have a case. However, you also broke the contract when you accepted a verbal statement from the tenant that they were moving out at the given date. (Once the tenant notified you verbally, you should have stated that you need this in writing to be effective. A simple e-mail can suffice) So, in my opinion you could also be at fault on this which brings to the larger picture. The fact that the lawn was not maintained is circumstantial, as long as the tenant kept it cut according to county code then they are in the clear, I think. You cannot expect a tenant to fertilize, water, etc a lawn when it is not their own. A tenant just won't do this or spend their own money on this factor. In the future, I would suggest you look at getting a lawn care company to maintain the grounds of your property, which you will have to pay for, not the tenant. With regards to the cleanliness of house, what you could do is get a couple of written estimates from cleaning companies (about three or four; I know Merry maids will do this) and inform the tenant that if they do not return the house in a clean fashion (a manner in which they received the house) you will deduct (the estimated cleaning fee) out of the security deposit. Light bulbs is no go issue and not worth your time or theirs. I hope this helps!

Posted by Anthony F, VA on Sunday, June 17, 2012

Again thx for the responses, but I dont think my concern has been answered yet. Can I still put down on the itemized deductions list what I didnt put down on the move-out list? I forgot to put down several things on the move-out list and found more the next day! These things that were not met or done are specified on the contract.

Posted by Charles M, TN on Monday, June 18, 2012

Charles- the best way I think I can answer you question is, you cannot deduct money from the security deposit on items that did not include on/in the lease but want to put on the move-out sheet. The move out sheet is simply a check sheet and really holds no substantial weight if you were to go to court.

Posted by Anthony F, VA on Tuesday, June 19, 2012