Most renters roll a security deposit from one apartment to the next, and most don’t expect to lose more than a few bucks for a scratched floor or wall holes from hanging photos. But what do you do when your requests for legitimate repairs go unanswered and, worse yet, your landlord keeps your entire security deposit when you leave, blaming you for the lack of maintenance? For Alex, who moved to Chicago from Buffalo, her first apartment was a horror story that wound up costing her the entire security deposit: three months rent, or a little over $2,000.
Q: So when did things start to turn sour in your last apartment?
Alex: When we first moved in, the super gave us the keys and showed us around. He just happened to open the fridge and noticed that something inside the fridge was dripping. He said that he would fix it within the week but it got never got fixed. Over the time that we were there, little things went wrong: windows didn’t quite open; a leaky faucet; a leaky ceiling that ended up caving in. We started hearing what we thought were the walls crumbling.
Then came the mice. They were in the walls, and they were everywhere! We called the landlord and the super constantly and asked for repairs. Finally, I started withholding rent. We saw some action – our landlord stopped by, and apologized. He instructed the super to do some of the repairs on our list. At this point, we had already lost our patience and decided to move out. By the way, when we left that fridge had still not been fixed!
Q: And when did you realize you weren’t getting any of your security deposit back?
Alex: A few weeks after we moved out we received a letter from the landlord, itemizing the repairs he was deducting from our security deposit. He charged us not only for basic cleaning and painting, but also for scratches in the floor that just weren’t there and worst of all, he charged us for a new fridge! We fought back for a while, citing previous maintenance requests, threatening legal action, but in the end we were just too broke to do anything about it. Once the landlord has your money, it’s pretty hard to get it back.
Q: Do you have advice for other renters on how not to get screwed out of their security deposits?
A: I like to think I’ve learned quite a bit. Always take photos before you move your stuff in. The best time is right when you get there, even better if your landlord is present. Pay particular attention to windows, ceilings and wood floors and take photos of any scratches. If you need repairs or have a problem, put it in writing, and if you do talk to your landlord by phone, send an e-mail immediately, saying when you talked, summarizing the conversation and what results you expect to see when. Also, if you think you are being taken advantage of and talking to your landlord isn’t getting you anywhere, law schools usually offer free or cheap legal clinics.