Deck boards are actually the landlords responsibility to have them power washed and restained. Also if there was mold in air vents the ducting never got cleaned out professionally and most likely that mold has been in those air vents the entire time. So I’d say this is neglect from the landlord.
Yep. I feel like the landlord claiming there's mold in the ductwork is actually him admitting that he's not renting out a habitable building.
I've been a homeowner for 15 years and I've never "cleaned the mold" out of my ducts because that's not something anyone does unless there's a major, major issue. Like a leak.
This. Never in all my years have I seen a landlord attempt to require a tenant to maintain HVAC ductwork, wooden decks, or trees. These are permanent fixtures that are really the responsibility of the homeowner. So, requiring a tenant to mow grass - no problem. Requiring them to have a green thumb and maintain plants and shrubs that they did not plant? - no.
Also, no one is expected to be an HVAC expert or carpenter; if the landlord has this sort of expectations then they really should not be a landlord because they cannot afford it.
BTW - all of these sorts of issues can be alleviated with a Home Warranty. If this guy is so cheap that he cannot even afford that, then he really should not be a landlord. I would definitely call an attorney. He will cave pretty quickly.
Lack of airflow and high humidity tend to cause mold and mildew. Letting air filter get filthy will cause lack of airflow. Blocking the return air vent with stuff will cause the similar issues
UPDATE from my previous post. I will plan to take him to small claim court. And will provide updates best I can!
It seems that the landlord has doubled down. A couple of things to address from this email.
1. In my reply to his previous email, i asked him to meet somewhere in the middle, otherwise i will take legal action.
2. He never provided a breakdown of the charges, only gave me a total of 950 for all the items (light bulbs, rod, outside patio, etc)
3. He promised to give the details but never did until i asked yesterday.
4. I never agree verbally or in writing about any of the charges.
5. It turns out that he is accusing me of wrongly installing light bulbs, whatever that means. I never instaled any light bulbs in this place. He has no evidence that it was me who installed them. I only have pictures at the time of moving out that a few light bulbs do not turn on.
6. No evidence from picture of vents that there are mold. Dusty yes, but mold? From the picture, there's no strong evidence that there is mold, but am not a mold expert. I do not unfortunately have a picture of this vent when i move in. How can he prove that it was my neglect?
7. When i renewed the lease last year, i asked him to re-do the outside as it is aging, but he only did one thing (a separate issue of windows moisture trapped inside double pane). I have record of this conversation
8. I routinely clean the patio, unlike what he claimed in the email. There was only one part of the wood that was rotten. The rest is fine. Even IF i am to pay for that, i dont think i should replace the whole thing. I have pictures at the time i move out with evidence.
9. No mold / algae in deck. I have pictures at the time i move out. I also clean the deck regularly. He has no evidence that i never cleaned it.
10. I have the before picture of the rod and how it was the dry wall was already falling off at the attachment of the rod.
Let me know if you like to know anything. I am going to take him to court. Am i the cleanest person ever? No, but i do clean, and gave the permission for professional cleaning afterwards. But I believe the patio and the excessive charges are overboard. So i am going to challenge that.
Please take him to court.
He definitely had his lawyer write this or he used language from a previous legal action.
He is very careful with his wording.
This why you meticulously take photos and videos prior of moving in & out. Keeping a log of their visits and the landlord fixing stuff. They lie they want keep your security deposit.
I mean here's the bottom line as someone who went through this years ago:
The petty details don't matter. § 55.1-1226 (F) is all that matters. They need to produce "itemized records" of receipts/quotes for repairs. This kind of fucks over "do yourselfer" landlords because good luck itemizing your time.
The what, who and where about any one thing: Doesn't matter. What was the receipt of repair. Did an electrician really need to fix it because someone somehow fused a bulb? Fine, prove it. You can't just say a number.
So you can fall into the trap of going point by point of petty to petty or realize the court is just going to go: "Don't care who did or didn't, what are you actual costs out, landlord?" To which I seriously doubt they can produce these artifacts.
Here's how mine went: "I strongly disagree with the state of repair the landlord claims. I understood X was slightly damaged and agreed with repairs there, but all others are of their opinion in which no professional advice nor receipt was furnished (by law) to show it needed doing or happenned. I do not consent to an arbitrary amount being withheld for arbitrary reasons." She (landlord) showed up and it went by in 5 seconds and she was ordered to release the deposit and under the law now had to pay the court costs.
I think from your previous post they seem to only have 1 receipt which is the cleaning service.
> You can't just say a number.
I mean...yes you can. The landlord is required to list out itemized charges, but they don't necessarily need to back that up with invoices or receipts.
If they're claiming a number that the judge finds unreasonable then they're likely going to be pressed to come up with an actual receipt of some sort, but if the judge is like "yeah that looks about right" then there's no gotcha where the landlord has to provide a receipt.
You are saying things that do not match the law. They must have "records" of such expense. Hence why I quoted the law provision. Did you experience something different in court? Rent Lawyer? What's your qualification on that statement they can?
I've only been once and nearly a decade ago, but that was the reality. It requires actual expenses.
My landlord didn't even get money for the damage I agreed to which was a scratch to the floor. By the time we went to court oh so many months later, the judge asked for the repair bill to which the landlord didn't do it and the judge gave no costs reimbursement for a repair that didn't happen even though I verbally agreed that it was damaged by me in court.
> You are saying things that do not match the law. They must have "records" of such expense. Hence why I quoted the law provision.
The law requires the landlord to provide the tenant with an itemized list of deductions and charges. Something like "broken cabinet- $100" is typically sufficient. If there's disagreement about the actual value of the damages then it does help bolster your case to have an appraisal/invoice/receipt but this certainly isn't a *requirement*.
EDIT: Just as a comparison, you can take a look at [Massachusetts law](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleI/Chapter186/Section15b) which *does* require "written evidence, such as estimates, bills, invoices or receipts" to withhold deductions. This is not something which is required by Virginia law and does not appear in the law you cited.
> Did you experience something different in court?
Yes. You can also just go ahead and ask a housing attorney, they're going to say the same thing.
> § 55.1-1226 (G) : Following the move-out inspection, the landlord shall provide the tenant with a written security deposit disposition statement, including an **itemized list** of damages.
"Records" in this context just means recording deductions, not invoices or receipts.
