Landlord Question

[Trojan97]

Originally Posted by Diemenz

Nothing that will hold up in court.



No.



You have the right to get the full amount of your security deposit back, plus interest, within 10 days of moving out if you have done no damage beyond normal wear and tear, if the premises have been properly cleaned, and if no rent is owing. Otherwise the landlord can keep part or all of your security deposit to cover the costs.

If the damages exceed the security deposit, the landlord can take you to court for the rest of the money owing. If there are deductions for damages the landlord must pay you the balance of the deposit within the 10 days, with a statement of account that lists all the damages and repair costs and cleaning costs.

Alternatively, the landlord may within the 10 days give you an estimate of the deductions to be made and return any money that won't be used. In this case, you must receive a final statement, plus any money owing, within 30 days after your tenancy ended.

So, considering that no damage was done above and beyond wear and tear, the best option seems to be taking him to court if he attempts to charge us for shady things. I would assume that because he has no proof that any damages occurred during our time in the house, he would have no grounds for withholding any of our money.

Is this correct? Thanks for the help!!

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Trojan97

No walk-thru was done upon move-in as a time to meet couldn't be reached by all parties and it just never ended up happening (Yes, I now realize how important this is to do).

That is the key- you are entitled to your entire security deposit back. The landlord must prove the condition is worse than that stated on the move in inspection.

The one time I had a landlord who forgot to do the "in" inspection; upon move out for the "out" inspection- he just walked in the door and said "so, anything I should know about?"

[Trojan97]

Originally Posted by ken0042

That is the key- you are entitled to your entire security deposit back. The landlord must prove the condition is worse than that stated on the move in inspection.

The one time I had a landlord who forgot to do the "in" inspection; upon move out for the "out" inspection- he just walked in the door and said "so, anything I should know about?"

Thanks Ken. Appreciate the response.

[photon]

One other thing you mentioned, you never got a copy of your lease.. that is one of the few reasons a tenant can withhold rent. If you don't get a copy of the lease, just don't pay rent until you do.

As for the walkthroughs, yeah if there is no record of the move-in, there's basically no reason he can withhold anything unless he has other support to prove damages.

http://landlord.landlordandtenant.or...nspection.aspx

Documentation of the walkthroughs are required too:

http://landlordandtenant.org/llendte...spections.aspx
http://landlordandtenant.org/llendte...ng_report.aspx

[Crazy Bacon Legs]

Under Alberta's legislation, no portion of the security deposit can be withheld if an inspection was not done with the tenant present. It must be documented in writing and a copy furnished to the tenant. Failure to do this means the landlord has no right to withhold (technically even with damage) any of the SD. He would have to go to small claims court or to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service, if in one of the areas where it's available.

As for carpet cleaning, etc., unless it's in the lease, you're not responsible to do it. He also can't withhold for normal wear and tear.

If he withholds any portion of the SD, he's in violation of the Act, plain and simple.

The law may have changed since I left AB (about 2 years ago), but I used to work for Consumer Services and we dealt with exactly these matters. It sounds like you've spoken to then and they'll likely be able to help you out if you don't receive your SD back.

If it's not returned, you may be able to file a formal complaint with Consumer Services. They can't be your representative, but they can act if the landlord is in violation of the legislation.

Best of luck.