The awareness level among tenants to safeguard the security deposit is up. This is helping them to resist unnecessary deduction on the deposit by seeking legal remedy. Landlords mandatorily take deposit from the tenants as a hedge against possible damage to their property or a safeguard against defaulting on rent.
Know the Rights
But security deposit often becomes a tool of exploitation in the hands of greedy landlords who resort to unethical deduction citing flimsy reasons of damage to their property. It must be known that full replacement cost cannot be slapped on a tenant, if an accessory is not very new.
Injustice to Tenant
However, if a tenant gets a bill from the landlord withholding most of the deposit based on cooked -up charges, the remedy is to assert the rights and seeks its reversal legally. There may be variations in rental laws from state to state regarding how much leeway both renters and landlords can be given. So check the Attorney General web site to get a clear idea on the legal channels available.
Maintain Record
An alert tenant will be well placed to resist any irrational deductions if he keeps a record.
- Factual report of all maintenance issues in writing
- Verification of light bulbs to know they are working before vacating.
- Adherence to the terms of the contract.
- Obliging rules on ‘no pets’ or ‘no smoking’ clauses within the property.
- Total clean up the property at the end of tenancy if the contract demands so
Full tenancy deposit
No reasonable landlord will harass a tenant if his conduct had been fair and has followed the following core elements during the tenancy
- Pay the full rent before moving out
- Manage any scuff marks or damage to the decor and ensure it is made good
- Maintain all furniture belonging to the landlord very well throughout the tenancy.
As long as security deposit enjoys a legal cover, no landlord can put that money in his back pocket. Knowing more about the benefits of deposit protection schemes will be useful to tenants.
