Return of renters security deposit

[Susan Thomas]

Under what circumstances do you keep full security deposits? Do you spell out those terms in your lease? Do you tell your renters who have acted according to your lease terms what you expect when they move out ?

I’ve just moved out of a very expensive rental home in order to start house hacking. The landlord does not seem organized or have have any operational procedures. We followed all lease terms and left the place clean. It was furnished and upon my request when we signed the lease the realtor who assisted in the transaction added a clause for normal wear and tear on the furniture.

We stayed 1.75 years- the lease gent from yearly to month to month after 12 months. At about the year mark we asked permission over the phone to get 2 cats which we did. They scratched a mattress in the basement but not much else.

When we moved out I asked early on what we needed to do to get our $2.4k deposit returned. We filled in holes from hanging pictures and asked for the paint colors to fix completely but landlord didn’t know what colors were used. We asked several more times what he would want us to do in order to get out deposit back but never got anything out of him.

Now, it’s been 30 days after we’ve moved on and I had to ask again when we would see our deposit returned and instead he asked for my email to send a letter.

Since he is a small landlord and clearly does t run this rental efficiently and we are going to start having our own tenets in a duplex where we live soon, I want to look at this as a case study about how to do things differently.

Any advice or comments much appreciated.

[Susan Thomas]

Thanks everyone-I have done a bit more research-contacted the magisterial court in Phoenixville, PA, asked a friend who is a judge and may reach out to a lawyer who can advise if the 30 day period has been extended due to COVID. This has been an excellent learning experience as a future landlord. 

It was a standard PA rental agreement he used with no adjustments. In retrospect, the furniture was there for storage purposes-I should have insisted they be removed from the property so I wouldn't be liable for any damage. 

Lots of lessons to take away from this for my own future as a landlord. Firstly, everything will be done in writing with full record keeping and photographic documentation. 

Next, no fully furnished rentals, and as a landlord I will customize my leases and follow their terms as well as the relevant state and local laws. I think those are the minimum basic take aways at the moment. 

And @Max T. I agree he may need to learn the hard way. In PA according to the magisterial count I spoke to today I could demand double the deposit-$4.8K

@Michael King yes-I have photo documentation of how I left the place and I sent him in writing (per the terms of the lease) my forwarding address. I sent that twice in writing just to be sure. At that point I had the vibe he was going to give me a hard time about this. 

I recall asking him a while back-he used to come over to pick up his rent check every month-I asked him what research and preparation he did before he started being a landlord. That month, he was saying how busy he is fixing up another duplex he purchased-so I thought here's a chance to chat with another investor about what his criteria is and what kinds of structures he has for managing his tenets. I was surprised to learn he didn't have any (or at least any he shared) he said he just started. For me, I started learning more than a year ago and it might be another 6months to a year before I can finalize my house hacking private deal-more of that later when I have more research to vet with this community.