Evicted Tenant Wants Security Deposit Back
I cannot believe the nerve of this person. She did not pay rent for 2 months and we had to evict her and she calls today and said she *thinks* she is entiltled to her security deposit back since she didn't damage the place (just killed the lawn and didn't pay the water bill, etc). I told her "NO" and she left it with a dangling threat of " I'm going to have to check into that". She's been around and I just want to make sure I won't have to give her a dime back after she shafted us. We are in FL.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR :-x
Dawizzy,
I feel your pain brother. I'm currently trying to evict a tennant that is also two months behind on rent. The bad part is that I just bought the property and inherited this problem. Said he has no agreement with me and has no plans of vacating the property so I hired an attorney to evict him. Hopefully he'll be gone this weekend. I even found out where he worked and called his boss.
If I new it was a financial hardship I would not have made the call, but it was just trying to live for free. It sucks that I've already wasted a payment and an attorney fee but I just tell myself it's just the part of the business.
Yah, this tenant said she "didn't understand why she couldn't just stay there because we have to pay the mortgage anyway" can you believe that! She strung us along for so long saying that various agencies were helping her...when I called to confirm that....they had never heard of her and there were NO checks on the way. We did the eviction ourselves, and it still cost about 300....so it's not cheap. 5 trips to the courthouse and 2 to the sheriff's Dept. were VERY inconvenient....all to buy her an extra few weeks of rent free living. grrrrrrr
double check what landlord/tenant laws require.
It might be as simple as providing a statement saying
-500 back rent
+200 sec. dept
-250 balance.
Sorry, no sec dep. back.
From what you described, she is certainly entitled to no part of her security deposit. Just make sure you do everything by the book. Make sure you know the laws for your state and follow them closely. You should have no problem.
Make sure you know the laws, though, because she may have been through this before enough times that she knows the laws fairly well.[ Edited by curtbixel on Date 05/28/2004 ]
Just a quick question from a 27 year-old with a full head of hair. Does landording cause you to pull out your hair, or does it fall out on its own?
I don't mind going grey, but scalping myself is too much for me. I'll stick to wholesaling! :-D
[addsig]
Believe it or not, in some states, the tenant-landlord laws will stately directly that owed rent is NOT considered "damages" payable by the security deposit, so you CANNOT withhold rent due from the security deposit.
To make matters worse, if you DO illegally withhold the rents due (or overdue) from the security deposits, the tenant can sue you and collect as much as triple damages PLUS you get to pay a fine.
Hey Coaster:
What was calling this person's boss going to prove other than him having a job? If you were going to garnish wages or file a lawsuit then calling the human resources department to verify employment etc. is appropriate.
Speaking to his employer about him paying you your money is inappropriate. You signed a lease agreement with the tenant and all communication should be done directly with him. That is really an illegal collection tactic. Collectors do this all the time i.e. call your employer, neighbors, friends, cousins etc.
I do understand that you were angry and you wanted your money but you really have to think about things before you do them. You must follow the laws of your state to the letter when evicting someone. Calling the employer and having conversations about this person not paying his/her rent is a violation of landlord/tenant law (in Illinois). You can contact the employer but YOU CANNOT discuss the details of the tentants personal business matter with anyone.
If the person loses his/her job then that creates an even worse situation for you and him. You really won't get your money at this point because he/she won't have a job.
Good luck to you and be careful when trying to evict. You will find yourself in court being sued if done improperly.
V...
glieberman is right to advise caution. Although your description of the situation certainly leads me to think that you're in the right and she's in lala land. I suggest you check her lease. Does it say anything about what the security deposit will be used for, or under what circumstances the security deposit or any portion of it will be refunded to her? If it doesn't say anything about the security deposit, check your local and state laws. It might be worthwhile to check with your attonery. Although I'm sure you don't want to spend any additional money on this issue, this might be a lesson worth learning.
Good luck.
IN Oregon the security deposit must be returned unless used to cure deficiencies other than normal wear and tear to the property. I think the lawn qualifies. Here you must give her an accounting in writing within 31 days of her departure and any refund owing. Sec Dep's can't be used for late or non paid rent.
