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Well. You can get the bad check made good. The easiest way is just to resubmit it if it was insufficient funds. But you can go to small claims court with it and get a court order if you make a couple of attempts with no success.
As for paint, I have no idea whether you owed that or not. Do you have good move-in photo and condition report? Do you have a good clear complete set of move-out photos? Can you prove the age of the paint? What did you do to damage the paint?
It comes down to : can you prove it all? Real proof, not he said, she said.
There isn't going to be any three times the deposit. OP received his account and refund. If he wants to take all of his proof and go to small claims court, maybe a judge will give him some or all of his deposit back, or maybe he won't. It depends upon the quality of his proof vs the quality of the landlord's proof.
..........we took good care of the property and left it immaculate. .......
So, you took good care. How long where you there and how many times in a year were the walls dusted and marks washed off?
Multiple roommates and a dog in a rental, there is a high chance that the walls were left dirty. In multiple decades of landlording, I have had maybe three tenants who left walls clean and free from dirt smudges. Every other move-out I have had to wash walls, baseboard, and wall plates.
Often dirt can't be washed off sufficiently and walls need new paint. Many landlords just save the time and go straight to new paint.
Damage often requires new paint on the entire wall that was damaged because once paint has aged a bit, it can't be matched well enough to just paint spots.
So, OP would have to be able to prove walls, baseboards, switch plates were all left clean. The landlord, on the other hand, would have to show that walls and baseboard were dirty or damaged. Then the judge looks at evidence and decides.
Even if landlord repainted due to damage, landlord can only charge tenant a prorate amt for the paint job.
Prorate in rentals means that each item has an expected normal "lifespan" in a rental. Paint might have an expected lifespan of 5 years. This means that every 5 years, new paint is expected regardless if excessive damage or dirt.
You need to find out when the place was last painted. (not easy, but you would know if brand new paint or old paint when you moved in. The years you lived there count against the paint lifespan.
So if the paint was brand new when you moved in, and if you lived there 2.5 years, then 50% of the paint's lifespan is gone. IF you caused damag to the paint, then the most landlord can charge you in this case is HALF the cost of the paint job. Because half the lifespan was already gone.
If you moved in and you know the paint wasn't new, then it had to have been there for the length of time the prior renter lived there.
Some states have charts for normal lifespan of paint for rental properties. Google for more info. Use the word prorate in your search.
Sue in small claims court for the entire deposit and 3x if your state law allows. State law also might require specific wording in the letter from landlord regarding deposit return, and also specific dates. Look up the law in your state before you file your case, so you can include these specifics if they help your case.
Good luck.
Security deposit disputes are common in small claims court. Go for it, OP. Your state or city or county might have a dept which gives free help to tenants on these issues.
Paint and general cleaning can also fall under wear and tear if it’s minor.
Some marks and faded spots on a 5+ year old paint job isn’t damage. Paint ages quickly. It fades, loses shine, chips, etc etc.
Unless a wall is damaged with holes or dings, a paint job is really just the cost of doing business for a LL, even though many times they try to pawn the cost off on the tenant.
A new paint job for an upcoming tenant is pretty nice when the outgoing tenants funds are paying for it.
Hi! I need help. My roommates and I moved out of our apartment this last spring. We paid a $2100 security deposit plus a $200 pet deposit, and we received $750 back. I’ll accept that the pet deposit was really a pet fee, but we took good care of the property and left it immaculate. We were charged $1350 to repaint. We tried to dispute it with her, but she wouldn’t budge (and she kept dropping hints that she was connected to the mob, and wasn’t going to give up that money with out a fight). So we caved and cashed the check, but it bounced! Is there any action we can take at this point to get that money back? I paid most of the deposit, so I’m the only one motivated to get the money returned. Can I do anything to get our deposit back, or did I just learn a $2100 lesson?
There are civil liabilities for bouncing checks. If you want to be nice you can call her and tell her the check bounced and to make it right and pay it again and any additional fees you incurred.
You could take it to the District Attorneys office and file.
In some states you could be liable for 2-3x the amount of the check.
She may not be legally allowed to charge for painting. Unless you just destroyed the walls she may not have the right to charge for repainting.
Was the refund returned in the correct manner within the allotted legal timeline? You may be able to legally get all your money back.
Some states do not have non refundable pet or deposits in general.
Did you take pics of the property when you moved in? When you departed?
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