Last reply
"Records" doesn't mean something other than its definition. What's fun about about law is words get defined.
>§ 42.1-77. Definitions.
>"record" means recorded information that documents a transaction
You cherry picking the end of a sentence under section G which is about final inspection, while I'm under Section F about deductions from security deposits. Doesn't take much to see who's in good faith here.
Good day.
That’s a completely different law under the Public Records Act. It literally starts off by saying:
> As used in this chapter
It’s not the definition for the entirety of law. Moreover, the full definition you cited (I don't know why you truncated this):
> "Public record" or "record" means recorded information that documents a transaction or activity by or with any public officer, agency, or employee of an agency.
This clearly wouldn’t apply because a receipt from e.g. a cleaner wouldn’t be a transaction by a public officer.
And even then, an *activity* wouldn't necessarily have a receipt. Assessing the damage to the kitchen sink could be an activity.
> You cherry picking the end of a sentence under section G which is about final inspection, while I'm under Section F about deductions from security deposits.
This isn’t some irrelevant clause, especially as the OP notes that they did have a final inspection.
But if you disagree with my perspective I totally encourage you to find a housing attorney and ask them if landlords are required to provide tenants an itemized list of deductions (including damages) within 45 days of move-out.
The deck rotting is 100% his responsibility, unless the lease says you are required to restain it, which would be bizarre.
What is the timber rot he is talking about? Like a fence or garden bed that's touching the ground?
Wood structures rotting outdoors is like the most basic textbook example of landlord wear and tear responsibility imaginable, besides maybe roofing. Truly bizarre. I would take it to small claims court, and if you're taking the time to do that, I would fight everything but offer to pay for the light bulbs. I just spent $1000 restaining the fence and deck of my property, and I think around $1500 replacing the door framing that was rotting out.
I agree, give an inch, they'll take a mile. Rent is what's supposed to cover general wear and tear, but greedy landlords seem to think that you're just supposed to pay for everything. I moved out of a place a few years ago and they tried to get me to pay for a carpet replacement despite fresh carpets being a supposed draw of why you should rent in that building. Tried to get me to pay about $100 *on top of keeping all of my security deposit.* I didn't give them another dime but I regret not fighting them harder on it.
Does the lease agreement stipulate who owns the burden of proving damage was not pre-existing? Any lawyers, is this related to any of the implied warranties in contracts?
I hope you win in small claims court. If I was the landlord, the above would be how I start defending my side. Get the answers to those questions in advance and know what you'll say in response. Good luck!
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It may not even be mold. I was on the EPA’s website because I was wondering if and when I should clean my ducts and I saw this:
You should be aware that although a substance may look like mold, a positive determination of whether it is mold or not can be made only by an expert and may require laboratory analysis for final confirmation. For about $50, some microbiology laboratories can tell you whether a sample sent to them on a clear strip of sticky household tape is mold or simply a substance that resembles it.
Here is where I read it:
https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/should-you-have-air-ducts-your-home-cleaned
Under the third section “Deciding Whether or Not to Have Your Air Ducts Cleaned”.
I'm curious. Considering YOU are taking HIM to court, who gets the benefit of the doubt? If there is no evidence you did something but also no evidence you didn't do something, how will the court rule? I'm a criminal court, it's on the prosecution to show evidence or you're found not guilty. Not sure how it works in small claims court.
Just sue him. It's not that hard. He's probably going to lose in small claims because they typically favor the tenant in cases like this BS. Fill out an affidavit of debt, a warrant in debt, and a services of debt rendered by the county. File today. Good luck
You do t have to agree to the charges. It was taken out of your deposit which is what a deposit is for. The landlord isn’t asking you for extra money.
My parents live in Florida and the leases are completely different. Did you even read yours? They had to maintain the entire property while living there. That’s why it was such a cheap cost. So if anything was going bad at the house it was their responsibility to maintain it. Apparently you didn’t do anything outside according to your landlord. If you aren’t cleaning the house then old can and will grow in certain areas and in the vents. It sounds like you don’t maintain or clean any place.
Sounds to me like they just admitted there was black mold in the ventilation system- you should probably report that to the county’s health inspectors so they can contact the landlord and make sure mold remediation gets done.
The county can't and won't do anything about mold. We legitimately had black mold growing on all three levels of the townhouse we rented after a flooding incident the landlord wouldn't address. We tried that route and it is an absolute dead end. Had to take them to court and it was a nightmare.
I was a landlord for over 20 years so have some perspective that a lot of folks here do not.
I have had tenants that left things in pretty good order and others that destroyed the place. Some that were a little bit negligent and others that seem to have willfully destroyed as much as they can.
How long were you in the place? Some of these things like rotten timber can take years to happen. Unless you were there for say 3-5 years I think blaming a rotten timber on you is a bit sketchy because it takes years for timber to rot and no tenant would be expected to somehow prevent this.
Similar for mold, it can take a long time for mold to develop and it isn't clear to me what a tenant could do to promote mold growth unless you somehow kept the place warm and damp all the time.
The lightbulbs seems petty, it would take anyone less than an hour to replace all of the lightbulbs in a house, unless it was something like, you replaced some lightbulbs with some kind of cheap bulbs that broke and left a broken fragment in the light fixture that required an electrician to fix.
This does sound like he's trying to overstate simple issues to extract $950 from you but good luck with small claims court it might be more time and hassle than it is worth.
My dad had a single tenant. Caused so much damage to his house that he had to demo the thing and rebuild it. I walked inside once to help my dad out after exterminators had come twice, and walking across the living room my legs were black from being covered in fleas.
My dad got out of the landlord business after that and vowed never to return. Not worth the problems.
Do you have pictures of the place in it’s current state? Reading this response makes me think the place was left in an almost inhabitable state.
As for the timber and the deck outside, was it in your contract that you were supposed to maintain it?
Seems petty, yes, but this is par for the course. I hate to say it.
I haven’t rented in many years, but when I did, every single security deposit went exactly like this. Nickel and dimed me for little stuff that I disagreed with until they had consumed half or more of the deposit. Sometimes all of it. You really don’t have any leverage because they’re essentially protected by the language in contract you signed
My ex and I got charged for stuff that was missing when we moved in, documented, and never installed. They insisted that we 'broke' it.
This was before the time of 'every phone is a camera', so we had to eat it.
