My landlord deducted cleaning time from my deposit

[kjgoettl]

My residence was a small house--LR 12x8, BR 8x8 and 5x7 Kitch 7x5. My landlord returned a minor portion of my deposit stating that they had to clean and repaint the ceiling due to smoke damage. I lived in the residence for 5 yrs 10 months on a month to month lease. There was not a provision for no smoking. I have a voicemail from the LL stating that I do not have to wash the walls when I move out as that is not my responsibility--wouldn't the ceiling kind of be included in that? I moved the majority of my things out 15 day before my lease was up but was in and out every other day at least. LL came into my place and washed walls, ceiling and repainted before the lease was up....they knew the condition of the walls but if this was an issue for them, shouldn't they have given me the opportunity to clean them myself? They didn't charge me for washing or painting the walls, only the ceiling. LL had been in and out of residence, ripping out the front steps and the bushes, actually using the toilet and leaving a disgusting mess in it which I had to clean up, leaving empty pop cans and garbage. Do I have anything I can do?

 

[mightymoose]

Write the landlord a letter requesting a return of the full amount. Only repairs that are beyond ordinary wear and tear are allowed to be deducted. Also, since the maintenance was done before your time was up, you should have been given opportunity to remedy the situation.
If the landlord does not return your money then your only option is to go to small claims court and see if you can get a judge to take your side. Sounds like you might have a good chance. If you ask for it, the landlord can be ordered to reimburse you for any court costs you pay.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

As usual, this all comes down to what is "normal wear and tear" versus "damage" in a rental unit.

Security deposits can be kept to address "damages" but not "normal wear and tear".

Although smoking was not banned during your residency, this doesn't mean that you couldn't be charged for nicotine stains left because of this. Treatment usually does involve cleaning, priming and repainting an area damaged by nicotine.

If you disagree with what was kept, you write what is known as a "demand" letter, demanding what you consider is your fair share of the security deposit that should be returned to you. List a specific time period (i.e., two weeks after the landlord receives this) to receive this money.

If no satisfaction, then your next step is to consider filing a lawsuit for this money. Such lawsuits are usually heard in Small Claims court (or your version of this) as they involved relatively small amounts of money.

Gail

 

[kjgoettl]

I realize about the nicotine stains, which I would have and had planned on cleaning, but LL said not to worry about washing walls, so I assumed that meant ceiling too. 5 days before the end of my tenancy, LL had washed walls and put tape up to start painting. Paint had been purchased already as it was sitting on the floor of the place. 3 days before the end, they had already painted. I feel I should have been given the opportunity to clean myself. It looked as if they planned on painting anyway and decided I would be paying for it.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Then consider doing what I suggested in my first posting...

Gail