Return of SD and appropriate charges - Landlord Forum thread 361526

Return of SD and appropriate charges by John on September 5, 2021 @23:24

I had a tenant that moved out after 3 years of tenancy. Overall they left the place in a mess upon leaving, not in the condition they left it. The SD was about $1,500 and roughly 86.00 of interest given for 3 years. I'm about to send a check with a check for only $180 bucks. This was after the following charges.

One day rent - He indicated he needed one day to clean the place, he never did anything place was dirty (43 bucks)

Dump Fee (left multiple items in the place, trash in rear, kitty litter, household items) $125.

Cleaning Fee: Place was left dirty, had to hire my cleaners $300 bucks

Unauthorized alterations: The tenant changed all the cabinet knobs to this cheap plastic knob as well as putting on a foam backsplash (over the tile) and repainting the kitchen purple. $190 bucks

Flooring work: Transition strips were missing from floor $91 bucks

Various holes in walls: About 23 holes, I charged $15.00 a hole at $345.00

Yard cleanup: Bushes trimming, trash left in yard, glass left in yard, had to clean all this up ($25.00)

Repair of lawnmower: Left stale gas in lawnmower, damaged carb and pull cord was broken. 100 bucks

DR repaint: changed paint color, never authorized, had to change back

Stains in carpet: 75 bucks

So all together when you add this they are only really left with $180 bucks. He's been asking about his SD and I'm still within the 45 day period per the laws in my state. I'm certain he's going to be surprise by what little he's getting.

I want to make sure I'm in the GREEN for what I'm charging and that my numbers make sense. I understand there's such thing as "wear and tear" and I believe much of this is beyond "wear and tear". My personal labor/time is included in many of these figures.

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Re: Return of SD and appropriate charges by Garry on September 6, 2021 @09:46	[ Reply ]

Please remember, what you believe is "normal wear and tear", is probably not what a judge will say it is. You should wipe off the 1 day rent ($43) since you are charging for cleaning in other places. The dump fee of $125 seems excessive , unless you have receipts for them. If you don't, cut that to $50 Your "hole" charge is VERY excessive. Nail holes to mount pics on walls would be considered "normal wear and tear" to a judge. Unless you can show that the "holes" were of "fist" size, you should maybe charge the T $50 for re-plastering those holes, not $345. You may want to cut some of your other charges down, also, if much of those charges was for YOUR OWN labor. Most judges will only allow you to charge $10-$15 per hour for the LLs labor, reasoning that you have saved a l LOT of money by NOT having to HIRE someone else to perform those tasks. My answers to you, are designed to try to keep you OUT of court. You are only returning about 11% of the Ts deposit,--- $180. That's not enough incentive for the tenant NOT to take you to court over the deposit. Hopefully, you have pics of everything, as proof to present to a judge.

Re: Return of SD and appropriate charges

Re: Return of SD and appropriate charges by lpadave on September 6, 2021 @15:47	[ Reply ]

Garry and I are probably two of the more seasoned contributors to this forum. Many LLs view security deposit deductions as a profit center. I do not. Three years is a moderately long term tenancy. The gray area is 12 to 18 months, where it becomes more difficult to objectively determine normal wear and tear from abuse / damages. Judges love to characterize your situation as """" tenant residue """ After three years, the unit would probably be ready for a paint job complete or major touch ups. Purple paint is nasty and paint, alteration and redecorating should have been addressed and prohibited in your lease. I would have charged 75 to 100 total for two to three coats of kills primer to cover the purple,..then no further charge for finish paint. Carpets also typically have a five year life. After three years of wear and tear, I would not expect tenant to return carpets to as delivered condition. Neither would a judge. 75 dollars is nickel and dimming the """residue""" You don't want to be having to tell a judge the carpets were already 5 years old when the tenant moved in. If you've raised rents regularly and are at market,...you've had a good tenancy for three years. Particularly now with covid. Normal picture hanging holes are wear and tear. I use white paint for a number of reasons including that properly placed picture hanging nails are resolved with spackled and a damp rag to disappear into the white paint. Without needing to touch up....let alone repaint. My war story is the tenant that hung an 85 inch tv using one way wall anchors into both studs and Sheetrock. Then used double face surface mount conduit to conceal the cables down the wall to the floor. Rather than abandoning the seventy. Five cent each wall anchors in place ,... They decided that they owned the hardware, it was theirs, and they ain't leaving it. They yanked all six of them out, creating holes between golf ball and softball size. The double face tape from the conduit, pulled the Sheetrock paper down thru and into to gypsum. That was a $400 repair and repaint of the wall There was no lip about that charge,.....and they won't be making that mistake again with their next LL. WE ARE IN THIS BUSINESS TO KEEP THE STUFF RENTED AND THE RENTS COLLECTED. don't get stuck in the mud hunting for coins.

Re: Return of SD and appropriate charges

Re: Return of SD and appropriate charges by Robert on September 8, 2021 @19:39	[ Reply ]

I dont think you are too far off. as said the hole charge is way to high. That said I have in lease a charge for 1/2 or larger holes. even when patched they leave a permanent reminder. I have tenant that just moved and left 32 holes that size. I think $75 for a carpet stain is ok. I get 15-20 years out of carpets. I do think the lawnmower charges are high. most sounds like wear and tear. - pull cords break all the time. gas goes bad.

Re: Return of SD and appropriate charges