security deposit disposition question

[John Mary]

Tenant is always late in paying rent and did not even pay last month's rent. There is no high hope that they will pay for the repair cost after the property is vacant. Hence, I want to do the repair myself to minimize any damage cost.

Can I use home depot's receipt (material) as claimed to deduct on the security deposit disposition? If yes, how can I add on labor cost provided by me.

In fact, the unpaid cleaning fee and unpaid rent payment last month already contra off the security deposit.

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @John Mary:

Welcome to the BiggerPockets forums!

You can do the work yourself and charge for your materials and your labor. However, if a Tenant ever contests the charges and takes you to court, then a court will not compensate you for labor charges. If you want to legally charge the tenant for everything, use professionals to do the work.

After it's all done, send the tenant an itemized list of charges. If they owe more than the deposit will cover, include a demand for payment of that additional amount and a deadline for payment (15 days is sufficient). If they don't pay, then you have to decide if you want to go after them for the remainder.