[addsig]
It is a simple matter of putting it in your lease (IN TN)that a deposit is required to cover damage to the unit,deficient rents,and/or to clean the unit as clean as it was when they moved www.in.Good idea to take pictures and store them with the www.lease.this is a business not a personal issue. don't argue with tenants make your rules part of the lease. If they break them evict them.,But you ARE not their daddy, their livestyle is their on. If you stick to this you will keep your hair . lol I am friendly with my tenants but non are my friends they are my business. this probably is worth what it cost you ,lol
Quote:The business itself requires better math than this or you will be either broke or in court. lol
On 2004-05-28 22:15, cjmazur wrote:
double check what landlord/tenant laws require.
It might be as simple as providing a statement saying
-500 back rent
+200 sec. dept
-250 balance.
Sorry, no sec dep. back.
Voluminous,
I never had a lease agreement signed with the tenant. The current owner had the agreement with the tenant. The property management gave the tenants a 30 day notice to vacate the property by April, and the the lease agreement would be terminated as per the rental agreement . They ignored the notice and stayed in the house without paying the rent for the last 30 days. Then I purchase the property and the previous owners tenants are still in the house. I have never had an agreement with these people. I would have let them sign a lease with me but they said they had no money and had no intentions in leaving. The call to his employer was justified in this case as far as I'm concerned. I may not have put the details of the situation on my last post.
Please respond and let me know if I was wrong.
You were wrong. That is like the MasterCard company calling his boss and family to let them know he is 30 days behind. I do not know the law, but it would make me nerveous.
You may not have had a written lease, but there was a lease in place. No written lease and monthly rental payment, all you had to do was give 30 days notice and then start eviction proceedings if they did not vacate.
Brenda
To all you landlords and wannabes:
Today, there are lots of laws, both statutes and city ordinances, that put heavy burdens on the LL, in favor of the T, no matter how sorry the T may be, and totally govern just how the damage deposit issue MUST be handled.
In my state of WA, our statutes and city ordinances require very careful handling of any T's damage deposits, and unless the LL does it absolutely according to those laws, he's gonna lose in court and have to return the deposits plus pay court costs and the T's attorneys fees.
Wherever possible also, I wholeheartedly recommend the LL joins and gets active in his local rental ass'n.
He/she can thereby learn what his/her laws ARE, but also have an effective voice and input in trying to head off the more obnoxious of the T favoring legislation that the liberal and social-engineering lawmakers want to enact.
For any LL in State of WA, I'll recommend Olympic Rental Ass'n. It does a great job in educating the WA LL and has a voice in Oly that the legislature does hear.
Anybody in WA who's interested can contact me and I'll get more detailed info as to who to contact for membership and meeting info on ORA.
"The call to his employer was justified in this case as far as I'm concerned. I may not have put the details of the situation on my last post.
Please respond and let me know if I was wrong."
I think you are justified but what I think or what you think don't mean a thing. If the tenant sued I think you'd loose, especially if his boss went along with it.
I found this in the Florida State Statutes:
3)(a) Upon the vacating of the premises for termination of the lease, if the landlord does not intend to impose a claim on the security deposit, the landlord shall have 15 days to return the security deposit together with interest if otherwise required, or the landlord shall have 30 days to give the tenant written notice by certified mail to the tenant's last known mailing address of his or her intention to impose a claim on the deposit and the reason for imposing the claim. The notice shall contain a statement in substantially the following form:
This is a notice of my intention to impose a claim for damages in the amount of _____ upon your security deposit, due to _____. It is sent to you as required by s. 83.49(3), Florida Statutes. You are hereby notified that you must object in writing to this deduction from your security deposit within 15 days from the time you receive this notice or I will be authorized to deduct my claim from your security deposit. Your objection must be sent to (landlord's address) .
If the landlord fails to give the required notice within the 30-day period, he or she forfeits the right to impose a claim upon the security deposit.
(b) Unless the tenant objects to the imposition of the landlord's claim or the amount thereof within 15 days after receipt of the landlord's notice of intention to impose a claim, the landlord may then deduct the amount of his or her claim and shall remit the balance of the deposit to the tenant within 30 days after the date of the notice of intention to impose a claim for damages.
Thanks to all for your advice!
if they contact you again tell them they will have to sue to get it and that you will counter sue for unpaid rent and damages and be smiling when you do. or have an attny. send a letter of intent. if they didn't have the money for rent they don't have money for a attny........kenmax