ohiolandlord
02-08-2006, 05:29 PM
I have recently moved and my landlord and I are having problems seeing eye to eye on the deductions of the security deposit. He's deducting for the cleaning of cobwebs and moldings. All the moldings were painted and we lived there for over 2 years would that be considered normal wear and tear? The cobwebs were in corners that I must have missed or coudn't reach. But can you really charge me for cleaing that? He's alao charging me for a repair to nail holes, were there prior to my moving in, and painting. I honestly feel like he's really reaching in order to keep my deposit. And he's also charging me $250 for cleaning, carpet cleaning, and painting of a room from smoke damage. The room was used as a smoking room, but I scrubbed the walls with comet because I knew he would have to repaint it. I asked him for a receipt with that deduction but did not recieve one. Does he have to supply me with the reciept upon request? And no where in my lease does it say that I can not smoke in the premises, can he charge me for that cleaning?
Now when we moved out I called my landlord to return the keys and do a walk through. He was busy and said he would call for the walk through. He never called. I got a hold of him by blocking my number from his caller ID and he answered 2 and a half weeks later. Informed me that I would only be receiving a small portion of my deposit because of all the cleaing he had to do. A friend told me that by law a tenant has 30 days from time of move out to do a walk through with the landlord to fix possilble deductions before they become a deduction, is that true?
Thanks, Sandy
In Ohio, the landlord can only charge you for damages which go beyond reasonable wear and tear. I don't think that cobwebs and dust is reasonable wear and tear.
Painting can be beyond reasonable wear and tear if there was damage to the walls or if they had been painted a strange color by the tenant during the tenancy. As for smoke damage, if there wasn't a rule against smoking in the lease agreement, then I think that the landlord's charges for that likely would not be enforceable.
The same is true of carpet cleaning. Absent a specific showing of the need to clean the carpets because of something that you did, then the landlord cannot charge for routine carpet cleaning between tenants.
Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.16 says that the landlord has 30 days to return the security deposit once the lease ends and the tenant moves out. If the landlord improperly withholds the security deposit beyond this time, and if the tenant has given the landlord written notice of her move out address, then the tenant can sue for double damages and attorneys fees.
If this problem arises in the central Ohio area and you are looking for an attorney to help you out with it, you can contact me by email by clicking on my name above. I don't charge for initial consultations to see if I can help you.
You can also learn more about your rights as a tenant by downloading our book online at http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/book.html
Now when we moved out I called my landlord to return the keys and do a walk through. He was busy and said he would call for the walk through. He never called. I got a hold of him by blocking my number from his caller ID and he answered 2 and a half weeks later. Informed me that I would only be receiving a small portion of my deposit because of all the cleaing he had to do. A friend told me that by law a tenant has 30 days from time of move out to do a walk through with the landlord to fix possilble deductions before they become a deduction, is that true?
Thanks, Sandy
In Ohio, the landlord can only charge you for damages which go beyond reasonable wear and tear. I don't think that cobwebs and dust is reasonable wear and tear.
Painting can be beyond reasonable wear and tear if there was damage to the walls or if they had been painted a strange color by the tenant during the tenancy. As for smoke damage, if there wasn't a rule against smoking in the lease agreement, then I think that the landlord's charges for that likely would not be enforceable.
The same is true of carpet cleaning. Absent a specific showing of the need to clean the carpets because of something that you did, then the landlord cannot charge for routine carpet cleaning between tenants.
Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.16 says that the landlord has 30 days to return the security deposit once the lease ends and the tenant moves out. If the landlord improperly withholds the security deposit beyond this time, and if the tenant has given the landlord written notice of her move out address, then the tenant can sue for double damages and attorneys fees.
If this problem arises in the central Ohio area and you are looking for an attorney to help you out with it, you can contact me by email by clicking on my name above. I don't charge for initial consultations to see if I can help you.
You can also learn more about your rights as a tenant by downloading our book online at http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/book.html