Landlords are keeping our $1,200 Deposit!!

[nemochian]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia

I was under a short-term lease, 6 months, which was verbally extended to a "month-to-month" lease; for I was looking at a job relocation...which ended up not happening. My wife and I occupied the premise, on a month-to-month basis, for approx. 1 yr; in addition to the 6 months we were under a lease.

To make a long story short, my wife and I started looking for a new place, for several reasons (i.e. additional space, none of the windows in our house...including bedrooms opened for they were all painted shut, no closets in the bedrooms, etc...). The timing of this move was advanced a bit, due to the fact that the landlords entered our home, to show it to a potential buyer, without properly notifying us. This really has no bearing on the following, but I am just trying to give a little back story.

We gave the Landlord a 30 day notice, by phone and certified mail, and cleaned the house before we left.

Now the Landlords are saying that a corner of the house had to be ripped out and replaced, along with fixing the roof above. They are saying that because we did not make them aware of this damage, it took a lot more time and money to fix than it should have. Even though the damage had started before we took up residency, and was noticed by the Landlord during our walkthrough. This corner was in an area of the house that we did not frequent, for it was covered up by our bar. We did not notice it getting any worst, for we did not see it in our day to day living.

They are also saying that there was a film of soot on the walls that had to be cleaned and painted; throughout the house. The house was painted with a cheap, flat, white paint 2 years ago. We tried to clean them, but the paint just came off with the rag. Due to there being no ventilation in the house, for all of the windows were painted shut, and there being a fireplace, there was nothing we could do about this build-up

Any ways, we received a letter today stating that they were not going to return our $1,200 Security Deposit, due to the damages they stated above. On top of that, they reminded us that we were not under any lease agreement, for our month-to-month arrangement was only verbal.

We really feel as thought we have plenty of legal ground to stand on, for the State of Georgia Landlord-Tenant Law, Sections 44-7-32 thru 44-7-35, states in several sections...several different reasons...why they can not just take our Deposit.

Water damage caused by a leaky roof, that has been pointed out from day one, can not be proven as negligent on our part. Having to paint the walls, when it was from normal wear and tear during our use of the property, is just something that has to be done. It is not the responsibility of the Tenant. This whole thing about a film being on the walls...well, when you have a place that none of the windows will open...this can happen. And the fact that we were no longer under our original lease does not give them the right to withhold our Original Deposit. Am I right about all of this?

I would really appreciate any help that you can give us. Thank you so much

 

[Mrs. D]

You are correct that a landlord cannot just keep your deposit, but there are a few caveats and a few questions that need answered.

First of all, did your LL send you an itemized statement of deductions from your security deposit, or just a statement saying they were keeping it for damages X, Y, and Z without amounts attached? LLs must provide a detailed statement showing how much they withheld for each item.

Second, do you have anything written about the roof leaking/damage in the corner? Did you or LL write it on the lease or a move-in inspection sheet? Were there any witnesses to LLs acknowledgment of the problem at move-in? If you can prove that LL knew about the damage, then LL's whole argument about you letting the damage get that bad is completely bogus. Without the evidence, it would likely be harder to argue this point, but not impossible. You are not responsible for the fact that the roof leaked, but you may be responsible for notifying the landlord of any damage in need of repair. If you're responsible for notifying her, you're still not responsible for the FULL cost of repair, only the ADDITIONAL cost incurred because the problem wasn't fixed when it would have cost less to fix. That's a hard number to pin down, but any pictures of the state of the damage at move-in and move-out would help to show how far the damage progressed while you were living there.

As far as the soot on the walls: you should not have ended up with soot on the walls if the fireplace was properly vented. The condition of the fireplace re: proper venting is the landlord's issue. Even if the court found you responsible for the painting, you would only be responsible for the depreciated value of the paint, that is, the amount it cost her to paint allocated over the lifespan of the paint (total cost divided by lifespan) minus the number of years since she last painted. So, if the paint should have lasted five years, and she last painted four years ago, then you would only be responsible for 1/5 of the cost. I would still try to argue that a properly vented fireplace would not have caused that damage to the walls and it's really her fault. Or at the very least that cleaning was what was really needed, not painting, and you should be responsible for, at a maximum, cleaning.

