Damage to property or normal wear and tear?

[Mary Jay]

Hi guys,

my tenant tenant was a good tenant who always paid on time, but after he left we are not agreeing on security deposit refund...

After he moved out,  he left a toilet that had black spots that could not be cleaned by regular methods (by regular methods I mean cleaning with CLR, or other regular shower/toilet cleaners), it was like mineral deposits that are black in color... Would it qualify as a normal tear and wear?

also, would mold on the ceiling qualify like wall damage or normal tear and wear? Technically, the tenant can say that it was landlords responsibility to put in a fan into bathroom to prevent mold from happening...Is it normal tear and wear or no?

Water damaged interiors- dry wall (actually probably like a wrist area) right by the shower is puffed up and bubbly, would this qualify as damage to interior? I feel like if the tenant had a shower curtain it would of prevented this...

Thank you

[Cameron Tope]

@Mary Jay very good questions!

Couple questions: 

Have you checked your local property code to see if there's anything specific about these issues? 

Do you have a move-in condition form the tenant filled out during their move-in? 

Did the tenant report any of these issues during the residency? 

If it was our tenant, and none of the issues were noted on the move-in condition form or reported from the tenant during residency, I would replace the toilet seat (~$25), treat the mold (then add a fan at owner cost) and do the minor drywall repair at the cost to the tenant. 

Our leases are written so the tenants have to report those issues ASAP, especially regarding water and mold. 

Every state is different. Good luck!

[Bryan Devitt]

Originally posted by @Mary Jay:

Hi guys,

my tenant tenant was a good tenant who always paid on time, but after he left we are not agreeing on security deposit refund...

After he moved out,  he left a toilet that had black spots that could not be cleaned by regular methods (by regular methods I mean cleaning with CLR, or other regular shower/toilet cleaners), it was like mineral deposits that are black in color... Would it qualify as a normal tear and wear?

also, would mold on the ceiling qualify like wall damage or normal tear and wear? Technically, the tenant can say that it was landlords responsibility to put in a fan into bathroom to prevent mold from happening...Is it normal tear and wear or no?

Water damaged interiors- dry wall (actually probably like a wrist area) right by the shower is puffed up and bubbly, would this qualify as damage to interior? I feel like if the tenant had a shower curtain it would of prevented this...

Thank you

 The mold is the landlord's responsibility. If it was painted with the proper paint that wouldn't happen even without a fan. 

The puffed up drywall could be from the wrong paint or a water leak in the shower, both landlord problems. 

Is the toilet super old and the coating has worn off? If so then it is on the tenant but I have never seen a toilet that had spots on it that couldn't be cleaned. If it was bleached, left to sit overnight and scrubbed again and they wouldn't come out, that is a tenant issue due to being a nasty person.

[Account Closed]

@Mary Jay doesn’t even seem that serious and I’m surprised you’re trying not to return his security after being such a good tenant and paying on time every month... they are all minor wear and tears, deal with it and move on! Give the guy his money back, don’t be “that” landlord. Karma works in mysterious ways...

[Mary Jay]

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

@Mary Jay doesn’t even seem that serious and I’m surprised you’re trying not to return his security after being such a good tenant and paying on time every month... they are all minor wear and tears, deal with it and move on! Give the guy his money back, don’t be “that” landlord. Karma works in mysterious ways...

 usually I do return them, but in this case I kind of have a hard feeling to do so. When the tenant leaves a black toilet ,   The kind that Overnight soaking in bleach is not working and Then clr is not working and nothing is working, I even tried to scrape it. 

 Then if the tenant would use a shower curtain there would be no drywall damage by the bathtub  

 All of those I have to pay for to clean or repair 

 I  feel like I’m being taken advantage of