How much should I deduct from tenants security deposit?

Question

Hi everyone. Just thought I'd ask to get more opinions on what's a fair amount to deduct from my tenants security deposit? I've had them in for almost a year now. April 15th is when they'll be moving out and I will be moving in as I am getting married in May of this year. The house is a 1,200 sq ft split level house with 3br/2bath. I can't complain about the tenants they were pretty great. Always paid on time and are pretty clean. Besides the fact that they have a lot of furniture and unnecessary clutter from what I saw. The time they've been here I had to replace the furnace because it kept breaking down and there was a big flood in the neighborhood last summer that caused a flood of about 5 inches in the basement. I had all new appliances in there besides a used washer and dryer. According to them the dryer stopped working after the flood but they never told me that until after a month of the flood. But I went ahead and replaced it with another used one.

The only thing I've seen broken is the handrail going down the stairs. It will need some plastering and painting.

So I'm just kind of wondering how much out of the security deposit is it fair to deduct. Considering the handrail and I guess repainting the whole house since they have a lot of clutter that I'm sure scratched up the walls

The only thing I've seen broken is the handrail going down the stairs. It will need some plastering and painting.

So I'm just kind of wondering how much out of the security deposit is it fair to deduct. Considering  the handrail and I guess repainting the whole house since they have a lot of clutter that I'm sure scratched up the walls

Account Closed · Answer

You cannot deduct for painting the house, as that's what landlords do when a tenant moves out.  A Judge will not award you a Judgment for anything considered normal wear and Tear.

Since there are no laws to stipulate what is normal wear and tear, the Judges decide for themselves what is normal wear and tear, and it is based on their opinion.

You can only charge a tenant for damages they actually did.

• Holes in walls
• Ripped screens
• Broken doors
• Grease on Carpeting  or bleach, then the courts will allow you the cost of new carpeting but not for cleaning
• Stains on carpeting, courts will allow the depreciation value to replace sections.
• You can charge for changing the locks if they don't return the keys. 
• If they had grease on the driveway you can charge to have that cleaned
• Junk removed from premises
• Back rent
• Utilities owed
• Broken Windows
• Dish on the roof when the lease states no disk on the roof  (Dish generates holes in the roof which is a costly repair)
• Broken cupboards
• Can't charge for cleaning the place after they leave

The wash machine was dead due to the flood.  If you have insurance your insurance should cover that.

Since the hand rail is just a nickle and dime cost, I wouldn't charge them for that, and I doublt if a Judge would award you the money for that.  They could, perhaps would, but I doubt it.  Too frivolous .

Refund the entire Security Deposit.

Nancy Neville

James Wise · Answer

You can deduct your cost to fix the things that they broke beyond normal wear and tear.

Whatever it costs you to fix the broken railing is something you should deduct from their deposit.

Deducting the cost to repaint the entire house seems like a bit of a stretch.

Steve Rozenberg · Answer

I agree with Account Closed careful what battle you pick, especially if you do not know the law and you can back up your claim with factual data. You could piss off the judge and it may cost you more if you go in and ask for more then your entitled to.

Sometimes you have to remember your business has expenses, think of it like having a car and having to change the tires or the oil. It just goes with owning a car, same for owning a rental. Some of these things are the cost of doing business as long as it is wear and tear and not something maliciously done to your property to damage it.

Just my opinion

Jeff G. · Answer

@Sam Sav I agree with @James Wise deduct the cost of the railing, and any miscellaneous material you need such as screws any touch-up paint, etc. In many jurisdictions you can also deduct a fair amount for your time.

• Go to the hardware store and buy what you need. Keep your receipts. Take a photograph of them and send them to Evernote if you must.
• Write yourself a work order describing the work to be done. Take before and after photographs of the work with a smartphone. Document the time it took you to do the work with date(s) and time(s), rounding to 15 minute increments. If the job takes you 1 hour or less charge one hour as any handyman you'd call to do the work would also have a minimum 1 hour charge even if the job took 15 minutes.

If the total amount of hassle costs you less than $100 for time and materials, honestly I'd forget about it and chalk it up to the cost of doing business--no need to be petty.

Going forward what you might want to do is to create a "fact sheet" that you hand out to each new lessee detailing common damages and repairs and how much you'll charge the tenant on move-out if they don't fix it before they leave. Try to make it as simple as reading a menu. In my part of CT it's common to have these as a lease addendum.

Steve Rozenberg · Answer

I agree, normal wear and tear is the what you would normally want to deduct. Anything more you want to deduct you want to make sure you had this agreement in writing. We have our tenants sign a 2 page itemization of exactly what we will deduct for and what each specific cost will be and they have to sign it when they move into the property.

Then when they vacate we go back and per the itemziation list we deduct the price accordingly..

If you would like this list please PM me and I will be happy to send it.

Account Closed · Answer

I'm a firm believer in charging tenants for damages done.  However, if a tenant has been a good tenant and everything else was in good shape when they left, except for a broken hand rail, then I feel I've hit the jack pot!  If the handrail isn't busted in half, it can still be put back up.  Even if you had to buy a new handrail, it's not that expensive.

Now..let's say that the rail cost $100.00, if it is a hundred dollars I may deduct it from the Security Deposit.  Anything under a $100.00 no.

But even if we did go ahead and deduct the $100 from the Security Deposit, and the tenant didn't like us taking $100 out of their pocket, they can contest it, and therefore, you have to take time out of your busy schedule to go to court and prove your case.  Remember a Security Deposit doesn't belong to you unless the tenant and the courts says it is.

Most times the tenants know what they did and don't contest it, but sometimes they do.   $100 to them is a lot of money.  (Lot of money to us too, but more so to them)

These are just somethings to think about.

Plus, a referral from a tenant is priceless.  Best advertisement in the world.  But, if the railing did cost $100 bucks to replace, I'd probably would deduct it from the Security Deposit, but my husband and I have seen many broken railings, and we just rehung them.  It cost us nothing but time.  Time we spent cleaning and painting anyway.  And in the end we received good referrals.

Nancy Neville

Mike F. · Answer

The tenancy was less than a year.

Wear and tear on the walls for less than a year should require a touch up here and there not a repaint. Anything beyond touch up they should be liable for and deducted from their security deposit.  Make it logical and fare.

Had they been there 2 years or more you'd have a hard time justifying deducting a full repaint from their security.

James Wise · Answer

I see no reason why you would not deduct the cost of the new railing from the deposit. They damaged it & you should charge them for it. Tenant's are not taking you to court to argue over $100 or so.

How much should I deduct from tenants security deposit?

Most Popular Reply