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Any thoughts on this stupidity?
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What dollar amount are we talking about? If it's $75, send the money and get on with your life. If it's an amount you consider worth fighting to keep, figure out what their next step is and, if the ball is in their court, ignore them (except for one written response) until they do something official.
I've accounted back security deposits to more than 3,000 tenants over almost 20 years. I've been to court 3 times on disputes and each time I prevailed. I've been harassed, threatened, yelled at, etc. by tenants who felt they were being ripped off (they weren't) so I've learned what works best in dealing with that, which is simply to cut off the communication and restrict it to formal written correspondence.
It may be different in California, but in Texas, the tenant recourse is through Justice of the Peace Court. The Justice of the Peace Court requires the person suing to provide a copy of the 10 day demand letter that was sent via certified mail to the landlord. Without it, the tenant cannot sue. It also costs them $50 to file the suit.
Therefore, if I haven't received a 10 day demand letter, and I know I'm justified in the withholdings, I simply don't discuss the matter with the tenant. This infuriates some tenants, but it's the best policy.
The most they'll get out of me is "put you complaint in writing and send it to me. I'll take it under consideration. But I will discuss it no further until I have your written letter in hand".
From that point forward, the only communication that happens is in writing. I don't argue with people on the phone. I want to have all communication documented so I can hand it to the judge if it comes to that, which it rarely does.
If I receive a 10 day demand letter, and it makes reasonable demands for a small sum of money, I might go ahead and pay it just to be done, but not usually. I'll instead send a written response, very short and brief, stating "I have reviewed your letter and comments and have determined that the deductions are legal and proper. No adjustments will be made".
If they persist, I'll simply write back "We have a disagreement, which I am willing to settle in in front of the JP Court Judge. I'll do whatever the judge tells me to do. If you feel strongly enough about this, we can discuss it in front of the Judge, but this will be my final reply outside of court".
That usually ends it. Very few tenants go through the trouble of formalizing their complaint. It costs $50 to file the suit, the demand letter must precede it, and the tenant has to know how to properly file the suit. It's a hassle, takes time, and most tenants just give up.
The three that didn't, and who dragged me into court, all were very upset when the judge explained to them that I was reasonable and they were not.
FYI - the most common deductions are for cleaning, leaving burnt out bulbs, dirty A/C filters, and trash/debris left behind. We send a two page move-out letter stating "how to get all of your deposit back". If a tenant follows the instructions and advice, they normally do get all of it back. We make deductions on less than 1/2 of our move-outs because the letter really makes it easy for tenants to understand the expectations.
Commonly, what we see is an abandoned cleaning effort because they ran out of time and/or energy.
Steve