“Paint the walls, change the fixtures, whatever you want to do, we want this to be your home.” My husband and I thought we hit the amazing landlord jackpot as we eagerly signed our lease and paid our first, last and security deposit. Fast-forward a few days and it had become apparent the rental had significantly more problems than we knew about.  Deep-rooted problems that would be unnoticeable during a viewing, unless a previous resident had told us. The property was in need of a lot of love, but we felt taken advantage of. They didn’t want us to feel welcome, they wanted to fix their problems  It wasn’t an investment we were willing to make. Instead we cleaned the walls, replaced broken outlet covers, and counted the months until our lease was up.

A year later, our landlords were not the amazing people we thought them to be, but neither was their rental. We were focused on moving forward, which brings us to our final walkthrough. When we arrived the landlords were in the process of taking pictures of every nail hole, every scratch on the wall (all of which were there before before a lease was signed). We were giving them back their property in better condition than they had given it to us. I stood there watching them take pictures like they were part of some crime investigation team. I could finally see everything so clearly, and I felt utterly stupid.

We had been taken. There had never been any intention of returning our security deposit back to us, and we were the fools who didn’t even see it coming. Maybe they had somehow convinced themselves that window coverings had magically repaired themselves. Or the broken outlets healed on their own. Perhaps they forgot their property was in filthy despair when they gave us the key? Or maybe, they knew they were stealing our security deposit and just didn’t care.

How do you ensure you aren’t taken advantage of by landlords who see your security deposit as a little extra money in their pocket? Pending you haven’t broken your lease, you gave proper notice (as stated in your lease), and you don’t owe any unpaid rent, your security deposit should come down to one thing, the condition of the rental property. It all seems so simple, doesn’t it? However, in the world of renting, it rarely is.

Your landlords want to charge you for the rip in the carpet, the hole in the wall, the broken thing-a-ma-bob, all which were in the same condition when you moved in.   You know what isn’t deceiving? Proof. Take lots and LOTS of pictures. When you move into a rental property make a list of all the damages. Consolidate your pictures and your damages inventory. Keep a copy for yourself, provide a copy to the landlord and to the property management company.  Email a copy, mail a copy. If you can, get the landlord to sign your copy to acknowledge it. But no matter what, document everything you can. So whether your landlord actually forgot the damage was there, or they “forgot”, you have picture perfect evidence to remind them. 

Pay attention to your lease. If your landlord says you can paint the walls, before you say “THANK YOU!”, ask them to add it to the lease. If they say you can remove the stained carpet, remove the dying shrubbery.  Any changes you make to the property, you should have approval in writing.  You never know where your relationship with your landlord will be in a year, so it’s best to get it in writing now.

In our case, there was no damage and no notification of damages or charges (which many states require.) Of course, there was also not a penny of our security deposit returned. Of the 26% of renters who lose their security deposit, we were one of the 36% whose landlords felt entitled to offer no explanation as to why.

Know that if you fall into this category, it is not necessarily the end of the road. Check your state’s laws pertaining to security deposits.  For many, civil court maybe your next course of action. Depending on how much your security deposit was, you would likely find yourself in small claims court. This can be a fairly straight-forward process but for some helpful tips on preparing to recover your security deposit in court take a look at NOLO.

Remember, as you see the light at the end of the tunnel, there is someone behind you getting ready to sign a lease. Before you move on, share your rental experience with prospective renters.