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I have not paid my July rent and I'm moving out in a week. The landlord wants to hold me responsible for the damage to the lawn. The lawn wasn't there when I moved in 5 years ago and I have witnesses and pictures to prove it. I believe it was damaged so bad by the gophers and the previous tenant stop watering it, so by the time i moved in it's pretty much desert like land. The previous tenant was someone I know so the landlord wasn't here at the time I moved in to do the walk thru. Of course he has asked me if any major damages in the house, but not seeing any grass in the back yard I have just assumed I rented a house without lawn in the back yard. Plus he has his own gardener doing the maintenance of the landscaping, he should have known the problem long ago.
Anyway, keep the story short. Now he has hinted he's going to use all my $2000 deposit to replace the lawn. What do I do now? Pay the rent now and file a claim later to get my $2000 back or not paying him the rent and wait for him to sue me later? and he said he would.
This is California so the standard contract I signed says I should not use the deposit for the last month rent, so to prevent breach of contract it looks like I have to pay him. But I really hate to spend time later to file the claim against him to get my $2000 back.
I have not paid my July rent and I'm moving out in a week.
If you were my tenant, your comment would read "I have not paid my July rent and I'm moving out in a week and my landlord has already filed an eviction at JP Court for non-payment of rent".
California may be different, because everything there is pro-tenant, but in Texas, you'd get fried in court for triple the amount of your rent for wrongful witholding of last month.
But your landlord sounds like a dummy for even discussing deposits with you. We don't. I send a two page instruction sheet to tenants on how to get all the deposit back and we expect them to follow it if they want it all back. Few do. But we have no conversation about it at all, just the instruction sheet that answers all questions and explains the process.
Anyway, keep the story short. Now he has hinted he's going to use all my $2000 deposit to replace the lawn. What do I do now? Pay the rent now and file a claim later to get my $2000 back or not paying him the rent and wait for him to sue me later? and he said he would.
This is California so the standard contract I signed says I should not use the deposit for the last month rent, so to prevent breach of contract it looks like I have to pay him. But I really hate to spend time later to file the claim against him to get my $2000 back.
Any suggestions? By the way, my rent is $1750.
It sucks, but you do have to pay the rent that's owed, regardless of what he's hinted at about the deposit. If the LL takes you to court for nonpayment of rent, that he "hinted" isn't going to hold much water in front of a judge.
If it makes you feel any better, should you end up having to take your LL to court over your security deposit not being returned to you, if you prevail, then you'll be entitled to your security deposit (less any legitimate deductions) plus twice the deposit. You might like to remind the LL of that.
Thanks for the replies. I was told the same by few of my friends, just pay them and sue him later. Do I really get twice of my deposit back if I win? I was also thinking just to cut my losses and get on with my life, but if that's the case I might really consider suing him later.
Thanks for the replies. I was told the same by few of my friends, just pay them and sue him later. Do I really get twice of my deposit back if I win? I was also thinking just to cut my losses and get on with my life, but if that's the case I might really consider suing him later.
California Civil Code 1950.5:
(l) The bad faith claim or retention by a landlord or the landlord'
s successors in interest of the security or any portion thereof in
violation of this section, or the bad faith demand of replacement
security in violation of subdivision (j), may subject the landlord or
the landlord's successors in interest to statutory damages of up to
twice the amount of the security, in addition to actual damages. The
court may award damages for bad faith whenever the facts warrant that
award, regardless of whether the injured party has specifically
requested relief. In any action under this section, the landlord or
the landlord's successors in interest shall have the burden of proof
as to the reasonableness of the amounts claimed or the authority
pursuant to this section to demand additional security deposits.
A lawyer friend of mine helped me wrote this letter but I wasn't sure if I should send it out. I guess I'll send out a check instead.
