Small claims court - security deposit?
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Anonymous
| Has anyone taken a landlord to small claims court in VA for a security deposit? I'm just wondering what to expect. We're taking our former landlords to court -- they kept a portion of our security deposit because we didn't have the windows professionally cleaned when we moved out. They also said we had to pay for professional grout cleaning (almost $500). The shower had a light pink grout stain when we moved out which we cleaned and couldn't get out, our cleaning lady cleaned and couldn't get out, and the landlord cleaned and couldn't get out -- she called a professional grout cleaner and said we have to pay for it. I feel terrible but I honestly scrubbed that shower for a couple of hours with every cleaner I could think of. |
Anonymous
In most leases you are on the hook for caulking and bathroom surface mold because it is a maintenance issue. The windows thing is new to me, I think I will put that in my next lease. |
Anonymous
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I didn't go to small claims court, I did open a case with the department of Landlord/Tenant Affairs (MoCo).
What did your lease say in regards to the windows? Having windows professionally cleaned would not be standard, so if it was not specified in your lease I doubt it would hold up. You admit you stained the grout, and that it took a professional cleaner to get it out, so I'm not sure why you think you wouldn't have to pay for the damage. The amount of effort you put into getting it out doesn't matter. |
Anonymous
| Well, you could go to court and ask to see proof that the landlord actually hired the grout cleaners. I.e. produce the receipt. |
Anonymous
| OP here. The grout/caulking is not mentioned in our lease so I'm not sure what will happen in small claims! The window cleaning was not mentioned or we would have paid for it -- it said returned in same condition and she said she had them professionally cleaned before we moved in so we should have had it done before we moved out. We own two houses that we rent out and we were really surprised by this. We've never asked a tenant to professionally clean the windows! They also took out money for weeds in the yard. We had a yard guy the whole time we were there and the lease specifically states just mowing, raking, and watering. Not sure how that one will turn out either. The yard really isn't weedy -- our yard guy was surprised when we told him our landlords kept part of the deposit. |
Anonymous
| sounds like a peach of a landlord |
Anonymous
| I would never do something so petty to a tenant. Ordinarily I would say don't bother with court but your landlord is a jerk. Go to court. You will likely get more of your deposit returned than if you tried to make the landlord be reasonable |
Anonymous
What part of the lease said you need a yard guy. |
Anonymous
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OP again. Our landlords are actually nice and we thought we got along well so we were really surprised when we got our deposit back at the 45-day point. We followed all of their rules -- our movers weren't allowed to use dollys in the house or outside (they carried everything from the truck), we got the gutters cleaned twice a year, we didn't use poisons around the house or outside (which is one of the reasons we didn't do weed-n-feed, we thought we wouldn't be allowed), etc.
Thank you for everyone's feedback so far -- but has anyone been to small claims? Will we see a mediator before going into the courtroom? And how do you open a case with MoCo? I didn't even know that was an option. We tried to work things out with them but I think this is one of those things that needed to be worked out by an outside party because both of us feel we are in the right. |
Anonymous
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Dirty windows and stained caulk aren't "damage" -- they are regular maintenance.
Take them to court. The judge will either rule in your favor since these obligations aren't spelled out in your lease or ask for proof that they subsequently spent money to have these things done (and may still rule in your favor). |
Anonymous
| You might check if you should be in landlord tenant/housing court or small claims. There is usually a good bit of info on the web about tenants and security deposits. |
Anonymous
| Agree that the windows and caulk sounds like normal wear and tear. |
Anonymous
WRONG caulk and grout are not wear and tear. Read your lease, it is standard that any surface mold, caulk grout etc... be the responsibility of the tenant to keep areas dry and run bathroom fans. Most leases stipulate that any wet surfaces must be dried off to prevent the above damages. |
Anonymous
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This is why I take before and after photos/videos and notes when I move.
People who bring EVIDENCE to court tend to win. |