Security Deposit Charges

[lucybayes]

I recently moved out of an apartment (in Maryland) after 2 years and 3 months. At this apartment we consistently had issues with maintenance, in that they were inefficient and down right stupid at times. Communication was always horrible and the management company who owns the property cut corners whenever possible. The case: The landlord deducted $73 from our security deposit to pay for "pan crispers for the fridge," which the fridge never had in it to begin with. They also deducted over $410 for cleaning and painting the whole apartment, which from what I can tell is their normal practice between tenants. I asked for a copy of a detailed invoice with a list of charges, and the one they provided me with included charges for multiple apartments, some of which were identical charges ($140 for cleaning, specifically). We were only charged for work done on our place though. They also provided me with photos to support the charges, and they do not make the apartment look extremely dirty or damaged in the slightest. Many of the dirty areas are from things out of our control, such as brick dust from the chimney into the fireplace (that isn't functional) and dirt where the floors are supposed to meet the walls, but don't. Though I believe we did not leave the apartment exactly the way it was given to us, any areas that required cleaning or painting would have been cleaned and painted regardless. Additionally, we did hours worth of cleaning in preparation for the inspection and are utterly confused by their assessment of it. Unfortunately, we did not complete a move-in report when we first moved in. We also did not realize we had to request to be present at the inspection in order to be notified of the date of the move-out inspection, and when I contacted them a month after the move to ask if an inspection had been completed, they ignored the question. Do we have enough of a case to keep fighting? Or is it just he said/she said and subjective opinions of "normal wear and tear" that we can't fight?

 

[adjusterjack]

Unless you are willing and able to go to small claims court, there really isn't anything to fight as all the LL has to do is ignore you.

 

[lucybayes]

Unless you are willing and able to go to small claims court, there really isn't anything to fight as all the LL has to do is ignore you.

They already responded to my first email about this. If I do threaten legal action are they more or less likely to just give the money back?

 

[Zigner]

They already responded to my first email about this. If I do threaten legal action are they more or less likely to just give the money back?

Yes, they are definitely more or less likely to just give your money back. Another possibility is that they are no more nor no less likely.

What I am saying is that there is no way we can predict what your former landlord will do. I will say that, if threatened with legal action, I would circle the wagons and prepare for a fight.

 

[HRZ]

UNless you are prepared to fight ...don't make hollow threats... but note that MD provides for 3 X damages PLUS attorney fees IF you think you have winnable cards and judge agrees .

In my opinion as a LL, your LL is packing in wear and tear as damages

 

[adjusterjack]

They already responded to my first email about this. If I do threaten legal action are they more or less likely to just give the money back?

Your landlord has been threatened with lawsuits countless times and tenants rarely follow through with those threats and he knows it.

Don't make threats unless you are willing to follow through with the lawsuit. And if you are willing to sue, don't threaten, just do it. You've already made one demand that wasn't complied with. Huffing and puffing gets you nowhere.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Did you receive this information within the required time period for your state? If not, you may have justification to argue in court that the landlord does not have the right to withhold any of your security deposit.

If so, and you did not take pictures of the condition of the rental unit at move out, what evidence would you have to dispute your former landlord claims of damages above normal wear and tear (should this end up in court)?

Gail

 

[Whoops2u]

They already responded to my first email about this. If I do threaten legal action are they more or less likely to just give the money back?

I manage a number of entities that own complexes in a state different from yours and don't express an opinion about the facts in the original post. But, all managers and employees under me are instructed to record the date, time and short explanation of the facts the moment any tenant threatens legal action and then end further communication.

So, in the complexes I run, threaten us legally and you only deal with me (or my specially selected surrogate) and any hope of getting any consideration from the person you were talking to is over. I've put in my time and hate dealing directly with tenants so it is unlikely you will get any satisfaction from me in a situation like you describe. At the same time, the move in an move out would have been well documented and you probably wouldn't be as concerned about little issues as on-site managers are encouraged to deal as long as the cost of prepping the apartment is reasonably close to what would have been done anyway.

 

[FarmerJ]

Did you smoke in this apartment or have a style of cooking that would have required special priming to get rid of the odor before actual repainting ?

 

[lucybayes]

Thanks everyone for your advice! Sounds like threatening legal action is the wrong way to go.

To answer some questions: I do not have my own pictures, however there are no pictures (that we know of) in existence that documented the state of the apartment prior to us moving in. Occasionally someone did smoke in the apartment, however we were not charged for any special priming from what I can tell by looking at the invoice. I believe they did follow all of the MD timeline requirements.

I honestly believe that if a judge were to look at the pictures provided to me, they would not agree that we were responsible for paying the cleaning fees that were charged to us. However, I don't think I'm willing to fight this out in court. I honestly just don't have the time or resources to dedicate to that, and I'm sure they're used to that and count on it to stay in business.

I drafted another email to try to get them to understand that I'm aware of what they're trying to pull and that I disagree with their assessment of the apartment, and I think I'll just send that and if they still won't budge I'll just have to accept it (and never rent from them again). If anyone has any other advice they think would help me, I'm open to it!