Security Deposit withholding not knowing prior condition

[Lauren M.]

We bought a junker of a rental property that we hoped to renovate to improve rental income and equity. The tenants moved out. We do not know the prior condition of the property before the current tenants moved in, but there were broken panes of glass on the windows, piles of hidden trash on the side of the house, etc when they moved out. The tenants could easily say it was previous renters. Since we do not know the state of the property before they moved out, what are we legally allowed to keep to pay for these items? The tenant also asked over text message how much they would be getting back and we stated a number. Since then, we found the crawl space area has a lot of items and junk that we need to dispose of (again, we still wouldn't be able to prove if it was the tenants that just moved out or the tenants before them). Could we change our minds and deduct more money since we found junk that needs to be disposed of?  

[Jaysen Medhurst]

Hi Lauren,

I think that since you already gave them a number, you'll have to stick to that. It's the right thing to do and since they have it in writing, they have a strong case. Not their problem if you didn't do all your due diligence before sending them a number.

Nickel and diming them isn't worth the headache it's bound to cause.

With regards to your initial question, and bearing in mind that I'm not a lawyer, you can absolutely charge them for the broken windows, trash, etc. If those problems were ongoing and the old owner didn't address it, the tenants should have some proof that they asked for it to be addressed (emails, text messages, etc.). Were they to produce that proof, I would back off. 

Most leases state that the property is to be surrendered "broom clean" and with only normal wear-and-tear. That's not what you described.

Good luck!