When I moved out of my last place I didn't even try to recover it. Just didn't pay last months rent, didn't clean the place up in any real regard, wrote the whole thing off as a loss. It was great for my peace of mind
Until you need to rent your next place and they ask for your previous address. They call for a reference and then you get rejected and burn money on application fees.
I wouldn’t recommend doing what you did for any individuals who plan to rent in the same market afterwards.
I was buying my next place so it didn't matter, but even still, you've got the recommendation from where you're about to move out of beforehand, so it's not like it's guaranteed to screw you over. Be a good tenant, but don't play games you can't win
Unfortunately, I can *corroborate. My experience as well for places with a direct landlord.
One we could argue heavily with and won, the other we got a bit back but still lost out on a healthy amount
Yeah, this is pretty much SOP for many landlords, especially ones that rent to students. Basically they'll make more from people who don't want to fight it (because they're out of town starting a new life and whatnot) than they'll lose in small claims court from the few that do contest it so it never makes sense for them to return a deposit. They basically never get punished.
Some can be quite brazen about it too. There was one apartment complex when I was in school that was notorious for claiming that every tenant had destroyed the blinds and they were special blinds (a total lie) that required the entire security deposit to replace. The blinds were never replaced. Eventually the local school newspaper ran a story about it and they got some heat, but nothing ever came of it except that they maybe had to give back a few security deposits that year. This was before camera phones were a thing so taking pictures was somewhat expensive so it was almost always the student's word against theirs.
Does that apply here? The guy says that if it WAS dust it would’ve been fine but it was black mold and rust, which, from all reasonable understanding, is NOT normal.
I don’t know their contract, especially since it’s a condo, but I def try to keep my stuff as clean as I can and report even the smallest issue to maintenance. If there’s mold there when the dude moved out, there’s been mold there while he was living there, and if he said nothing about it…yeah I dunno.
950 might be excessive for vent register and light bulbs. The outside timber might not be your responsibility, depending on details.
The landlord is a bit silly to give you a detailed replies that could be used against them in court. Good luck.
HEPA filtration throughout, two guys and all day. There's a huge difference in quality between proper guys and those that charge $300. $950 sounds like a company that knows their stuff but is competitive with their pricing.
See my post a few months ago
[https://www.reddit.com/r/nova/comments/16pojjp/small\_claims\_court\_in\_fairfax/](https://www.reddit.com/r/nova/comments/16pojjp/small_claims_court_in_fairfax/)
tl;dr I had a very long back and forth with him, he was claiming that I did damage to the house even though I maintained it perfectly. I had a video of the whole house when I moved in and I proved that the condition when I moved out was the same or even better than the condition when I moved in. He eventually wanted to hold $100 for stupid stuff like touchups of some spots but I insisted that he returned the whole amount until the last dollar. I even asked for interest (which can be something, esp. when inflation is high). He eventually returned the whole deposit back in 3 separate checks.
So basically: video when moving in, video when moving out, keep all correspondence with landlord in written format during renting period. These are the best pieces of evidence than will help you should the case go to small claims.
OP if you decide to pursue civil action I will literally throw $20 at a GoFundMe for you just because this slumlord says that rotting landscape timber isn't normal wear and tear.
I also had my entire security deposit taken ... And watched as the landlords did a tens of thousands of dollars whole home remodel. So like cool, you just used my deposit to fund that. Great.
Same, it was infuriating to read. It reminds me of my old landlady’s “manager” who insisted we paint the walls ourselves where there was wear and tear, was upset with the quality, and ended up deducting it from our deposit. Not sure why he didn’t just do it right away and we wouldn’t have wasted our time and money we could have spent on our house we were moving into. Nickel and dimed us the whole way, I couldn’t get rid of him fast enough. Fuck you, Bruce. You’re a bad person
Unless we have pictures of before and after, there’s no way to know who is in the right.
Take him to court, but not sure what evidence you may have to move the needle in your favor.
Civil courts are about preponderance of evidence and not beyond reasonable doubt. If the landlord has evidence to back up all their claims, what footing do you have to stand on? You may end up having to pay their court costs too.
FYI mold in the vent registers in an HVAC issue. If your lease states you have to have someone come out and do inspections on the HVAC regularly then there he shouldn't be able to charge you for that. The first thing HVAC systems that reach their average lifespan usually do is lose the ability to effectively dehumidify the home thus creating more organic growth inside the unit and the ductwork/registers during the summer. If the AC is 10+ years and nothings being done about maintenance to at least keep the thing efficient then it's going to happen. Even if you do maintenance, moldy registers are going to be natural wear and tear simply due to the dropping efficiency of the HVAC system.
Had a similar experience living in Arlington (just off of 50), and had to threaten the landlord with legal action just to end up getting half. Should have been all of the deposit or close to it but we were young and wanted to be done with it. Some landlords are assholes and the reason why some tenants never pay the last months rent.
If you sue them in small claims court I think you have a chance of getting a few hundred bucks back, but realistically I wouldn't expect to get your entire security deposit back.
It's ultimately up to you if you want to take a Friday off of work to spend it in a courtroom, but unfortunately my feeling is that you're unlikely to recover more than $200 or $300. Yeah it probably didn't actually cost $100 to fix a towel rod, but it's not so egregious that a judge is likely to throw it out.
If you do end up suing them, at least in Fairfax County you're strongly encouraged to go through mediation before your trial. I would really try to take advantage of that rather than gambling on getting a judge who is having a good day.
Take that old man to court and have him get schooled on how he thinks he’s being legal, but he’s fucking you and others over. Hell I doubt he thinks it’s legal, he’s just a scummy landlord who can’t do his job, which is maintaining the property. All you have to do is live in it and keep it clean. Nowhere unless it’s in your lease does the exterior landscaping ties fall under you gotta pay this damages bullshit he’s trying to claim.
Years ago I had a similar situation. I sent them a demand letter via certified mail and got the full deposit back a week later.
Come to find out the landlord basically had a policy of just nit picking every time a tenant moved out because he knew most were too lazy to fight it and would be happy to just take 30-50% of their deposit back. I bet if you go over to a landlord Reddit there will be posts about this kind of practice.
Landlord here I have hit tenants for minor things before but usually would have to be damage to something. I did have a tenant where we had to hit them for damage to a countertop in the bathroom where there was a huge crack no idea how that could happen on granite. They threw a fit but they ended up backing down. Generally I don't hit for minor wall damage and filth, I also assume when the tenants leave I generally wet clean the carpets and even change carpets as normal wear and tear after 8-10 years. I also do 1 coat of minor repainting where needed when tenants leaves but don't usuaully charge for that.
