At the end of the lease landlords have the legal right to deduct a portion of the security deposit in case there are some serious damages in the property. Also if the apartment is not in good condition, the lessor can take out some of the whole sum. However, these days even tenants with busy schedules don't have problems with the second clause, as they just order an expert carpet cleaning service, for example. With the professional intervention, lessees can be sure that the house or apartment will be cleaned from end to end. In this article I will explain you in which cases the landlord have the right to deduct the deposit. If there are some obvious damages, things are pretty straightforward. However, sometimes it will be tough to decide what is harm and what is just normal wear and tear where tenants do not have any guilt. In such case a dispute may occur and from time to time things get more serious and at the end the judge should decide who is right and who is not. Experienced landlords know the difference between wear and tear and damages and can avoid more serious disputes and at the same time they don't have to make any compromises. These lessors will receive proper compensation for every damage caused by the landlord. Now, let me explain you in more details what is wear and tear and what is damage. Due to time and age the condition of the property will get worse and there is nothing you can do about it, or at least you can not change much. Here are some examples of wear and tear for which usually a landlord should not be able to deduct from the deposit. - wear signs on carpet - warping of doors and windows -cracks in walls from settling - sun-faded blinds - wear patterns on tiles and so on Such examples speak about normal wear and tear something which happens with every property no matter who lives in it. What a lessor should do is to plan on repairing these issues for the next tenants. On the other hand, there are some careless lessees which cause actual damages to the property. Sometimes it may be an accident, but still at the end they will have to pay for what they did. Here are some real examples of what could go wrong in a rental property: -Broken sink, toilet seat, tank and so on. -Cuts or burns on countertops -Broken pieces of furniture - Pet urine stains -Burns and stubborn stains on carpets - Broken windows, glasses etc. Usually landlords and tenants do a complete walk around the property before signing a contract and then when they terminate it. This way there will be place for arguments as the tenants can not say that it was somebody's else fault. No matter whether you are a lessor or lessee at the moment, I wish you not to have to deal with such problems.
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security, deposit, repair, costs, landlord, deduct, damage, maintenance,
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