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Old 03-22-2018, 05:59 PM
 
Location: Moku Nui, Hawaii
11,050 posts, read 24,022,266 times
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Oh, guess if we were renters we'd know more about these things. Wouldn't the security deposit (which I erroneously called 'last month's rent') be about the same amount as a month's rent? Can a landlord ask more than a month's rent as a deposit?
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Old 03-22-2018, 06:52 PM
 
Location: Kahala
12,120 posts, read 17,901,605 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hotzcatz View Post
Can a landlord ask more than a month's rent as a deposit?
Not unless you have a pet - then you can ask for another month security.
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Old 03-22-2018, 07:02 PM
 
2,378 posts, read 1,313,895 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whtviper1 View Post
Not unless you have a pet - then you can ask for another month security.
I think the rent laws for the most part are universal, but they mean nothing to a landlord. A landlord will do as they please and as a renter they have no choice but to conform. We paid first month rent, last month rent, and security deposit that was equivalent to a months rent. We also paid a $300 pet deposit. This was completely in violation of Virginia state law, but were we about to file a lawsuit? No! That is the way it is. We wanted the house and when in competition with others we are not asking questions.

We are not even expecting to get a cent back from our security deposits!
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Old 03-22-2018, 07:45 PM
 
Location: Kahala
12,120 posts, read 17,901,605 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nyfinestbxtf View Post
I think the rent laws for the most part are universal, but they mean nothing to a landlord. A landlord will do as they please and as a renter they have no choice but to conform. We paid first month rent, last month rent, and security deposit that was equivalent to a months rent. We also paid a $300 pet deposit. This was completely in violation of Virginia state law, but were we about to file a lawsuit? No! That is the way it is. We wanted the house and when in competition with others we are not asking questions.

We are not even expecting to get a cent back from our security deposits!
That has all sort of problems as a landlord and would carry more risk than what I'd be comfortable with....

As a landlord, asking a tenant to sign a lease that does not conform with the law is illegal and not enforceable. If the tenant wants to bail after 2 months, you as the landlord have no cause of action since the lease isn't valid. Evicting people on a illegal lease has a whole set of different problems. And the extra security deposit - more problems withholding that security at the end of lease if the tenant takes you to small claims court - doubtful a judge will be sympathetic for the landlord for having an illegal lease and would probably just order you, the landlord, to return the entire security regardless of damage.

Quite frankly, if my house for rent was in such high demand, and as you put it - in competition with others - that just tells me I'm not asking for enough rent - I make more as landlord asking for more rent than illegally asking for more security deposit or last months rent.
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Old 03-23-2018, 07:13 AM
 
2,378 posts, read 1,313,895 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whtviper1 View Post
That has all sort of problems as a landlord and would carry more risk than what I'd be comfortable with....

As a landlord, asking a tenant to sign a lease that does not conform with the law is illegal and not enforceable. If the tenant wants to bail after 2 months, you as the landlord have no cause of action since the lease isn't valid. Evicting people on a illegal lease has a whole set of different problems. And the extra security deposit - more problems withholding that security at the end of lease if the tenant takes you to small claims court - doubtful a judge will be sympathetic for the landlord for having an illegal lease and would probably just order you, the landlord, to return the entire security regardless of damage.

Quite frankly, if my house for rent was in such high demand, and as you put it - in competition with others - that just tells me I'm not asking for enough rent - I make more as landlord asking for more rent than illegally asking for more security deposit or last months rent.
That is good to know. Thank you Whtviper. I really do not know much about rental laws, but I think our realtor at the time should of spoke up about the unlawfulness of the lease.
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Old 03-23-2018, 12:35 PM
 
Location: Minnesota
163 posts, read 268,692 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nyfinestbxtf View Post
A landlord will do as they please and as a renter they have no choice but to conform.
You don't have to rent from people who make illegal requests. If you're determined to have a certain apartment, then that's on you.

Quote:
Originally Posted by hotzcatz View Post
Oh, guess if we were renters we'd know more about these things. Wouldn't the security deposit (which I erroneously called 'last month's rent') be about the same amount as a month's rent? Can a landlord ask more than a month's rent as a deposit?
My SD was only 1/2 of my monthly rent because I have great references and my landlady was looking for a solid tenant having been burned before.
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Old 03-24-2018, 08:05 AM
 
2,378 posts, read 1,313,895 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Enyo View Post
You don't have to rent from people who make illegal requests. If you're determined to have a certain apartment, then that's on you.



My SD was only 1/2 of my monthly rent because I have great references and my landlady was looking for a solid tenant having been burned before.

We were a little under the gun with time more than anything else. It wasn’t so much we really wanted the house that we are renting, but rather they were the first ones to approve our application and we needed to be settled within a couple weeks. We didn’t have the time to shop around and the landlord blindsided us toward the end with adding last month rent to the lease. We had no choice. My wife accepted a teaching offer in a different state and didn’t want to lose out on the opportunity. The way we see it is hopefully we will get back all our security in the end. It will be a nice chunk of cash that will be like found money. We aren’t too bent about it. It’s money we can use to buy furniture off Craigslist when we move.
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Old 03-24-2018, 06:41 PM
 
Location: Honolulu, HI
24,614 posts, read 9,446,498 times
Reputation: 22950
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nyfinestbxtf View Post
. A landlord will do as they please and as a renter they have no choice but to conform
It’s actually the other way around. I’ve seen many tenants break their lease and the landlord is stuck trying to find a new tenant. Tenants will come up with all kinds of excuses to break their lease (military, sick parents, moving, new job on mainland, money issues, divorce)

So if landlords want to treat tenants like crap, don’t be surprised when they check in one day and that tenant has moved all their crap out. You think landlords are going to waste their time suing broke tenant lease breakers going back to the mainland? Yeah right.
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Old 04-05-2018, 09:24 AM
 
2,830 posts, read 2,502,837 times
Reputation: 2737
Me thinks the OP has been watching too many episodes of Hawaii life on HGTV

Now don't get me wrong, Hawaii is a beautiful place to visit, but living there just isn't worth it IMO. There are so many places on the mainland where you can live a similar lifestyle and get a lot more bang for your buck. Also, island fever is a very real thing...
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Old 04-05-2018, 06:05 PM
 
2,481 posts, read 2,234,244 times
Reputation: 3383
Quote:
Originally Posted by ryanst530 View Post
Me thinks the OP has been watching too many episodes of Hawaii life on HGTV

Now don't get me wrong, Hawaii is a beautiful place to visit, but living there just isn't worth it IMO. There are so many places on the mainland where you can live a similar lifestyle and get a lot more bang for your buck. Also, island fever is a very real thing...
this article covers a bunch of what has been said on this thread..including Vipers comment about record Tourism last year.
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/201...mployment.html
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