Need to get deposit back

[Dian N os]

Can anyone help?? My pregnant niece (17 years old) and her boyfriend (18) put down a deposit on an apartment without "adult" input. I looked at the place and found mold in the bathroom, possible lead paint flaking, and windows that have more wind blowing thru them than an air conditioner would. Landlord won't refund $. Is there anything that can be done to get it refunded? He won't give a lease until they pay full rent. They are trying to be "adults" but are not doing so well on their own. Small town does not have rental inspections before a tenant moves in but does have a zoning/code enforcement officer. I was thinking of having the place inspected. This apartment is a dump but for two kids starting out the landlord saw them as suckers. Yes, they need help being adults especially with baby arriving in 3 months but we're trying to deal with that which is an entire other issue so please don't go there. They are trying to prove they can make it on their own as best as they can! Thanks for any help.

[Jon Holdman]

I'd be surprised if the city would do anything, even if there were an egress issue. I had a conversation with a city inspector about that very issue. It was a university town, and he said EVERY YEAR, just after parents day he would get flooded with calls from parents saying their kids had rented illegal housing. He said the same thing as Brian. The kids are adults (legally, I have a 19 and 22 myself, so I'm well aware of their mental states), they had signed a legally binding contract, and their units were legal. End of story as far as he was concerned. He was warning me, though, that I could expect those kind of complaints on the properties I was considering.

If there is flaking lead paint, then ask that the landlord clean it up and repaint before they move in.

Weatherstrip leaking windows.

Clean up the mold in the bathroom. I have looked at hundreds of houses in the last few years, most occupied, and almost every one had mold around the edges of the bathroom.

If you really feel strongly they shouldn't rent the place, let them walk away and lose the deposit. That's one of those expensive life lessons kids sometimes have to learn the hard way. Like my son's lesson about what happens if you don't put oil in your car. And my daughter's lesson about drinking and driving.