Re: No deposit - Landlord Forum thread 356478

Re: No deposit by Garry (Iowa) on March 17, 2018 @22:20

Your ex-tenant is right, and you are wrong. His labor has some value to it, no matter what the normal security deposit would be for the place. For instance, lets say he painted the living rm, dining rm, 3 bedrooms, and a hallway. You both could have decided that that labor was worth $600, and you would credit him $600 as his deposit, even though no money was given to you. The reason that the T did not like the original colors does not matter. It's the fact that he did labor for you without getting ANYTHING in return. It's no different than if he was renting from you for 6 months paying $600 per month rent, and you both made the same agreement at that time, but it was for the RENT, not the deposit. He would have painted the same rooms, and you would have credited him as paying you $600 in rent, EXCEPT, you would have gotten NO cash, just the labor.

That doesn't mean he gets it back. It means YOU must show him having a "deposit" of $600, AND you will need to show any unpaid rents, any damages, and any costs involved in evicting him, as costs taken out of his "deposit". You really need to establish "SOME" amount as a "deposit" before he decides to take you to court, and have a judge establish an amount-----which you may not like.

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Re: No deposit by Frank (California) on March 18, 2018 @11:12	[ Reply ]

That's what I thought originally but I just wasn't sure. Thank you for the information.

Re: No deposit by Anonymous on March 20, 2018 @06:08	[ Reply ]

You should never allow for a T to do any type of work on your rental property. Lets say you give them OK to paint. If they get injured. You could be sued. I do not allow for changing colors of paint. This type of work should be done prior to allowing a T in. And paint should be a neutral color to your liking. If they don't like the color, they can move.