Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I currently live in a basement apartment that I will be moving out of this month. I've been here for almost nine (!!) years and this is the first apartment I've ever had, so obviously it's the first time I'm leaving one. I have a few questions and I figured people who rent out part of their house would be better able to answer me, since it's a slightly different situation than renting in an apartment building.
When you a tenant leaves your apartment, what do you look for in terms of things they would be responsible for vs. things you would be responsible for? At what point would you hold a tenant's security deposit?
I will leave it at that-- I've never left an apartment before and my landlord's have never had a tenant before me so I just want to make sure I have my bases covered in terms of what to expect. If you're a landlord in this type of situation please give me whatever information you can regarding this process (you can PM me if you don't want to post it here) -- it will be very helpful since I don't know anyone personally and people on the other couple of message boards I've tried don't seem to understand the concept of renting an in-house apartment vs. in a building (seems to be a long island thing, I guess).
Renting an in-house apartment is pretty much the same as renting in an apartment building, or even renting an entire house, regarding security deposits. The bottom line is landlords are checking for damage. Doesn't really matter what or where you're renting.
What you want to do is leave the place clean, and as it would say in a lease, in broom swept condition. Don't leave any garbage behind - that would be chargeable to your security deposit. A landlord's job is not to clean up after their tenants. They can and will hire someone to do the cleanup, and you will be paying the bill out of your security deposit. The whole idea is to leave the rental in the same condition as when you first moved in.
Normal wear and tear shouldn't be taken out of your security deposit. That will include things like a paint job that needs redoing - that shouldn't come out of your security; worn out carpeting goes to wear and tear (holes would be damage as well as burns); kitchen counters that may have the finish worn off but without knife cuttings (the cuttings would be damage); a lock that broke out of constant use, etc. Things that become worn out is normal wear and tear.
However, damage includes plenty - ie, broken window and/or screen; ruined woodwork (such as moldings around doorways that have been bashed one way or another or maybe scratched by a pet), stained floors - possibly by pets; torn/ripped/burned carpeting; torn drapes or blinds supplied by LL; holes in walls, ceilings, etc. Basically things that have been damaged either by accident or purposely. Children cause a tremendous amount of damage, next come pets. If you have neither you're probably in good shape. Unless you've had some wild parties with people causing damage. If they caused damage, you as the tenant are responsible - not the partiers.
So, take a look around, and if that toilet tank top has a chunk out of it, that's damage. Or if someone threw a phone at the wall and left a hole, that's damage.
If you need more clarification, go to the library and read a book on landlording, look up wear and tear vs. damage, and you'll see what a landlord looks for.
Most disputes come up between LL's and tenants when they disagree on what is normal wear and tear and what is actual damage. And then there are tenants (like the ones I had) who will deny breaking anything - after all whatever they broke either fell out or fell off. You can always use that tactic, like my tenants did, if you have no conscience. Keep in mind what goes around comes around.
If you are leaving the place in the same condition as when you first moved in, you're in the clear. If not... well, you better hope the LL wasn't like me and didn't take pictures of the place while you were doing a walk through. If they did take pictures, those pictures will hold up in court.
Best thing to do is clean the place out, then after it's empty, vacuum and mop. And spackle if it needs it anywhere. If there's a ripped screen, take it to the hardware store and for around $10 get the mesh replaced. That ought to be enough. After all you've been there for 9 years, and presumably you were a good tenant.
I was a pretty awesome tenant, I have to say... I even recognize that I had some kind of super-human patience to deal with some of the thing I've dealt with here. They're very nice people and they're good landlords in terms of fixing stuff or whatever, but they're loud and they have two very annoying dogs and they're just kind of annoying, to put it bluntly. I don't think a lot of peopel would have had the patience to put up with some of that stuff for so long.
Anyway, thanks for your response. What is your thought on thumbtack holes in the walls? That's really the only kind of wall 'damage' here--no holes, now huge gash marks, nothing like that. There is a three inch long section about 6" from the ceiling line on one of the walls where the paint peeled off when I removed some tape, but I painted over that and I think when they re-paint again it should be 100% covered. Should I try to sand it down a little or just leave it (in your opinion)?
The only other potential sticking point is the kitchen floor. At first I thought I'd have to replace it because it's more or less stained across the board and I thought I didn't clean it enough or something (even though I did), but the people I asked said it's a 15 year old linolium tile floor and it's gonna happen. Also, the original landlord that was here when I moved in had a section of the carpet in the kitchen in front of the sink, and the rubber under that carpet turned that part of the floor yellow...
I wouldn't worry too much. Just clean as best as possible and see if they say anything. You rented from them for 9 years so they really shouldn't have much to complain about.
...and take pictures of every room in detail. Just incase.
I also know people who do a final walk thru with the owner and a paper that shows every room. Ask the owener to inspect every room and note if there is damage.
picture hangers should be fine. gaping holes not so
the floor, clean as best you can. 10 years of use on vinyl tile, depending no the quality can be a lot of its life. if you gouged it, cut it etc, thats damage, if you never clean, that cna be damage, if its worn.... thats wear and tear.
I would recommend that you take photos, video is even better, of everything from multiple angles. Including any things that might have been worn down or damaged. A lot of things wear over a 9 year period, and a LL can mistake damage for what would be considered wear. Make sure to clean everything! You need to leave it in the condition you received the apartment in, which you should have taken photos of too.
Make sure you are fully moved out before you take the photos, because that is the condition that is in question. A LL can argue that the damage could have been caused while you were moving if any of your furniture or property is in the pictures.
Andrea (and any other landlords), do you care if a new tenant wants to paint the bathroom right away? How should I address something like that with the new landlords? Right now the bathroom is extremely... feminine... and I want to paint it (I also want to change out the formica around the sink because it's pink but one thing at a time...)
Just not sure what the etiquette is in a case like this.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