Your status as month-to-month versus longer term lease has no bearing on the deposit. It still must be returned or accounted for within the legal timeframe. Your LL doesn't get a pass to keep the deposit just because your original lease expired.

 

[nemochian]

Thank you very much for such a quick response. We really do appreciate your help.

Now, let me do my best to answer your questions.

No, the LL's did not give us an itimized list. There letter just stated that due to said damages, and work, they were not giving us back our desposit. I do know that the deposit was not put into an escrow account, nor was a bond issued for the amount, and Georgia law states that if this was not done, and the tenant given a receipt of downpayment - showing which bank and escrow account the money was being held in (or given a copy of the bond), then the LL has no legal recourse to withhold "any" amount of the Deposit; after Tenant vacates the premise (Georgia gives them 1 month to refund the Deposit). Also, along with the fact that the did not give us an itimized list, nor a chance to mitigate the proposed damages, and just went ahead and fixed everything, should give us a legal right to our full Security Depost. Do you agree?

Unfortunately, we rented the property unseen, due to a 800ml relocation. We viewed pictures online, and agreed that the place would work for us. We did do a walkthrough with the LL's, but we did not take a picture of said corner; nor was a "walkthrough list" done, or signed. We do have a witness to the damage. My mother came to visit is 1 1/2 months after we moved in. I was showing her the house, and I moved the bar and a couple of boxes (it took us a long time to unpack...lol) to show her the only damage to the house...The Corner! I showed her the corner and said that along with none of the windows in the house opening, and there being no bedroom closets, this was the only other thing wrong. She asked what it was, and I told her that the LL's had seen it when we did our Walkthrough, but that they had no idea what it was; nor did I.

We did take pictures of the house, after we moved everything out and cleaned. We took shots of every wall, corner, ceiling, etc... Even the Corner. We only did this for we knew that the LL's were having problems with their business, and we did not want to get swindled out of our Deposit (I'm so glad we did that one).

There were of course a few other things in their letter to us. They mentioned that we had not kept up a flower bed that was next to the Garage, and that they had to trim the trees growing off of the hillside behind the house. These were of course things that were never part of our agreement. I'm a 33yr old Exec. with a severe disability in my spine and right leg, and I never agreed to trim trees on a hillside. The LL's had even came out the previous spring and clipped them! As for the Flower Bed...come on! There was nothing in this particular Flower Bed when we moved in, so no, we did not maintain it. All that was in our lease was that the lawn mowing was our responsibility.

Why they kept mentioning that we were not under a lease, and then siting Sections in the Original Lease Agreement...I will never understand.

As for the Fireplace, it is a gas Fireplace that does through black soot around. We burn a lot of candles also. But, what I have read states that a flat white paint, in a rental unit, only has a life of 2-3yrs. Anything over this is normal wear. The house had been painted a little over 2 years ago.

They even had the nerve to say that they did not receive our written notification until Sept. 9th, and we only paid them up until Sept. 4th. So, they do not consider us giving them a 30 day notice. Even though the notice was postmarked, and sent Certified-Confirmed Receipt-Mail, on Sept. 3rd. We actually were living in our new home on Sept. 26th...and we still paid up for the additional time. I called an left them a message, which they did not respond to, and then we followed it up with a Certified Letter (due to their not resonding), which they still did not respond to. But, we definitely gave them 30 days (which is Georgia Law)...even without a written/signed lease agreement.

So, what do you think. Thanks again for your help!!

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Georgia Landlord-Tenant Codes 44-7-31 (escrow for security deposits), 44-7-32 (surety bond in place of escrow), 44-7-33 and 44-7-35 do not apply to rental units where the landlord (or his spouse/minor children) collectively own ten or fewer rental units.

So if your landlord is a "small timer" with less than 10 rentals, they do not have to abide by these codes.

Georgia Code 44-7-34 (Security Deposits) do require the landlord provide information regarding the security deposit and must provide the tenant "with a written statement listing the exact reasons for the rentention" of such within 30 days of the tenant vacating the unit. Neither an itemized statement nor copies of receipts are required in this code.

