Security Deposit Dispute with Landlord - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

mizzle · 10-21-2011, 09:34 AM

So me and my roommates moved out of a house we were renting at the end of September. My roommate went through the inspection with the landlords assistant and she made note of some paint chips on the walls from hanging pictures and what not, he signed the report and she said she also wanted the landlord to go through and check everything out...

18 days later we had not seen the inspection report of or our $2500 deposit so we contact the landlord and he says there was excessive damage to the hardwood floors and got an estimate for $5700 so we are not getting it back...

I believe he had 10 days to return our deposit or give us a list of damages and deductions... Since we did not see this is that enough to get a ruling in our favor to get the deposit back?

Also he already has new tenants and I highly doubt he fixed the floors... Does anyone know how long he has to actually fix the floors? The tenant act reads to me that after 30 days he has to return the unused portion of the deposit.

Anyways, any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Miz

troutman · 10-21-2011, 09:36 AM

So I goes to the landlady
I said you let me slide?
I'll have the rent for you in a month
Next I don't know
So said let me slide it on
I notice when I come home in the evening
She ain't got nothing nice to say to me
But for five year she was so nice
Loh' she was lovy-dovy
I come home one particular evening
The landlady said
you got the rent money yet?
I said no, can't find no job
Therefore I ain't got no money
to pay the rent
She said I don't believe
you're tryin' to find no job
Said I seen you today you was standin' on a corner
Leaning up against a post
I said but I'm tired,
I've been walkin' all day
She said that don't concern me
Long as I get my money next Friday
Now next Friday come I didn't have the rent
And out the door I went

photon · 10-21-2011, 09:46 AM

Yeah they have 10 days to give you either the deposit, a partial deposit with reasons for withholding, or notice that a portion of the deposit is being withheld to cover repairs. So in your case he should have given you a letter saying your entire security deposit was being withheld.

I don't think that failure to give the report would actually absolve you of any amounts withheld (assuming that they are actually legitimate).

And I don't think that the landlord is actually required to effect the repairs that they deduct for. I have one house where the tenants painted the kids room all kid-like (purples and greens and crap) so I called a couple of places to get estimates to repaint and withheld the average, but the new tenants are ok with the rooms so I won't actually get them repainted until the current tenant leaves.

I don't recall ever seeing a requirement for the landlord to make the repairs they deduct off a security deposit within a specific timeframe in any reading of the Landlord Tenant Act, but I could be mistaken.

flamesaresmokin · 10-21-2011, 09:49 AM

So you have a copy of the signed report that says everything is ok or no? This will likely make all the difference.

Its been a while since I've rented but i'm pretty sure a landlord must supply you with your damage deposit within 10 days of signing off on the move out inspection. You probably have grounds on that alone.

If you don't have the report i'd guess you're likely screwed unless you want to end up spending more then your deposit going a legal route to get it all back.

Crazy Bacon Legs · 10-21-2011, 10:24 AM

No report means they cannot withhold any part of the security deposit.

It's time for a call to Consumer Services. Make sure you have all the information you can possibly collect and then contact them.

http://www.servicealberta.ca/562.cfm

Frank MetaMusil · 10-21-2011, 10:28 AM

Do you have a copy of the damage report when you moved in? Did you sign it? If there is no record of the state of the floors in the move-in report, the landlord really doesn't have a baseline to show how much damage was done.

anyonebutedmonton · 10-21-2011, 10:33 AM

http://www.sla.ucalgary.ca/

They can help you with this issue, it comes through there a lot.

I won't give you advice as to your situation, but under similar circumstances I was able to recover 100% of my deposit simply because the LL did not provide an account of damages within the 10 days.

Superflyer · 10-21-2011, 10:33 AM

On a side note to this, I heard that if you rent a place for a length of time (5 years or more) they cannot charge you for normal wear and tear such as repainting and such. Major damage is still liable though. Can anyone comment on this?

photon · 10-21-2011, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazy Bacon Legs

No report means they cannot withhold any part of the security deposit.

