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Updated almost 5 years ago,
45 day security deposit return and stay-at-home order
I live in a state with a stay-at-home order. I had a tenant move out recently at the end of their lease early March. Unfortunately, there is plenty of repair work to be done and I had lined up several contractors over the course of the subsequent weeks. The work to be done is not trivial or a typical turnover of paint and re-key. In fact, it is borderline right now based on estimates whether the cost of repairs and cleaning will exceed the security deposit.
Some of my contractors have cancelled work citing the stay at home order. Others I've contacted don't want to expose themselves to health risk, which I can certainly understand. Is there any leeway on getting additional time to complete work before having to return security deposit? Legally I have 45 days from tenant move out and it looks like I am not going to be able to complete work within that time frame.
It's in my interest, obviously, to get all this done and get the property back to status quo and market for tenant. However, the language of the stay at home order mentions essential business as securing the property only and has language mentioning words like "decor" not considered as essential.
How would you navigate if you were in a similar situation?