A landlord will typically go ahead and repair any damage done to the unit in order to get the unit ready to re-rent. If the former tenant refutes the assumed damages, the landlord will typically file against them in Civil/Magistrates Court (Georgia's version of Small Claims).

It is to your benefit to have pictures of the rental at the time of your move out to be used as evidence should your former landlords take this route.

Gail

 

[Gail in Georgia]

P.S. Georgia's Landlord-Tenant Code limiting the responsibilities for placement of security deposits in escrow/surety bonds, etc. is Code 44-7-36 "Certain rental units exempt from article".

Gail

 

[nemochian]

Thank you Mrs. D & Gail.

Yes, I am familiar with 44-7-36...and no, they do not own 10 units or more. However, this should not just arbitrarily allow them to keep our Deposit. Everything that I have ever heard says that LL's have to give you a list of the items, with approx. prices for fixing each item...so that the tenant has a chance to fix the items themselves. I just cannot see how 44-7-36 can excuse them from having to do this. If this is correct, the LL's can just say that you created damage to a home and keep your deposit! This is without having to notify, and or justify, it. They just send us a letter saying that they are keeping our Deposit! How is that right. We are not the type of people to trash a house. We are upstanding citizens that make 100k/year, and we have never had problems with a rental property...in our lives! So tell me, what actually protects us. We knew that their business was hurting, and that they were going to have a very hard time renting out the place to someone else, for $1,200/month. The current market here is so loaded with rentals that you can get a Brand New Spec. Home for less. We should know, that's exactly what we did. This is why we took the pictures. We wanted to prove, just in case there was a problem, that the house was in good shape/condition when we left!

So, if I read 44-7-34 right (the only one that seems to legally partain here), they only have to notify us in writting that they are keeping our Security Deposit for X Reasons...that's it?

We are more than willing to take this to court, but we are of course hoping to keep it from that. With our witnesses, pictures, and all of the contradictions contained in their letter, I feel as though we've got a 99% of winning. What do you think?

I know that some of the readers here are probably thinking that we are the typical crying tenant, e.g. we trashed the house and now we do not want to pay for it. This is truly not the case. We didn't even put a single nail hole in the wall of this place. We lived there for 5 months and thought that we were relocating again. Of course, we ended up living there for approx. 1 1/2yrs...but, for 1yr of that time, we thought that we were going to be relocating. I am more than willing to email the pics. to anyone out there, that would like to see the condition of the house. There is no way that we were negligent, and we deserve to get our full deposit back.

I have noticed that no one has commented on the fact that all of the windows in the house were/are painted shut. We even tried to chisel through the paint on one of the windows in our Master Bedroom, but they are the old-wooden-single pane windows with the rope pulley systems. There was absolutely no way to get the window open. This has to be a contributing factor; at least with the soot/film on the walls.

Thanks again, everyone!

Thoughts?

 

[nemochian]

By the way Gail. Could you please take a look at Section 44-7-34 again for me. I just did, and I answered my question from my previous response to you. The fact that they do not own 10 units or more does not just exclude them from 44-7-31, 44-7-32, 44-7-33, & 44-7-35. If you read 44-7-34 closely, it states: "If the reason for retention is based on damages to the premises, such damages shall be listed as provided in Code Section 44-7-33".

If the LL is withholding funds from a security depost, due to damage, this brings Section 44-7-33 back in play. Sect. 44-7-33 is the only one that does come back in to play, but it is exactly the one that we need. It states that the LL has to do inspections, and an itemized list with approx. values, give us this list and time for inspection (5 days). We had to sign this list! If we did not want to sign the list, we had the right to dispute it in writing...etc, ect, etc... We were not given a chance for this! I understand a LL wanting to fix and clean the house up as fast as possible, to put it back on the market (for which it already is - $100/month cheaper and $200 less on the security deposit). However, this does not give them the right to do it in such a way to try and keep us from disputing the charges. The fact is that they did not abide by the State of Georgia Landlord-Tenat Laws, when they did not give us an itimized list of damages/$$, and the chance to do our own inspection (& possibly dispute the items/costs.