Yup, good point.

photon · 10-21-2011, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superflyer

On a side note to this, I heard that if you rent a place for a length of time (5 years or more) they cannot charge you for normal wear and tear such as repainting and such. Major damage is still liable though. Can anyone comment on this?

The landlord can't charge for normal wear regardless of how long a person is there. Of course the amount of normal wear will increase as the tenancy goes longer, and what constitutes "normal" is a subjective thing.

http://www.servicealberta.ca/1186.cfm

I've never gone to court over it, but in talking with people that have the courts are very lenient towards the tenant with repect to what constitutes normal wear. One guy I know had tenants that were in there less than two years and they completely destroyed brand new carpets; the court disallowed withholding the security deposit because they figured new carpets being ruined in 2 years was normal wear

Reaper · 10-21-2011, 11:06 AM

The only logical step is to burn their house down.

bizaro86 · 10-21-2011, 11:48 AM

I'm not sure what your monthly rent was, but if it was less than 2500 they weren't supposed to collect that large of a deposit. Security deposit is limited to one months rent.

mizzle · 10-21-2011, 01:14 PM

Thanks all for the replies!

Yes we did do an initial walk through and everything was signed.

The final walk through was done by one of my roommates and with the landlords assistant. She made note of some damage in one of the bedrooms (to paint) and wanted the landlord to look at it, roommate signed and she said we would receive the report once the landlord looked through things and determined if there would be any money taken from the damage deposit (which was one months rent).

We are not denying that the floor did get some deeper scratches caused by use, but we think his evaluation that the floor needs replacing is a bit extreme...

The landlord is now saying the report was mailed to us (not sure which address he would have used), but we did not get anything. He said he would do another walk through with us and also stated if we wish to pursue this any further and waste his time he would take us to court for the full $5700.

We have no problem paying for any damages but the guy has just been a total prick about the situation and we feel has not communicated everything to us in a timely matter.

Will contact Service Albert and see if this is worth pursuing...

Thank again!
Miz

Wormius · 10-21-2011, 01:34 PM

It sounds a ploy to fill the loss of rental income between now and getting new tenants. He has nothing to lose, after all and he thinks if he can scare you he'll get an extra $2500 for nothing.

Another question is why does he have to replace the entire floor? Was it just a plank or 2 that's damaged or is it every one?

It costs little, if nothing to go to small claims court, where you would probably win, or are worst case be asked to pay a legitimate amount to have the damaged portions repaired or replaced.

MoneyGuy · 10-21-2011, 01:43 PM

I was a landlord for many years. It sounds like yours is a jackass.

Starfishy · 10-21-2011, 01:48 PM

I don't know about the legal, but replacing hardwood is not a one or two board thing. Matching stain and doing it right can cost a lot more than you would think. Damage to hardwood is not cheap.

Wormius · 10-21-2011, 01:59 PM

Agreed. I was thinking of pre-finished hardwood flooring when I wrote that.

mrgreen · 10-21-2011, 02:19 PM

What do you class as 'use' that caused the deep scratches in the first place?

If you damaged the guys floor then just say goodbye to the damage deposit and move on.

Titan · 10-21-2011, 02:29 PM

The more pertinent fact is what was written about the floor in the move in report. Compare that to what was written in the move out report. If they are the same he cannot claim the damage was worse.
If the move our report notes there is more damage then you have to determine if a judge would believe it would be caused by normal wear and tear or if you went beyond that. If so, you may owe something but that does not mean replacing the entire floor.

It sounds like he is trying to bully you.

Small claims is pretty easy and they bend over backwards for unrepresented litigants. SLA is also a really good option.

CaptainCrunch · 10-21-2011, 02:30 PM

Pretty much, I doubt scratching up or leaving gouges in the floor would be considered normal wear and tear.