@Patrick Liska
Thank you for including me in this topic! But I want to first say the laws may be different there then they are here in Texas. But here is the Texas Property Code that all PM's in Texas have to follow regarding security deposits.
Texas Property Code 93.005 states:
(a) The landlord shall refund the security deposit to the tenant not later than the 60th day after the date the tenant surrenders the premises and provides notice to the landlord or the landlord’s agent of the tenant’s forwarding address under Section.
(b) The tenant’s claim to the security deposit takes priority over the claim of any creditor of the landlord, including a in .
As per how a PM should handle a property move out with any security deposit is fairly simple but keep in mind all PM's have different procedures on how they get to the end result. With out company this is how things are broken down:
1) Tenant gives us a 30 day notice to vacant and we notify the owner immediately to keep them informed of a vacancy coming up.
2) Once the keys are turned in, we do a full walk through on the property including pictures and full noted details of any damages to the property.
3) If their are no damages to the property and its ready to move in with no extra cost added on for the tenant, then the security deposit in full is returned to the tenant and the owner gets all rent monies that are owed to him with the end of the month statements.
4) Now, if there are damages: We type out a full report with full descriptions including photos out and send to the owner for final review on all numbers and accounting. Once we have the final approval our office then notifies the previous tenant of the damages that are owed to the owner.
Now how this is applied, the owner is paid out in full with all rents. The security deposit is then applied to the amount owed that was compared with the final accounting of repairs. If the repairs exceed the amount of the security deposit then that full security deposit is then sent to the owner in full. But keep in mind, this will show on the previous tenants reports that the security deposit was applied to the charges. So for example: if a tenant pays $1200 in a security deposit and damages that were found to be at the property was $4800 their remaining balance to pay would be $3600. The PM holds all security deposits here in Texas in a separate Escrow account that DOES NOT accumulate interest to avoid this exact issue. What is owed to the owner is what the owner is paid in full. The PM should have everything listed out in the contracts between the owner and the PM. For example in my companies contacts we charge: 50% leasing fees, $100 Flat Lease Renewal fees, 10% or $100 Flat fee (which ever is cheaper), 10% remodel fee (if we are coordinating a full rehab), 6% agent fee if we sell your property. We do not charge to hold the security deposits in our escrow account nor do we collect any interest on the property. The security deposit is used for damages at the end of the lease term and that is how it is applied.
Per our contract it is written out as:
Security Deposits
(1) During this agreement, Broker will maintain security deposits received from tenants in a trust account and will account to the tenants for the security deposits in accordance with the leases for the Property.
(2) Except as stated in Paragraph 4(I), after this agreement ends, Broker will deliver to Owner or the Owners designee the security deposit held by the Broker under and effective lease of the Property, less deductions authorized by this agreement, and will send written notice to the tenant that states of the following:
(a) that this agreement has ended;
(b) the exact dollar amount of the security deposit;
(c) the contact information for the Owner or the Owners designee; and
(d) that Owner is responsible for accounting for and returning the tenants security deposit.
(3) If Broker complies with this Paragraph 4C, Owner will indemnify Broker from any claim or loss from a tenant for the return of a security deposit. This Paragraph 4C survives termination of this agreement.
So without really knowing the full numbers, damages, and what exactly the contract states its hard to answer the question in a simple response!! There are many factors that go into a simple move out with each tenant and each tenant will always have a different outcome! Let me know if you have any further questions!
