Renting, they will not give me back my deposit.?

Question

I am renting a furnished apartment but soon will be moving out after purchasing a house.

I have not got on well with my landlord for the last 2 years and realise they will plan to take my deposit. I have good reason to believe this.

I am not a thief and do not condone strealing. However I am contemplating in taking some of the furniture from the apartment to offset the loss of my deposit.

Anyway this is not a question about morality but one about legality.

So my question is this:

If my deposit is to be used by landlord to replace missing or broken items then am I not in my right to actually to take or even destroy any objects in this furnished apartment ?

Answer 1

no you cannot take furniture but if you feel they will keep your deposit live out your last month rent free and tell them ur security will cover it. if they say no tell them too bad.

Answer 2

I don't know what your reasons are for believing that they will unlawfully retain your deposit....

Read your lease and understand your obligations as well as those of the landlord. Simply not getting along is not a reason to withhold a security deposit.

Please never feel entitled to do something that you know is wrong, even if someone else isn't playing fair or by the rules.

Rise above your anger. If you can take the landlord to small claims court--or a mediator--(both with proof) for withholding a deposit, then fine. But, please don't take or destroy anything. Move along and consider it a life lesson. Set an example.

If you do destroy property or take that which doesn't belong to you, you can be held accountable. You did it with intent. Besides, the landlord probably has a list, possibly with photos, that shows what was included.

And congratulations for becoming a home-owner! You really wouldn't want to start your new adventure by "getting even" and stooping to another's level, would you?

Answer 3

I don't know where you live, but in my state if they fraudulently take your deposit you sure and they have to then pay double the deposit amount as well as all your fees.

you will need to take extensive pictures and video of everything clean and not destroyed before leaving, also see if you can get some people to walk through so they can testify that the apartment was left nice and any damage was from normal wear and tear.

If you are in school you probably can get free or very cheap legal services, so check that out.

morally, no you would not be right to take anything and you could be arrested, so don't do it.

Answer 4

No you are not. Two wrongs don't make a right.

You should videotape or photograph the state of your apartment and furniture (preferably a videotape with the date) in the event that the landlord tries to claim damages where there were none. Make sure you do a final walk through with him.

Also, most states (if not all) require the landlord to have placed your deposit in an interest bearing escrow account and you are due the money accumulated as interest in addition to your deposit.

Good luck.

Answer 5

After hearing of something that happened to a friend of mine, I will ALWAYS give back the deposit unless they TRASHED the place. MY friend was renting a house out, then decided he wanted to move in, so he gave the tenants three months notice to find an apartment. They were not happy about it, so in he days before moving out they cut holes in the walls of every single room in the house and let mice loose in the walls, then they patched up the holes. Needless to say it cost ALOT more than the deposit to fix the house.

Answer 6

Unless you have caused damage to the apartment that was not found before you signed the lease (NEVER sign the lease without fully inspecting the apartment, house, or room) and had that damage documented, they cannot keep any part of your deposit, other than to pay for cleaning the carpet. Legally, after 1 year they cannot even charge you for painting either.

Answer 7

wrong steps to take, the landlord can file suit for any damage that may occurred plus the missing stuff and would have a slam dunk against you plus you actions would place you in bad faith in front of the judge

better way, take lots of pictures when you have completely moved out documenting every room, every closet anything and everything, then when the landlord fails to return the monies within the time outlined within your state statute sue them in small claims including filing cost

Answer 8

NOT a good idea.....Don't know what state your in...but here in NY a landlord can file a police report for theft of property. The police will investigate and if its found that the tenant did knowingly took property from the rental...tenant can be charged with a felony.

Answer 9

if you have not given them any reason to keep the deposit then they have to give it bk. i would advise that u go to citizens advice as i dont think taking their stuff is a good idea you should be able to recover ur deposit

Answer 10

Why don't you simply hold back your last month or 2 months rent? Make it up to the value of the deposit and then leave.