Rental Deposit - LA (apartment, house, purchase)

[wolfft]

We are about to give notice on our rented house and will be moving out in approx. 30 days. We have been living in our place for over 2 years and the place will need some work to it to bring up to standard for a new tenant – this is through wear and tear as opposed to any specific damage to the property. In that situation would the landlord normally return the majority of the deposit? Or would they try and use the deposit to cover any work needed?

This is the 1st place I’ve rented in the US so am not sure what the common practice is/what to expect. In England (where we lived before moving here) I have normally put a lot of work into leaving a rented property spotless so at get my deposit back. There landlords have tried to keep some of the deposit but I have always managed to get it all back. Any experiences from both a landlord/tenant would be appreciated.

[Chelito23]

Ask your landlord in what condition they expect the property back in order to get back your full deposit...what they consider normal wear and tear...

If there is something outrageous you would need to file a small claim. Just document everything thru pics before you hand in the keys and do a walk thru and get it signed and keep a copy for down the road.

[ryanms3030]

Legally they can't charge for normal wear and tear. They can charge cleaning to bring it up to move in condition. I've usually gotten my entire deposit back and I do nothing more then sweep up when we move. I had one corporate managed building keep like $200 for cleaning but I've heard they do that to everyone. Here is the actual law

California Tenants - California Department of Consumer Affairs

[LoveMeSomeSFVHouses]

I've heard most charging cleaning fees too - but I've also heard of people fighting those and getting them waived. Ryan is right with the book and wear and tear. Now if it does have to be replaced/repainted because it was bad enough there are certain lifespans on those items. Like I *think* (I don't remember without checking exactly) paint is a 3 year lifespan and carpet is 5. So if they have to replace your carpet, and your carpet was brand new when you moved in 2 years ago, then you could get charged for 3/5 of the purchase cost. If the carpet was already 3 years old when you moved in, and you moved in 2 years ago, they couldn't charge you for anything. Make sense?

[adr3naline]

I recently moved out of an apartment that was going to be renovated and they told me "don't even sweep." Got 100% of my deposit back. If I ripped a door off the kitchen cabinetry it wouldn't have mattered...it was all being gutted.

I'd ask if this is the case.

[JohnG72]

Originally Posted by adr3naline

I recently moved out of an apartment that was going to be renovated and they told me "don't even sweep." Got 100% of my deposit back. If I ripped a door off the kitchen cabinetry it wouldn't have mattered...it was all being gutted.

I'd ask if this is the case.

I’d go a step further. Many old units are being renovated the minute a current tenant leaves. I’d ask a neighbor to let you know if this is the case. If being renovated, none of your deposit should be withheld, not even a cleaning fee.

[timtemtym]

The last apartment I moved out of, the maintenance head showed up to do my walk through instead of the apartment manager. He saw that I had cleaned everything and told me I shouldn't have bothered because they always charge a cleaning fee either way. He was a total asshat.

I had him take me through what they would charge for and write it down. I also took pictures. He pointed out "dirt accumulation" and several other things. I pretended to go along with it since he was being so bold in sharing information. He asked if I wanted to go ahead and sign off on the deductions and I told him no I'd wait for the full bill. Once that came (they tried keeping most of my deposit), I contacted their corporate office with my pictures and everything he had told me (He'd actually submitted a report with the charges).

Having lived there over two years, I knew they couldn't charge me for painting (the walls were white, I'd never touched them) and they couldn't charge for normal wear and tear which is pretty well defined under the state rental code. I talked to them calmly and respectfully since I'd honestly had good experiences with the manager over the last two years. They refunded 100% of my deposit and assured me they would speak with the maintenance guy. I like dealing with big corporations when it comes to renting.