Dear Mrs. XXXX,
As you know, at the beginning of the month, during a call in which I gave you 30 days notice of my intention to quit the premises, you and I discussed how to handle the security deposit. In that conversation, you expressly agreed that you would retain the security deposit as a credit against the amount due for the last month’s rent. During that conversation, I also offered to move out in less than thirty days so as to give you extra time to get the house ready for the next tenant. We ended the conversation cordially, and I agreed to let you know the exact date upon which I was actually going to leave. Consequently, you can imagine my surprise when, last Friday July 9th, Mr. XXXX showed up on Saturday expressing an intention to collect the July rent.
During Mr. XXXXs visit, I requested that he conduct a pre-move-out inspection while we were both there. In the course of the inspection, he suggested that I would be responsible for the condition of the back & side yard lawn and claimed that he intended to deduct that cost from our security deposit.
It is now clear to me that I am not being dealt with fairly. First you agree to simply retain the security deposit as the last month’s rent and refund the difference, and then your husband acts as if that conversation never occurred and then makes claims for damage that have no merit. Clearly, I do not intend to pay for something for which I am not responsible, nor do I intend to go through the trouble of filing a small claim to get my security deposit back. Fortunately, I was able to locate on line, satellite images of the property at the time I entered into the lease. A copy of one of those images is attached hereto, and it is an image of the house from 02/01/05. It shows the house had either no lawn or badly damaged lawn at that time, demonstrating that there was no lawn that has been damaged during my tenancy. There are other satellite images from different dates available online if you want to see more.
In an effort to settle this situation, and considering that you are holding a $2000 security deposit and have for nearly five years, you are in possession of more than enough to cover the last month’s rent of $1750. If we can consider this matter closed, feel free to retain the remaining $250. That amount will more than cover any and all costs of repair for which I am even arguably responsible (although in my view, the house is in excellent condition and any problems are well within the scope of normal wear and tear for a five year lease). As for the lawn, if you choose, you can use these funds to go ahead and reseed the lawn, however, I disclaim any responsibility for these costs.
I note that in the walk through your husband conducted with me on the 9th, he did not note any damage at all and focused solely on the lawn. I have taken photos of the house for my records, and they demonstrate no damage to the house for which a deduction against the security deposit would be warranted. At this juncture, I am loathe to believe that any further claims of damage from your husband will be made in good faith. However, if he would like to conduct a walk-thru on the date that I vacate the house, I would be happy to conduct one with him. In the absence of such a walk through, I will reject any further claims of damage.
In closing, I am disappointed that after a five year tenancy, your husband would attempt to take advantage of me and make baseless claims of damage. My hope is that he will reconsider and we can end this tenancy on good terms and you can proceed to find someone else to rent the house as soon as possible. I have enjoyed living here and am sure the next tenant will too.
I previously moved out of a house that was on a month to month basis, no lease. I had contacted the landlord and told him that i would be leaving at the end of the month for which the rent was already paid for that month at the beginning of the month. When I first moved in I paid first, last and security deposit. The last month's rent was never used, because it was for Ocober and I already had moved out before October 1st when it would have been due. The house was left in good or better condition then when moved in. Am I entitled to the last month's rent plus security if there were no damages incurred.
The basic problem is that it is not worth most tenant's time or money to go after the landlord for the deposit. The converse is not quite as true, so landlords have a leg up. In response to Austin-Steve's bragging, I am just withheld the last month's rent. My landlord threatened exactly the same things Austin-Steve did, but eviction was not legal in my state, and I could care less about the effect on my credit---no need for loans!
is a link to a helpful page. Bottom line: even in Texas, with extremely landlord friendly laws, a savvy renter should be able to avoid eviction for at least 4 weeks.
There are no damages. So many people seem to use the security as the last month.
That's not for the tenant to decide. The landlord expects to have the unit back in the same condition it was in, except for normal wear and tear. The landlord will inspect the place and determine what (if any) needs to be restored to the condition it was in when you moved in.
If your rental agreement does not specify that the security deposit also includes last months rent, then the security deposit can ONLY be used for damages. If you try and use that as last months, most likely the landlord will find other means of collecting from you, and forget about using them as a reference.
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