The Grass Doctor

A question about my security deposit and damage to the house?

Ok, so I have a cat that was having bladder problems for a few weeks and because of that I have quite a few pee stains on the carpets of my rental home. They're definitely going to need to be replaced. We rented an industrial carpet shampooer and did all of that, but the spots are still there and they still kinda stink. Ok so I know our landlord is going to have a fit about that, but whatever. My question is this, can he still keep our security deposit even though we've made improvements to the home? When we moved in there was an ANCIENT washer and dryer set that died on us so we went and purchased a brand new set, cost us a pretty penny......about the same as our security deposit. Also, when we moved in, the front and back yards needed serious landscaping work, which we did out of our pocket. We re-planted some grass seed, cleared out a lot of weeds/debris, planted a lot of bushes and annual flowers, and put in some nice landscaping stones/etc. Can he still keep our security deposit even though we've made all of these renovations to the home??? Just FYI - we got the OK from the landlord to do all of this work before we did it. david.......you're comparing a car wash and an oil change to an $800 washer and dryer set and $400 worth of landscaping. My security deposit was only $850. Well whatever.....if he does, I'm taking everything I did with me. I paid for it and he has no right to keep it. I'll pull the bushes and the flowers and stones out......THAT would be leaving it like I found it!

Public Comments

1. the LL is under obligation to accept anything you have done , in fact you can be charged to remove what you have done and charged again to have a professional brought in by the LL to repair anything you damaged Edit- unless you got it in writing my answer stands and when it comes to court who do you think will win
2. Yes the LL can keep your security deposit for the replacement of the carpet/smell removal etc. You must leave it the way you found it. If you made improvements they must stay(maybe not the washer and dryer). If you let your friend borrow your car and he put a dent in it even though he change the oil and gave it a car wash would you not hold him liable??? I hope you have a great day. Again, I said maybe not the washer and dryer. I do not know how your lease reads. If you are responsible for the appliances and you replaced them, they are the LL. You might not like my answer, but that is the answer. If you get upset and pull out what you put in he can sue you(washer & Dryer/landscaping. It is not his fault that the carpet got stained. Normal wear and tear is not cat pee with a stain. I am sorry if I upset you, but I was giving my honest opinion.
3. Yes, he can keep it to replace/repair the carpet. Unfortunately, the pet stains on the carpet have nothing to do with the repairs and upgrades you did to the place. Although, the landlord may take those things into consideration when he is looking at the place. It also will depend on the age and condition of the carpet before you moved in. If it was past its life expectancy or already stained then that may be a reason to have it replaced anyway, despite the condition of it when you moved. If your landlord is reasonable, then he would take all of this into consideration. If you take out the washer and dryer when you leave, you would still need to put the old one back (or one in place of it) since one existed when you moved in.
4. There are many different issues here, which you are trying to bundle into one. That's not how things work. The carpet: You will be responsible for replacing the carpet. The washer/dryer: Did you just decide to replace the WD or did you make arrangements with the LL at that time? If you took it upon yourself to replace the appliances, you will be financially responsible. You rented a place with WD. You need to leave the place with a WD. What you should have done was held onto his WD so that you could put them back as you left. At this point, if you put in a WD in similar shape as the ones you took out, the LL can collect from you, as he can claim the WD previously there were in better condition than the replacements and you cannot refute that! (Your word against his and his will prevail, as it was his property taken. Your word will seem to be an excuse.) The Landscaping. Unless you had a written agreement about the landscaping before you started the work, it's a non-issue. Everyone does yard work while living in a house. You cannot do the work and then decide you want to get paid for the work. Life doesn't work that way. Either you get hired to do the yard work (agreement ahead of time) or you did the work because you wanted to enjoy the prettier yard. Courts do not allow you to decide you want to do some work and then demand someone else pay for the work. Would you walk up to a stranger's house, paint it yellow, and then demand the unaware homeowner pay for your work? Of course not. Your landscaping work is the same thing. (The only exception is in case of emergency - ie: a gas leak, you cannot find the LL, so you hire someone to shut off the gas. Yard work isn't emergency service.)
5. You lose any money put into a rental when you leave. You CANNOT take any thing out either! Anything attached to the house becomes part of the house and MUST be left! My dad (a Real Estate Agent) calls it the law of screwablity. He has EVERY right to keep it! You get NO concession for that at move out. This is why it is not a good idea to put money into a place you do not own! Not only can he keep your deposit to cover the cost to replace the carpets, he can sue you for any balance if the deposit is not enough to cover it. If you remove improvements and cause damage to the property in the process then he can charge you to fix that as well! What ever good you did to the house does NOT mean that you do not have to pay for any damages!! It may not seem fair but you have no law on your side here.
6. You do have several non-related things rolled into one question, so it's hard to give one answer. It's likely he'll use your security deposit to clean the carpet. I'm skeptical that you used an industrial cleaner and the stains are still there and still smell. How long did you let them sit for?! Check your state landlord/tenant laws. In PA at least, the landlord, within 30 days of your lease ending, must provide you with a written list of damages and how much its going to cost to fix them. If he doesn't provide that list nor returns your money within 30 days, you are eligible for double the sec. deposit. back.
7. You are talking about vandalism and stealing. Are you willing to be arrested over grass? 400 bucks turns your crime into a federal one, your life will be harder with a felony on your record. The second you planted anything on the owners land it became their property. It is illegal for you to remove it. TO say you are going to steal his landscaping sounds crazy when you add it to the fact that you want to steal it because you destroyed his carpeting. Down right nuts. Leave his landscaping alone, take your washer and dryer and plan to pay him for the carpeting that you allowed an animal to piss all over. You made the choice to live in cat piss, you can not force that choice on others. He will not be able to repair the damage you did to his property with $850. I would say this is closer to $2000, as the pad needs to be replaced to.
8. You made improvement to the home by your own choice. You will still be responsible for the damaged carpet.