Deposit questions for a tenant that moved out.

[Willie Cedillo]

I have a tenant that moved out Feb 8th even though his lease was up at the end of the month. I received the keys the 8th. I want to do right by him and give him his deposit back as early as possible but for legal purposes do I have 30 days after the end of Feb?

He was really clean but obviously I have to make it ready to either rent or sell. Does everyone go half on cleaning fees? Also there was one issue, I guess there's something wrong with my dishwasher because the floor behind it rose up a bit so it'll have to be repaired. Would I be able to charge for this or a portion of it? He's been a good tenant and always paid on time but if he would've told me this was happening sooner I would've gotten it taken care of before it got as bad as it did. I'm leaning no on that one because it was not anything he did but was curious on some thoughts. Thank you!

[Patrick M Nichols]

I agree with @Erik W., this will vary by state. In my state of MA, wrongly withholding any of the tenant's deposit can expose you to treble damages, so landlords either don't bother with the deposit or they err on the side of caution. The fact that the keys were returned to you though and that you accepted them likely evidences the termination of his tenancy regardless of what the lease says.

As far as cleaning fees, your lease may address this. In my experience the standard is usually leaving the unit "broom clean," as in the tenant is not responsible for making your unit fully market-ready for the next tenant. You're generally expecting to eat the cost for shampooing or replacing old carpets, freshly paint the walls, etc. I would typically charge if there is either trash left behind or if the place is filthy.

As for the dishwasher and in my personal opinion, it doesn't really sound like you have sufficient grounds to withhold any of his deposit here. Do you have evidence that he would have or should have known that it was broken/leaking?