Itemization of Security Deposit witheald is vague.

[bonaparte]

I just got a partial security deposit back from my former landlord. Two items were deducted:

$75 to clean an oven
$675 for landscaping and in quotes "to return property to curb appeal".
$0.00 for a burn mark in the carpet (to be nice to me).

On the back of the itemized sheet is a list of three landscapers and their landscaping estimates (the dollar value only) all three estimates are above what I paid in my origional security deposit.

Both items are over reaching.

For the stove, yes it was dirty when I left the house, but it was dirty when I moved in. As a matter of fact the whole kitchen had not been cleaned since the last person moved out (as of the time I was moving in). Also $75 to clean a stove seem a little overreaching. Even the Landlord Protection Assosiation says standard deduction for cleaning a stove is $50, and their on the landlords side.

As for the landscaping, yes there was a clause in the lease that I would maintain the landscaping, and I did. I really have no idea what would have had to been done to the landscaping to return it to "curb appeal", whatever that means. The landscaping was in the same condition when I left the property as when I moved in. I still live in the neighborhood and walk past the property frequently. From what I can see the only landscaping that has been done is small branch removal and mowing.

I did leave a forwarding address before the end of my lease via certified mail with signature return.

Problem is I'm afraid even if I get a good attorney I will not be able to win a he said, she said type arguement in court (the stove) and I really have no way of knowing what or how the landlord will justify the landscaping fee as the itemization only says "return to curb appeal".

I know I'm right in this case, I know the truth about the stove, and literally have no idea what landscaping damage I did to the home (or what I would have had to do to maintain the landscaping). Is it worth my time and money to invest in an attorney? Just curious as to the thought of others on this one.

I'm also worried about a countersuit for the entire landscaping quote as well as paying my landlords attorney fees if I do lose, not to mention a fee for the carpet.

[eewillison]

In Ohio, the tenant is responsible to return the rental property to the landlord in the same condition he received it, reasonable wear and tear excepted. You are correct when you write about the factual issue of who will be believed, the landlord or the tenant regarding items like the stove. But you should also know that under Ohio law, the landlord has the burden of proof on this issue (Zeallear v. F&W Properties). That means that if, at the end of the presentation of evidence, the finder of fact does not know whom to believe, the finder of fact must determine that the landlord has not met his burden of proof.

As for the landscaping, maintaining the landscaping does not necessarily mean that you must return the property in a manner such that it has "curb appeal." The landlord is going to have to establish that it had curb appeal in the first place before you ever lived there, and second, that something you did or did not do violated that portion of the lease.

Lastly, the landlord is going to have to show that the landscaping estimates are reasonable in light of the "damages" he or she is claiming.