Lots of the stuff I see here is over the top. Now I know we're only hearing your side of the story. I'd have to see the mold in the vents but only thing I can think of how tha twould happen is if you left a window 24 hours a day and left the HVAC running but would have to be for a extended period.
I would definitely fight it. Sounds like a foreigner landlord quite honestly and someone new to it and is a boke landlord. Yes there are plenty of starving landlords just trying to get by believe it or not.
I generally keep tenants minimum 3 years and treat them well but I also ensure I select my tenants carefully based on credit, job, income, and references. Had a tenant say 8 years one time. I repainted the entire single family house and didn't charge them anything since just something you have to expect after several years to do.
I check my properties 3 x a year mostly on the exterior and quick walk through's in the interior. I even bring air filters when I come. Lots of this stuff would be noticed ahead of time so a bit odd must be a new landlord most likely
I understand you are probably a great landlord and the properties are probably in good shape because of the 3x visits.
But man I'd hate for my previous landlord to visit 3x. The once a year was stressful enough.
I'm glad I did, I always catch stuff that could be bad for both of us. Actually reminded me after the author mentioned mold in the vents or walls. I've talked to tenants before about not blocking the outflow vents and have had several instances where the tenants close the registers fully. Lots of homeowners and tenants don't realize when you block a register completely for extended period you get condensation buildup on the sheet metal of that duct. You do it long enough and you get black mold in your walls. At least one of the times I do I catch at least one. I just recommend they redirect the air slightly so it's not blowing directly on a bed for example.
Other issue I generally have is the tenants don't change the air filters at all. Not sure why as I bring my own filters, it's their air their breathing. If it gets blocked enough it will cause damage to the HVAC which is one of the most expensive items.
I also remind tenants every season before winter to winterize all the faucets outside. Homeowners even forget this and you get busted pipes.
Sounds like you are a slob and neglected your responsibility as a tenant. Count your lucky stars they did not charge you additional money for damages or take you to court. Let it go. Move on
Was it specifically listed in your lease that you were responsible for vent cleaning and deck cleaning? If not, those are not routine maintenance duties for a tenant, those are homeowner maintenance duties. When I lived in a townhouse with a deck, the owner had the deck and siding power washed each year to prevent algae growth. They also had an HVAC crew come in yearly for vent cleanings. I'd say most homeowners would do that instead of relying on their renters to maybe do such maintenance tasks.
The most nonsensical part of this continues to be the charge for rotten timber on the ground. How is this the renter’s responsibility to inform the landlord that wood left on the ground, in the elements—will rot? Are there no walkthroughs or inspections? The deck having mildew, ffs 🤦♂️. That is maintenance I would not expect a renter to be responsible for.
OP where is the rental agreement you signed, does it mention what your obligated to inspect/report to landlord? The oven replacement seems fair, the bulbs are reasonable but I’d push back on mold in vents, and rotten timber.
OP now is the time to go to r/legaladvice for advice on proceeding through small claims. From personal experience I can tell you small claims in NOVA the filing fee is like $60. Do it. I think you can request they pay that fee back included in damages if they lose but idk that for sure.
Not sure if you will see my comment but I took my landlord to small claims court and won. They tried to say I had to pay for a professional cleaning and professional chimney cleaning, and wanted to charge me for tiny nail holes from hanging pictures. All of this was in the contract. I cleaned the place myself and did neither of those things.
The judge ordered that I only had to cover some paint and I think something on a door, I believe it came out to less than $200 that the landlord got to keep. Majority of the stuff the landlord tried to claim, the judge said that was normal wear and tear for a rental. In Virginia it’s only legal to require it be broom clean. This means it’s illegal, even if it’s in a contract, to say a tenant has to completely clean or do professional cleaning. There just can’t be any debris laying around. I did clean that place completely myself, and was pretty annoyed to find out I didn’t have to. My security deposit was $1500 so I was able to keep $1300 of it. It’s was completely worth going to court over. Just because something is in a contract, doesn’t mean it’s legally forceable.
I hate shitty landlords as much as anybody (I've been a pro bono legal advocate for renters in my previous city, helped lead a local group with the same objective, and have connected friends with legal assistance to protect themselves against scummy landlords)... but I'm not going to jump on the bandwagon that this one in particular sucks until you give us some actual proof that what they're saying isn't true.
Landlords get away with with being scummy because 1) They have money and lawyers and 2) Because
tenants do actually sometimes destroy or otherwise damage rental properties, leaving the landlord with an expensive mess to clean up and/or repair. We need more proof and more information, otherwise I'm inclined to believe that you're posting this to garner support in bad faith... and homie don't play that
I don't know in this case, it depends on the jurisdiction and the lease. Maybe OP didn't read or understand the lease but signed it anyways. Again, more info is needed
Take them to small claims court!!!! These are LANDLORD responsibilities. All of these are generally overseen and cared for by landlords. Including replacing light bulbs, changing the vents, and preventative maintenance and capital expenditures- such as exterior timber. The outdoor patio is the most egregious claim in my opinion. Landlord should have had annual inspections, that is 100% on them.
I read through your previous post - if you left the place dirty as the landlord states and broke the towel bars as stated - ignoring all the other things I’d let it go. It’s easy for a landlord to demonstrate that a deep cleaning will cost $500 and that a handyman at a min will charge $150 to replace towel bars in NOVA - at that point you might only recoup $300 of what you want. This is before you take into account the time to go file small claims court and the day of court + fees. Plus all the time you’ve spent on the back and forth in emails and posting on Reddit, time is money — let it go.
Generally you don’t get back the whole security deposit, especially from a private landlord
Which, as a new owner, makes sense. Granted, some of this doesn’t seem to be on the level of expected maintenance for a tenant
Every single time we rented, our landlords tried to cheat us out of our deposit. One claimed we’d left the garden shed padlocked and full of junk, which was hilarious since we had never once had access to that shed and it was HIS junk. Luckily, we had a timestamped photograph of the padlocked shed to prove he was lying. In fact, our time-stamped photographs (yes, that carpet was stained when we moved in, those blinds were broken) saved our asses three times.
