Security return dispute

[Anthony Buoncora]

I purchased a single family 5 years ago and have been renting it out ever since to students.  It has been going well.  It's not without it's headaches but it's worth it IMO.

So after a lease with 5 tenants ended, I made deductions from the security deposit for the removal of furniture and cleaning since it says in my lease the house did not come with furniture and tenant must clean the house completely which was not done.  I agreed to pay for half the cleaning bill but one of the parents doesn't want to pay for anything and is saying all tenants don't want to pay for anything of course even though it is clear they should not have left anything behind.  If they decide to take me to small claims court, do they have to do so with all 5 of them as a united front since the 1 tenant who cashed the check has basically already admitted to fault?  Basically, since the one tenant already cashed check, can the others even take me to court for this?  I'm confident the lease and related conversations will show I was correct in my deductions but it is still a headache.  Thanks in advance, bigtime BiggerPockets fan.   

[Joe Splitrock]

@Anthony Buoncora you say "typical internet answers, absolutely no help at all", but I will say typical entitled/selfish mentality. It is your first post on the forum and you act like this? You have never helped anyone here, yet you expect help in return? No problem asking for help, but getting crappy when people ask clarifying questions and try to help is not what this community represents. @Michael Plante @Scott M. @Kim Meredith Hampton and @Nathan Gesner have combined thousands of posts in these forums. They are adding value and helping people. In the future please have an attitude of gratitude when interacting with people.

Here is my answer to your question.  Yes they can sue you, even though one of the tenants cashed the check. That is irrelevant and no admission of guilt. The fact that you took and returned separate checks for security deposit, implies the deposits are separable. In the future, I would require the deposit in the form of one check and return it with all their names on the check. You can be sued by five different people or they could jointly sue you.

Whether they will actually sue probably depends on how much you deducted and how reasonable the charges were. It would be helpful to your case if you had before and after photos documenting the property condition. Another helpful piece of documentation would be a move-in cleaning checklist signed by all five tenants. As far as substantiating the expenses, ideally you hired a third party to clean, so you have receipts. If you cleaned yourself, you need photos and detailed time logs substantiating your efforts. 

Most threats of litigation are empty threats. I would just provide photos and receipts detailing the deductions. Show how much you already discounted and tell them that is the best you can do. If your lease is solid and you have good proof of the expenses, you will prevail in court.