Hi, I have my first tenants leaving after a three year tenancy (corporate lease). This is a townhouse unit. I have been reading about the process for walk-throughs and refunding security deposits and am unsure how to best guage what is considered "normal wear & tear" versus items that should be deducted from the deposit.
For example, can the security deposit be reduced for costs to remedy the following situations:
- if the interior of the windows are not cleaned
- if the furnace/ducts were never cleaned during the last three years
- paint chips on walls (what is the tipping point as some of this would be considered wear and tear)
- inappropriate level of cleaning (who judges what is move-in ready?)
- lack of informing the landlord of any water leaks or similar
- garburator no longer working
And how much is reasonable to charge for drywall repairs for dings/paint chips/excessive nail holes?
Is it better to arrange for professional shampoo of carpets and deduct from tenants deposit (intead of the tenants doing it) in order to see what the actual condition of the carpets are before re-renting? Can this be deducted from security deposit?
Is it okay to do a preliminary walk through with tenants to review the initial walk through checklist but then inform them that a more thorough examination of the property will be completed before the status of the deposit will be determined? It seems to me that there are some things that may be difficult to determine on a quick walk through with the tenant present (i.e. is the garburator still working - will need to test; are all the appliances in working order; any plumbing issues; garage door opener; mechanical issues with furnace/hot water heater etc etc).
Thanks for your wisdom!!
For example, can the security deposit be reduced for costs to remedy the following situations:
- if the interior of the windows are not cleaned
- if the furnace/ducts were never cleaned during the last three years
- paint chips on walls (what is the tipping point as some of this would be considered wear and tear)
- inappropriate level of cleaning (who judges what is move-in ready?)
- lack of informing the landlord of any water leaks or similar
- garburator no longer working
And how much is reasonable to charge for drywall repairs for dings/paint chips/excessive nail holes?
Is it better to arrange for professional shampoo of carpets and deduct from tenants deposit (intead of the tenants doing it) in order to see what the actual condition of the carpets are before re-renting? Can this be deducted from security deposit?
Is it okay to do a preliminary walk through with tenants to review the initial walk through checklist but then inform them that a more thorough examination of the property will be completed before the status of the deposit will be determined? It seems to me that there are some things that may be difficult to determine on a quick walk through with the tenant present (i.e. is the garburator still working - will need to test; are all the appliances in working order; any plumbing issues; garage door opener; mechanical issues with furnace/hot water heater etc etc).
Thanks for your wisdom!!