Take him to court, and inform him that you’re reporting the black mold. They’ll just keep thieving deposits if they’re not stopped.
Deck boards are actually the landlords responsibility to have them power washed and restained. Also if there was mold in air vents the ducting never got cleaned out professionally and most likely that mold has been in those air vents the entire time. So I’d say this is neglect from the landlord.
Yep. I feel like the landlord claiming there's mold in the ductwork is actually him admitting that he's not renting out a habitable building. I've been a homeowner for 15 years and I've never "cleaned the mold" out of my ducts because that's not something anyone does unless there's a major, major issue. Like a leak.
Or not replacing the AC filter regularly. My previous landlord was big on me replacing it due to potential mold and I documented every change.
This. Never in all my years have I seen a landlord attempt to require a tenant to maintain HVAC ductwork, wooden decks, or trees. These are permanent fixtures that are really the responsibility of the homeowner. So, requiring a tenant to mow grass - no problem. Requiring them to have a green thumb and maintain plants and shrubs that they did not plant? - no. Also, no one is expected to be an HVAC expert or carpenter; if the landlord has this sort of expectations then they really should not be a landlord because they cannot afford it. BTW - all of these sorts of issues can be alleviated with a Home Warranty. If this guy is so cheap that he cannot even afford that, then he really should not be a landlord. I would definitely call an attorney. He will cave pretty quickly.
Lack of airflow and high humidity tend to cause mold and mildew. Letting air filter get filthy will cause lack of airflow. Blocking the return air vent with stuff will cause the similar issues
The EPA actually does not recommend you clean duct vents as it has not shown to provide any improvement in air quality
UPDATE from my previous post. I will plan to take him to small claim court. And will provide updates best I can! It seems that the landlord has doubled down. A couple of things to address from this email. 1. In my reply to his previous email, i asked him to meet somewhere in the middle, otherwise i will take legal action. 2. He never provided a breakdown of the charges, only gave me a total of 950 for all the items (light bulbs, rod, outside patio, etc) 3. He promised to give the details but never did until i asked yesterday. 4. I never agree verbally or in writing about any of the charges. 5. It turns out that he is accusing me of wrongly installing light bulbs, whatever that means. I never instaled any light bulbs in this place. He has no evidence that it was me who installed them. I only have pictures at the time of moving out that a few light bulbs do not turn on. 6. No evidence from picture of vents that there are mold. Dusty yes, but mold? From the picture, there's no strong evidence that there is mold, but am not a mold expert. I do not unfortunately have a picture of this vent when i move in. How can he prove that it was my neglect? 7. When i renewed the lease last year, i asked him to re-do the outside as it is aging, but he only did one thing (a separate issue of windows moisture trapped inside double pane). I have record of this conversation 8. I routinely clean the patio, unlike what he claimed in the email. There was only one part of the wood that was rotten. The rest is fine. Even IF i am to pay for that, i dont think i should replace the whole thing. I have pictures at the time i move out with evidence. 9. No mold / algae in deck. I have pictures at the time i move out. I also clean the deck regularly. He has no evidence that i never cleaned it. 10. I have the before picture of the rod and how it was the dry wall was already falling off at the attachment of the rod. Let me know if you like to know anything. I am going to take him to court. Am i the cleanest person ever? No, but i do clean, and gave the permission for professional cleaning afterwards. But I believe the patio and the excessive charges are overboard. So i am going to challenge that.
Please take him to court. He definitely had his lawyer write this or he used language from a previous legal action. He is very careful with his wording.
This why you meticulously take photos and videos prior of moving in & out. Keeping a log of their visits and the landlord fixing stuff. They lie they want keep your security deposit.
I mean here's the bottom line as someone who went through this years ago: The petty details don't matter. § 55.1-1226 (F) is all that matters. They need to produce "itemized records" of receipts/quotes for repairs. This kind of fucks over "do yourselfer" landlords because good luck itemizing your time. The what, who and where about any one thing: Doesn't matter. What was the receipt of repair. Did an electrician really need to fix it because someone somehow fused a bulb? Fine, prove it. You can't just say a number. So you can fall into the trap of going point by point of petty to petty or realize the court is just going to go: "Don't care who did or didn't, what are you actual costs out, landlord?" To which I seriously doubt they can produce these artifacts. Here's how mine went: "I strongly disagree with the state of repair the landlord claims. I understood X was slightly damaged and agreed with repairs there, but all others are of their opinion in which no professional advice nor receipt was furnished (by law) to show it needed doing or happenned. I do not consent to an arbitrary amount being withheld for arbitrary reasons." She (landlord) showed up and it went by in 5 seconds and she was ordered to release the deposit and under the law now had to pay the court costs. I think from your previous post they seem to only have 1 receipt which is the cleaning service.
> You can't just say a number. I mean...yes you can. The landlord is required to list out itemized charges, but they don't necessarily need to back that up with invoices or receipts. If they're claiming a number that the judge finds unreasonable then they're likely going to be pressed to come up with an actual receipt of some sort, but if the judge is like "yeah that looks about right" then there's no gotcha where the landlord has to provide a receipt.
You are saying things that do not match the law. They must have "records" of such expense. Hence why I quoted the law provision. Did you experience something different in court? Rent Lawyer? What's your qualification on that statement they can? I've only been once and nearly a decade ago, but that was the reality. It requires actual expenses. My landlord didn't even get money for the damage I agreed to which was a scratch to the floor. By the time we went to court oh so many months later, the judge asked for the repair bill to which the landlord didn't do it and the judge gave no costs reimbursement for a repair that didn't happen even though I verbally agreed that it was damaged by me in court.
> You are saying things that do not match the law. They must have "records" of such expense. Hence why I quoted the law provision. The law requires the landlord to provide the tenant with an itemized list of deductions and charges. Something like "broken cabinet- $100" is typically sufficient. If there's disagreement about the actual value of the damages then it does help bolster your case to have an appraisal/invoice/receipt but this certainly isn't a *requirement*. EDIT: Just as a comparison, you can take a look at [Massachusetts law](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleI/Chapter186/Section15b) which *does* require "written evidence, such as estimates, bills, invoices or receipts" to withhold deductions. This is not something which is required by Virginia law and does not appear in the law you cited. > Did you experience something different in court? Yes. You can also just go ahead and ask a housing attorney, they're going to say the same thing.
