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I had no credit so my deposit was a full months rent (1000$) I just moved out on June 4th and the week before moving I spent hours, I'm talking at least ten a day for three days scrubbing walls, bathrooms, cabinets, doors, ovens and anything else that was on my move out cleaning list because of course that's a huge deposit... I even got the carpets profectionaly washed and I even had the property manager come walk through to ease my worrys and I explained to her some things that couldn't be washed after scrubbing because the apartment itself is over 30 years old, she told me as long as I tried which I did that it was fine. Thennn, I had the maintenance guy come do another walk through when I turned in the keys and he explained he was only gonna charge us for touch up paint because certain spots where I tried covering up damages were not the same color paint when dried (sad face) but he said everything else looked great.. I called a week after we moved out and asked how much exactly they were holding from my deposit and the property manager said she couldn't tell me and that it takes up to 30 days for me to receive the check, I'm wondering if that's really true that she can't tell me? It seemed suspicious and I'm wondering if when I get the check if I don't agree w the amount they give me back how would I handle that! I have recorded evidence of how I left the apartment the day I turned in the keys and also I have another video of 6 months into our lease when our apartment flooded, the plumbing in our building is terrible. They had to remove every piece of furniture in our dwelling and replace all vinyl,carpet and baseboards... Which was very inconvienent for us. Could that video also be useful? This apartment is in New Mexico. Another thing is we left the place in way better condition then when we moved in, but the only evidence I have of that is fromvthe move in checklist sheet which has you fill out damages to apartment upon move in. Thanks guys
They may not give your deposit back. Did you give them a letter with your new address on it, of where to mail the deposit check to? In my state, if you don't provide that before you move out they can legally withhold your deposit.
You need to talk to your local Tenant association. They can give you advice on how to handle this. The laws are different from one state to the next. The people who worked in the Tenant Association in my city knew more about landlord/tenant laws than some of the lawyers I talked to.
My old complex did the same thing with me, kept saying it would take time to get the deposit back. But then never sent it. I found out they simply lied to everyone who moved out and never returned any deposits, not even partial amounts. I had to contact my tenant association and then file a small claims suit to get the deposit back. It was a $40 filing fee in small claims court. I filled out the paperwork myself and submitted it. I then got back my deposit. Apartments believe that renters are too stupid to figure this stuff out or won't have the time for it.
It helps if you have photographs that are time dated of your apartment and how clean it was when you moved out.
Apartments are notorious for not returning deposits.
Last edited by PriscillaVanilla; 06-10-2018 at 02:23 PM..
You haven't even gotten to an actual issue much less what your title claims... Maybe take better care of the place while you are living there would be the best course of action going forward. Not sure why you are posting this way early but it is nice you bumped your thread from your deposit issue last year. At least you are consistent.
It's a little early to start worrying about your refund check. It sounds to me like you will get a fairly hefty deduction for repainting the walls that you damaged. Other than that, you need to wait and see.
Just find out your rights according to your state and give the LL your forwarding address or change your address with the post office so if he sends it to your previous address it will be forwarded to you.
You never know if a LL is honest until after you move out, sometimes you know their character while you are there and know they are shady. Don't ever expect your money back because they may steal it legally and you have to sue them to get it back. if they steal it, it's not theft it's a civil matter according to the law.
Make sure you take pictures of everything when you move in or better when you are given the keys. Go over everything like a detective and even if you see a cracked floor tile take a picture and make them note any damage.
Find out the laws in your state, in some states if they are not going to keep any of your money they have to return it in 30 days and I think if they do plan on keeping some they have to return the difference in 2 weeks. Any money they keep that you think is not right you can let them know you will be taking them to small claims court.
You spend 30 hours cleaning your unit? That place must have been filthy!!
You will pay for the damage to the walls and any other damage you left behind, but you can fight that out in small claims once you receive your refund.
I think you will be fine. She probably said she couldn't tell you because she legitimately didn't know. It may also be policy not to address anything like that except with the letter that is sent to you with your refund check. Some touch up paint to areas you damaged is reasonable, but that shouldn't be much (even counting labor). So you should still expect to get the vast majority of your security deposit back.
I know in Virginia, we have 45 days to send the security deposit back. If we don't by that time, they are entitled to get it all back, even if we had legitimate things to deduct for.
It's a little early to start worrying about your refund check. It sounds to me like you will get a fairly hefty deduction for repainting the walls that you damaged. Other than that, you need to wait and see.
Semantics, but if it’s truly just touch up paint on some walls, it should not be a “hefty” deduction.
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