What do you think?

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Again, the Codes you cited are not required for landlords who have 10 rental units or less and who manage these themselves.

A final walk-through with the landlord to check for damages is nice but many tenants do not realize that this walk-through is not the end all to finding damages. All states give landlords a certain amount of time to find damage and determine the cost of fixing this, even after the final walk-through.

This does not mean you cannot dispute the claim that your security deposit has been kept for damages. You certainly can. You begin by writing a letter to the landlord disputing the claim, informing them you have evidence as to the condition of the unit at move-out and demanding the return of your security deposit within a certain time frame (typically 3 to 5 days is the norm) or you will file against them. You keep the letter short and succinct.

If you wish, you can hire an attorney to write this letter. Attorneys do these type of letters all the time.

If your landlords refuse to do this or do not respond to your letter, you decide if you wish to file a lawsuit against them. This is typically done in Civil/Magistrates Court which is Georgia's version of Small Claims. In Georgia, one is allowed to file lawsuits up to $15,000 in this court and it's not all that expensive to file. An attorney is not necessary (although certainly allowable) in this particular court.

The fact that the windows were painted shut and that the unit did not have bedroom closets plays no role in any of this. Your main focus is on getting part or all of your security deposit back.

Gail

 

[nemochian]

Do you agree that 44-7-34 applies?
Doesn't 44-7-36 only exclude them from 44-7-31, 44-7-32, 44-7-33, & 44-7-35?

When you ready 44-7-34, the one Section that still applies, it states: "If the reason for retention is based on damages to the premises, such damages shall be listed as provided in Code Section 44-7-33".

44-7-36 still excludes them from 31, 32, & 35, but 44-7-34 applies to them, and due to said statement (above)...if they are retaining due to damages, they must follow the steps outlined in 44-7-33 (44-7-36 does not exclude them from this, under the outlined circumstances).

I am more than willing to argue this in small claims court. However, from what you are saying, I have no recourse under the law. If that's the case, then it will be up to a judge to decide. I have no problem with that either, but I would like to have more of a legal advantage on my side.

I don't know. Maybe I am wrong about the law here. All I know is that up until 2 months ago, I was a VP of Operations @ the Nation's Largest Custom Residential Home Builders, and I am pretty familiar with Local, State, & Federal Codes. The way it reads to me is that they did not follow the guidelines outlined in the SoGLTL.

I really do apologize to Gail, for I really do not mean to offend you, by arguing...especially when you are trying to help me. I really do appreciate your time and help. I am definitely going to write them a letter, and I will keep it succint (that's a little hard for me, if you couldn't tell...)

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Kiddo....

How you handle this was outlined in my previous posting. This is your legal recourse.

Do the letter. Dispute the amount of the security deposit kept. Demand the return of such within a specified time period. Explain that is this is not returned, legal action will be undertaken. Keep it short and to the point. Send it to the landlord certified mail so you have evidence they received this. Keep a copy of what you sent.

You and I can argue all day long about Georgia codes but I'm not your landlord (or the judge) and I'm not the one that you're trying to get money from.

Gail

 

[nemochian]

Thanks Gail...that was funny. I'm a tripple Gemini, so I even have a tendency to agrue with myself (don't worry, I'm just being facetious).

I'll write the letter. We have pictures, and even found a picture of the corner when we moved in (& we have one when we moved out)...there is no difference. It is definitely their responsibility to fix a leaky roof, and it surely does not give them grounds to keep our deposit. I would have been mad if they kept a couple of hundred for painting, but I would have just swallowed it. The fact that they are just trying to keep the entire $1,200 is like stealing from us. Now, I want it all back.

I contacted an attorney today, and I'm waiting for a call back. I'm friends with our previous mayor's family, and he put me in contact with the best Real Estate Attorney in town. So, we'll see how it goes. I am going to go ahead an write the letter myself, and see if it can be resolved first.

Thank you so much for everything. Any time that you need anything, just let me know by dropping a line in this thread (especially if you would like to argue about code laws...lol).

Take Care,

Scott