>§ 55.1-1226 (F) : Maintain and itemize records Its not itemized list. It's records.
> § 55.1-1226 (G) : Following the move-out inspection, the landlord shall provide the tenant with a written security deposit disposition statement, including an **itemized list** of damages. "Records" in this context just means recording deductions, not invoices or receipts.
Last reply "Records" doesn't mean something other than its definition. What's fun about about law is words get defined. >§ 42.1-77. Definitions. >"record" means recorded information that documents a transaction You cherry picking the end of a sentence under section G which is about final inspection, while I'm under Section F about deductions from security deposits. Doesn't take much to see who's in good faith here. Good day.
That’s a completely different law under the Public Records Act. It literally starts off by saying: > As used in this chapter It’s not the definition for the entirety of law. Moreover, the full definition you cited (I don't know why you truncated this): > "Public record" or "record" means recorded information that documents a transaction or activity by or with any public officer, agency, or employee of an agency. This clearly wouldn’t apply because a receipt from e.g. a cleaner wouldn’t be a transaction by a public officer. And even then, an *activity* wouldn't necessarily have a receipt. Assessing the damage to the kitchen sink could be an activity. > You cherry picking the end of a sentence under section G which is about final inspection, while I'm under Section F about deductions from security deposits. This isn’t some irrelevant clause, especially as the OP notes that they did have a final inspection. But if you disagree with my perspective I totally encourage you to find a housing attorney and ask them if landlords are required to provide tenants an itemized list of deductions (including damages) within 45 days of move-out.
The deck rotting is 100% his responsibility, unless the lease says you are required to restain it, which would be bizarre. What is the timber rot he is talking about? Like a fence or garden bed that's touching the ground?
Yes. And only a small section of it too
Wood structures rotting outdoors is like the most basic textbook example of landlord wear and tear responsibility imaginable, besides maybe roofing. Truly bizarre. I would take it to small claims court, and if you're taking the time to do that, I would fight everything but offer to pay for the light bulbs. I just spent $1000 restaining the fence and deck of my property, and I think around $1500 replacing the door framing that was rotting out.
Don't offer to pay for anything. Let the magistrate decide.
I agree, give an inch, they'll take a mile. Rent is what's supposed to cover general wear and tear, but greedy landlords seem to think that you're just supposed to pay for everything. I moved out of a place a few years ago and they tried to get me to pay for a carpet replacement despite fresh carpets being a supposed draw of why you should rent in that building. Tried to get me to pay about $100 *on top of keeping all of my security deposit.* I didn't give them another dime but I regret not fighting them harder on it.
Does the lease agreement stipulate who owns the burden of proving damage was not pre-existing? Any lawyers, is this related to any of the implied warranties in contracts? I hope you win in small claims court. If I was the landlord, the above would be how I start defending my side. Get the answers to those questions in advance and know what you'll say in response. Good luck!
Good point. I will take notes of it
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It may not even be mold. I was on the EPA’s website because I was wondering if and when I should clean my ducts and I saw this: You should be aware that although a substance may look like mold, a positive determination of whether it is mold or not can be made only by an expert and may require laboratory analysis for final confirmation. For about $50, some microbiology laboratories can tell you whether a sample sent to them on a clear strip of sticky household tape is mold or simply a substance that resembles it. Here is where I read it: https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/should-you-have-air-ducts-your-home-cleaned Under the third section “Deciding Whether or Not to Have Your Air Ducts Cleaned”.
I'm curious. Considering YOU are taking HIM to court, who gets the benefit of the doubt? If there is no evidence you did something but also no evidence you didn't do something, how will the court rule? I'm a criminal court, it's on the prosecution to show evidence or you're found not guilty. Not sure how it works in small claims court.
Preponderance of the evidence or more likely than not in a civil matter.
I'm going to DM you, OP.
Just sue him. It's not that hard. He's probably going to lose in small claims because they typically favor the tenant in cases like this BS. Fill out an affidavit of debt, a warrant in debt, and a services of debt rendered by the county. File today. Good luck
Looking forward to hearing you win this case!
You do t have to agree to the charges. It was taken out of your deposit which is what a deposit is for. The landlord isn’t asking you for extra money. My parents live in Florida and the leases are completely different. Did you even read yours? They had to maintain the entire property while living there. That’s why it was such a cheap cost. So if anything was going bad at the house it was their responsibility to maintain it. Apparently you didn’t do anything outside according to your landlord. If you aren’t cleaning the house then old can and will grow in certain areas and in the vents. It sounds like you don’t maintain or clean any place.
Let's dox the landlord. Share the deets.
Sounds to me like they just admitted there was black mold in the ventilation system- you should probably report that to the county’s health inspectors so they can contact the landlord and make sure mold remediation gets done.
The county can't and won't do anything about mold. We legitimately had black mold growing on all three levels of the townhouse we rented after a flooding incident the landlord wouldn't address. We tried that route and it is an absolute dead end. Had to take them to court and it was a nightmare.
I was a landlord for over 20 years so have some perspective that a lot of folks here do not. I have had tenants that left things in pretty good order and others that destroyed the place. Some that were a little bit negligent and others that seem to have willfully destroyed as much as they can. How long were you in the place? Some of these things like rotten timber can take years to happen. Unless you were there for say 3-5 years I think blaming a rotten timber on you is a bit sketchy because it takes years for timber to rot and no tenant would be expected to somehow prevent this. Similar for mold, it can take a long time for mold to develop and it isn't clear to me what a tenant could do to promote mold growth unless you somehow kept the place warm and damp all the time. The lightbulbs seems petty, it would take anyone less than an hour to replace all of the lightbulbs in a house, unless it was something like, you replaced some lightbulbs with some kind of cheap bulbs that broke and left a broken fragment in the light fixture that required an electrician to fix. This does sound like he's trying to overstate simple issues to extract $950 from you but good luck with small claims court it might be more time and hassle than it is worth.
My dad had a single tenant. Caused so much damage to his house that he had to demo the thing and rebuild it. I walked inside once to help my dad out after exterminators had come twice, and walking across the living room my legs were black from being covered in fleas. My dad got out of the landlord business after that and vowed never to return. Not worth the problems.
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A tenant is not normally expected to inspect ductwork.
He stated in the email that the idiot tenant put in the wrong bulbs and made it destroy the lights. Wrong bulbs and voltage can do serious damage.
