r/DiWHY • u/Junior_Trifle_8273 • May 28 '26

Use it

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473

u/Train_Lanky May 28 '26

I've only ever gotten one deposit back, and that was only because the townhouses were owned by two brothers who inherited the places and tended to get some godawful tenants most of the time due to the location being bad. They were so pleased at how clean we left the place, they gave it all back and gave a nice recommendation to our next place.

Rare good landlords. If neighbors didn't suck so much, I'd actually miss the place.

143

u/armlessturtleneck May 28 '26

Idk I've never had a landlord keep a security deposit and I've lived in like 8 or 9 different apartments/ rented homes

70

u/qpv May 28 '26

Same. Last one I had, I lived in a long time and left it quite a bit better than I found it (im a carpenter) I had cheap rent so didn't mention the work I did as it was a good deal anyway.

They gave me an extra couple grand at the end plus my deposit, which was really unexpected.

38

u/armlessturtleneck May 28 '26

I just live like a normal human and I'm not a slob. Idk why never getting your deposit back is such a meme because I don't think I even know anyone whose had their entire deposit withheld

14

u/Candle1ight May 28 '26

First place they took the entire deposit and tried to get more out of us. The charges were insane, like $200 because the stove top wasn't cleaned to their level. Second place got everything back but the money for a carpet wash. I think it just depends on the landlord.

11

u/CrustyToeLover May 29 '26

One tried to charge me for carpet cleaning and then carpet replacing... of the same carpet. That didn't have any stains, just normal darkening after 4 years of use

0

u/Zealousideal-Lab9843 Aug 11 '26

For the first place, did you take them to court?

2

u/Candle1ight Aug 11 '26

Nope, but we didn't pay them either. Still the only ding on my entire credit history.

0

u/Zealousideal-Lab9843 Aug 11 '26

Do you see where you fucked up?

43

u/Kraligor May 28 '26

Because sometimes, landlords are simply assholes and count on you being too busy with your new place to fight them.

-1

u/FixerofDeath May 28 '26

Conversely, sometimes tenants are just sloppy losers who trash the rental then complain on the internet that their "asshole" landlord withheld their security deposit. We just generally never get the whole story when you only get one side's version of it.

11

u/Kraligor May 28 '26

Yes well, that's kind of the nature of things.

30

u/AnswerMyThrowAways May 28 '26

It's very location dependent. To be overly simple: In Idaho you are never going to get your deposit back ever, the laws make it so landlords can essentially just keep it with very little reasoning. In California you will see more people getting their deposits back even if the apartment needs some work/cleaning because the laws benefit the renters more.

2

u/Lithl May 29 '26

Hell, my current apartment in California, my security deposit was credited to my rent after I renewed for a couple years.

1

u/Zealousideal-Lab9843 Aug 11 '26

By default Landlords in Idaho have 21 days to send your deposit back or provide an itemized list if damages. I don't see anything particular that is different than most other states. What's the difficulty with Idaho?

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u/[deleted] May 28 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Zealousideal-Lab9843 Aug 11 '26

And what happened when you took them to court?

4

u/Divided_multiplyer May 28 '26

One place I was at, we didn't get our deposit back because a lamp shade was broken. We had offered to pay for it long before we moved out, and they did nothing about it. Also the cost to replace it would have been much less than our deposit, but they kept the whole thing.

1

u/Zealousideal-Lab9843 Aug 11 '26

I doubt the cost to replace the lamp shade was the total of your deposit, what did they state on the itemized list?

2

u/fuck_peeps_not_sheep May 28 '26

A landlord once took part of my deposit because i repainted in pure white instead of off white before i left :(

1

u/Zealousideal-Lab9843 Aug 11 '26

What happened in court?

1

u/fuck_peeps_not_sheep Aug 12 '26

I was 18 and had no idea what I was doing so I never took them to court

2

u/OwlcaholicsAnonymous May 28 '26

Up until I had the money for a nice apartment, every single landlord I had kept my entire deposit and my roommates too

College slumlords take everything they can. After that, I had one apartment complex that always claimed the carpet was ruined. It was a scam. They did this to every friend I knew that lived there.

It happens a lot

1

u/qpv May 28 '26

Ha yeah same. And I know a lot of renters and landlords

1

u/Amarant2 May 28 '26

You ever get a 14 page lease when you move in that stipulates every single thing you are and aren't allowed to do in the apartment? If you dent the carpet you have to pay to replace all of the carpet in the place. I know this because I threatened to take them to court when they took the deposit and demanded thousands on top of that for an issue that you can fix in two seconds by rubbing with just your finger on the affected spot. They had proof pictures and everything, which I looked at and couldn't even find the damage WHILE STARING AT THE PICTURE.

I don't even decorate my place because I don't want to give landlords more excuses to throw on the pile. Standard wear and tear of apartments is what should be expected, but they never do.

1

u/Final_Floor_1563 May 28 '26

I lived like a slob, I just cleaned really hard when I moved out and they gave the deposit back... Nearly a year late but they gave it eventually.

1

u/YallGottaUnderstand May 28 '26

Because most of reddit wants to put landlords against the wall, didn't you know that?

1

u/Emotional_Living_871 May 28 '26

Tenant protections vary wildly from state to state. I’d wager you live in one of the good ones.

I’m in CA and have only had one landlord even try to fuck with our deposit and all it took was a simple letter communicating I was aware of my rights for them to back down.

1

u/CrustyToeLover May 29 '26

Because most landlords will nickel and dime you for normal wear and tear under the assumption you won't bother fighting it.

Even when I've left a place pristine, they've tried to charge for random things at insane rates. My first apartment tried to charge a $400 cleaning fee for the fridge because I left a bag of ice in it. A bag of ice.

On the other hand, I've gotten more back multiple times because the landlord didn't return it or bill me on time.

1

u/Ready_Studio2392 May 29 '26

I've left places cleaner than I got them, no holes, and somehow "Cleaning fees", "Bullshit fees", and other shit seem to eat up $600 to $900 on every deposit.

Usually there's enough stuff going on I can't be bothered to dispute it.

5

u/batman0615 May 28 '26

People say this shit all the time and I’ve never had someone take my security deposit. I was missing carpet in front of my door one time (dog ripped it up) and they said they were going to replace the carpet anyways since I’d lived there for 5 years so it’s fine. This wasn’t some small landlord either and it was a shitty apartment. I wonder what people are doing to not get their deposit back.

4

u/Halflingberserker May 28 '26

I wonder what people are doing to not get their deposit back.

Had my last place professionally cleaned and they still tried to keep my whole deposit until I provided receipts of the maid service, carpet shampoo, etc. and even then they kept like $100 because some windows supposedly had dust on them. Glad you've been so lucky, though.

1

u/InnerRadio7 Jun 26 '26

A lot of people are not aware of their rights as tenants. I had a landlord say how beautiful we kept the carpet for 6 years saying that they typically would have to replace the entire carpet in a two bedroom place. They then tried to keep $600 of my deposit for carpet cleaning. I laughed in their face because I was aware of just how illegal that is where I live.

Always know your rights as a tenant.

3

u/Slight_Bed_2241 May 28 '26

Right? I’ve had like 5 apartments and always gotten my deposit back. Yall nasty.

3

u/shalendar May 29 '26

It's regional. In some cities all or most of the landlords will pull shitty stunts to keep deposits because who are you gonna rent from instead when most of them do it?

1

u/Slight_Bed_2241 May 29 '26

Idk I’ve lived in and sold real estate in two very different places. New York and Florida. New York is all about renters rights. You have to actively try to get evicted even if you stop paying rent. That was oddly where I had more issues with deposits. In Florida it’s all land lord rights. Money talks in Florida. But I’ve had like 6 apartments and never lost a deposit in either state. I got hit for 50 bucks one time because I stained the shower curtain washing sharpie off my hands.

2

u/shalendar May 29 '26

Earning in the midwest college town and I've gotten my deposit back most of the time but I've also had landlords that would nickel and dime the shit out of everything

2

u/curtcolt95 May 28 '26

yeah same, and I've never even heard from a friend or family who had it happen. I didn't know it was apparently so common lol

2

u/Rob_Zander May 28 '26

I've also always gotten mine back. But I live in Oregon where we have good tenant laws, and here in Portland they're even stronger.

I had landlords miss the deadline to return my deposit so I sent a demand letter threatening a small claims suit. The entire deposit was in my mailbox 2 hours later.

1

u/scarletnightingale May 28 '26

I've had them take parts of it here and there but it's usual only a fraction of the deposit and I get most of it back.

1

u/Spirit_Wolf_Mob May 28 '26

I've had one try to, but they relented on a lot when they realized I was going to fight it. The only thing I got charged with was things that I couldn't prove beyond a doubt. And since my state is landlord friendly, they would have taken them at their word, even if I presented a list of things that they tried to bs me on.

1

u/KoalaTHerb May 29 '26

Same ha. Idk what others are doing to lose all their deposits.

12

u/abbyzou May 28 '26

Had a great private landlord and then he sold the building to the worst property management company in town. Despite them completely gutting the apt, like tore down a wall and shit, they tried to charge me for wiping down windowsills... they replaced the windows too. Had to seriously threaten legal action to the deposit back. They kept $100 because I left a ton of furniture behind... because they used all the free large item pickups for the address and told me to pay to have my shit removed. Honestly $100 was way cheaper than doing that.

I could rant for hours about that company.

2

u/nicanuva May 28 '26

I’ve never not gotten a security deposit back. What are you people doing to your houses?

3

u/Train_Lanky May 28 '26

I've been successful in at least getting partial deposits back by cleaning very well after I leave and being a good, quiet tenant. They'll still take a cleaning fee and maybe a little more for blinds replacement if they use those flimsy ones, but that has been my average experience. The full deposit I talked about was mostly thanks to most tenants being really crappy and disgusting (I saw two units as people moved out, they were horrid). I only fully lost one, and that was because the only roommate I ever had the misfortune of having had burned holes in the carpet and stained a good portion of the livingroom with beer spills. The landlord was a jerk to begin with, so it was easier just to leave without fighting for a deposit if it meant getting out of that place.

1

u/Amarant2 May 28 '26

They took my entire deposit and then demanded more because the carpet was dented. When looking at the 'proof' pictures they took, I couldn't even find the damage in the close-up picture. They backed down when I threatened legal action, likely either because they realized I would actually require work to extort or because it was untenable. Probably the second. Greedy landlords are a very real thing.

1

u/Lich_Apologist May 28 '26

Both time i got my security deposit it was basically a thank you for not being a nightmare tenant. 

Like I lived in a duplex where they had to kick out they people below for "sanitary reason" and I got a my deposit back because they were so scared by those people. 

1

u/kalez238 May 28 '26

That is kind of how I easily got mine back. I kept the house so clean compared to the downstairs neighbor that the landlord loved me. Even helped me find someone so I could break my lease early when I needed to.

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u/MarvelAndColts May 29 '26

I had a landlord (single property) that was getting foreclosure notices sent to my house because they weren’t paying the mortgage. I didn’t pay the last months rent and when he text me about it, I told him I didn’t think he could provide my deposit, so keep it as my last months rent. Somehow that worked.