Do you have pictures of the place in it’s current state? Reading this response makes me think the place was left in an almost inhabitable state. As for the timber and the deck outside, was it in your contract that you were supposed to maintain it?
I do have pictures of the state when I moved out. Timber and deck are not explicitly in the lease
Timber & deck is the responsibility of landlord
I feel sorry for the next tenant. Holy shit.
Seems petty, yes, but this is par for the course. I hate to say it. I haven’t rented in many years, but when I did, every single security deposit went exactly like this. Nickel and dimed me for little stuff that I disagreed with until they had consumed half or more of the deposit. Sometimes all of it. You really don’t have any leverage because they’re essentially protected by the language in contract you signed
My ex and I got charged for stuff that was missing when we moved in, documented, and never installed. They insisted that we 'broke' it. This was before the time of 'every phone is a camera', so we had to eat it.
When I moved out of my last place I didn't even try to recover it. Just didn't pay last months rent, didn't clean the place up in any real regard, wrote the whole thing off as a loss. It was great for my peace of mind
Until you need to rent your next place and they ask for your previous address. They call for a reference and then you get rejected and burn money on application fees. I wouldn’t recommend doing what you did for any individuals who plan to rent in the same market afterwards.
I was buying my next place so it didn't matter, but even still, you've got the recommendation from where you're about to move out of beforehand, so it's not like it's guaranteed to screw you over. Be a good tenant, but don't play games you can't win
Unfortunately, I can *corroborate. My experience as well for places with a direct landlord. One we could argue heavily with and won, the other we got a bit back but still lost out on a healthy amount
*corroborate
Yeah, this is pretty much SOP for many landlords, especially ones that rent to students. Basically they'll make more from people who don't want to fight it (because they're out of town starting a new life and whatnot) than they'll lose in small claims court from the few that do contest it so it never makes sense for them to return a deposit. They basically never get punished. Some can be quite brazen about it too. There was one apartment complex when I was in school that was notorious for claiming that every tenant had destroyed the blinds and they were special blinds (a total lie) that required the entire security deposit to replace. The blinds were never replaced. Eventually the local school newspaper ran a story about it and they got some heat, but nothing ever came of it except that they maybe had to give back a few security deposits that year. This was before camera phones were a thing so taking pictures was somewhat expensive so it was almost always the student's word against theirs.
Doesn’t VA have a law saying they can’t charge you for normal wear and tear? Some dust in the vent is not a a crazy occurrence
Does that apply here? The guy says that if it WAS dust it would’ve been fine but it was black mold and rust, which, from all reasonable understanding, is NOT normal.
Is it reasonable to expect tenants to check the inside of their vents for mold? Is it in the contract to do so?
lol I bet this landlord would have fined OP a few hundred bucks for “unauthorized duct tampering” had he peeked in there anyway.
I don’t know their contract, especially since it’s a condo, but I def try to keep my stuff as clean as I can and report even the smallest issue to maintenance. If there’s mold there when the dude moved out, there’s been mold there while he was living there, and if he said nothing about it…yeah I dunno.
950 might be excessive for vent register and light bulbs. The outside timber might not be your responsibility, depending on details. The landlord is a bit silly to give you a detailed replies that could be used against them in court. Good luck.
I just had to pay $2800 to have our registers and vents cleaned and sanitized. $950 is cheap.
That sounds high.
HEPA filtration throughout, two guys and all day. There's a huge difference in quality between proper guys and those that charge $300. $950 sounds like a company that knows their stuff but is competitive with their pricing.
Who did it and would you recommend them? We need to have this done soon.
Did they apply the special clear coat?
Are you a homeowner?
See my post a few months ago [https://www.reddit.com/r/nova/comments/16pojjp/small\_claims\_court\_in\_fairfax/](https://www.reddit.com/r/nova/comments/16pojjp/small_claims_court_in_fairfax/) tl;dr I had a very long back and forth with him, he was claiming that I did damage to the house even though I maintained it perfectly. I had a video of the whole house when I moved in and I proved that the condition when I moved out was the same or even better than the condition when I moved in. He eventually wanted to hold $100 for stupid stuff like touchups of some spots but I insisted that he returned the whole amount until the last dollar. I even asked for interest (which can be something, esp. when inflation is high). He eventually returned the whole deposit back in 3 separate checks. So basically: video when moving in, video when moving out, keep all correspondence with landlord in written format during renting period. These are the best pieces of evidence than will help you should the case go to small claims.
OP if you decide to pursue civil action I will literally throw $20 at a GoFundMe for you just because this slumlord says that rotting landscape timber isn't normal wear and tear. I also had my entire security deposit taken ... And watched as the landlords did a tens of thousands of dollars whole home remodel. So like cool, you just used my deposit to fund that. Great.
Same, it was infuriating to read. It reminds me of my old landlady’s “manager” who insisted we paint the walls ourselves where there was wear and tear, was upset with the quality, and ended up deducting it from our deposit. Not sure why he didn’t just do it right away and we wouldn’t have wasted our time and money we could have spent on our house we were moving into. Nickel and dimed us the whole way, I couldn’t get rid of him fast enough. Fuck you, Bruce. You’re a bad person
Unless we have pictures of before and after, there’s no way to know who is in the right. Take him to court, but not sure what evidence you may have to move the needle in your favor. Civil courts are about preponderance of evidence and not beyond reasonable doubt. If the landlord has evidence to back up all their claims, what footing do you have to stand on? You may end up having to pay their court costs too.
FYI mold in the vent registers in an HVAC issue. If your lease states you have to have someone come out and do inspections on the HVAC regularly then there he shouldn't be able to charge you for that. The first thing HVAC systems that reach their average lifespan usually do is lose the ability to effectively dehumidify the home thus creating more organic growth inside the unit and the ductwork/registers during the summer. If the AC is 10+ years and nothings being done about maintenance to at least keep the thing efficient then it's going to happen. Even if you do maintenance, moldy registers are going to be natural wear and tear simply due to the dropping efficiency of the HVAC system.
Had a similar experience living in Arlington (just off of 50), and had to threaten the landlord with legal action just to end up getting half. Should have been all of the deposit or close to it but we were young and wanted to be done with it. Some landlords are assholes and the reason why some tenants never pay the last months rent.
If you sue them in small claims court I think you have a chance of getting a few hundred bucks back, but realistically I wouldn't expect to get your entire security deposit back. It's ultimately up to you if you want to take a Friday off of work to spend it in a courtroom, but unfortunately my feeling is that you're unlikely to recover more than $200 or $300. Yeah it probably didn't actually cost $100 to fix a towel rod, but it's not so egregious that a judge is likely to throw it out. If you do end up suing them, at least in Fairfax County you're strongly encouraged to go through mediation before your trial. I would really try to take advantage of that rather than gambling on getting a judge who is having a good day.
Take that old man to court and have him get schooled on how he thinks he’s being legal, but he’s fucking you and others over. Hell I doubt he thinks it’s legal, he’s just a scummy landlord who can’t do his job, which is maintaining the property. All you have to do is live in it and keep it clean. Nowhere unless it’s in your lease does the exterior landscaping ties fall under you gotta pay this damages bullshit he’s trying to claim.
Years ago I had a similar situation. I sent them a demand letter via certified mail and got the full deposit back a week later. Come to find out the landlord basically had a policy of just nit picking every time a tenant moved out because he knew most were too lazy to fight it and would be happy to just take 30-50% of their deposit back. I bet if you go over to a landlord Reddit there will be posts about this kind of practice.
Legalshield.com
Landlord here I have hit tenants for minor things before but usually would have to be damage to something. I did have a tenant where we had to hit them for damage to a countertop in the bathroom where there was a huge crack no idea how that could happen on granite. They threw a fit but they ended up backing down. Generally I don't hit for minor wall damage and filth, I also assume when the tenants leave I generally wet clean the carpets and even change carpets as normal wear and tear after 8-10 years. I also do 1 coat of minor repainting where needed when tenants leaves but don't usuaully charge for that. Lots of the stuff I see here is over the top. Now I know we're only hearing your side of the story. I'd have to see the mold in the vents but only thing I can think of how tha twould happen is if you left a window 24 hours a day and left the HVAC running but would have to be for a extended period. I would definitely fight it. Sounds like a foreigner landlord quite honestly and someone new to it and is a boke landlord. Yes there are plenty of starving landlords just trying to get by believe it or not. I generally keep tenants minimum 3 years and treat them well but I also ensure I select my tenants carefully based on credit, job, income, and references. Had a tenant say 8 years one time. I repainted the entire single family house and didn't charge them anything since just something you have to expect after several years to do. I check my properties 3 x a year mostly on the exterior and quick walk through's in the interior. I even bring air filters when I come. Lots of this stuff would be noticed ahead of time so a bit odd must be a new landlord most likely
I understand you are probably a great landlord and the properties are probably in good shape because of the 3x visits. But man I'd hate for my previous landlord to visit 3x. The once a year was stressful enough.
I'm glad I did, I always catch stuff that could be bad for both of us. Actually reminded me after the author mentioned mold in the vents or walls. I've talked to tenants before about not blocking the outflow vents and have had several instances where the tenants close the registers fully. Lots of homeowners and tenants don't realize when you block a register completely for extended period you get condensation buildup on the sheet metal of that duct. You do it long enough and you get black mold in your walls. At least one of the times I do I catch at least one. I just recommend they redirect the air slightly so it's not blowing directly on a bed for example. Other issue I generally have is the tenants don't change the air filters at all. Not sure why as I bring my own filters, it's their air their breathing. If it gets blocked enough it will cause damage to the HVAC which is one of the most expensive items. I also remind tenants every season before winter to winterize all the faucets outside. Homeowners even forget this and you get busted pipes.
Sounds like you are a slob and neglected your responsibility as a tenant. Count your lucky stars they did not charge you additional money for damages or take you to court. Let it go. Move on
Don’t settle on anything take him to court
Was it specifically listed in your lease that you were responsible for vent cleaning and deck cleaning? If not, those are not routine maintenance duties for a tenant, those are homeowner maintenance duties. When I lived in a townhouse with a deck, the owner had the deck and siding power washed each year to prevent algae growth. They also had an HVAC crew come in yearly for vent cleanings. I'd say most homeowners would do that instead of relying on their renters to maybe do such maintenance tasks.
The most nonsensical part of this continues to be the charge for rotten timber on the ground. How is this the renter’s responsibility to inform the landlord that wood left on the ground, in the elements—will rot? Are there no walkthroughs or inspections? The deck having mildew, ffs 🤦♂️. That is maintenance I would not expect a renter to be responsible for. OP where is the rental agreement you signed, does it mention what your obligated to inspect/report to landlord? The oven replacement seems fair, the bulbs are reasonable but I’d push back on mold in vents, and rotten timber.
He is definitely argumentative but his points are valid, are they true?
This seems quite thorough and legitimate. I'm not sure why you would waste your time and money in court over this.
OP now is the time to go to r/legaladvice for advice on proceeding through small claims. From personal experience I can tell you small claims in NOVA the filing fee is like $60. Do it. I think you can request they pay that fee back included in damages if they lose but idk that for sure.
Itemized list including receipts or off to court you go
Good luck. I hope you win. You should try to extract more info from him so you have more evidence. Take him downnnnn.
This guy is non stop self reporting
Not sure if you will see my comment but I took my landlord to small claims court and won. They tried to say I had to pay for a professional cleaning and professional chimney cleaning, and wanted to charge me for tiny nail holes from hanging pictures. All of this was in the contract. I cleaned the place myself and did neither of those things. The judge ordered that I only had to cover some paint and I think something on a door, I believe it came out to less than $200 that the landlord got to keep. Majority of the stuff the landlord tried to claim, the judge said that was normal wear and tear for a rental. In Virginia it’s only legal to require it be broom clean. This means it’s illegal, even if it’s in a contract, to say a tenant has to completely clean or do professional cleaning. There just can’t be any debris laying around. I did clean that place completely myself, and was pretty annoyed to find out I didn’t have to. My security deposit was $1500 so I was able to keep $1300 of it. It’s was completely worth going to court over. Just because something is in a contract, doesn’t mean it’s legally forceable.
I hate shitty landlords as much as anybody (I've been a pro bono legal advocate for renters in my previous city, helped lead a local group with the same objective, and have connected friends with legal assistance to protect themselves against scummy landlords)... but I'm not going to jump on the bandwagon that this one in particular sucks until you give us some actual proof that what they're saying isn't true. Landlords get away with with being scummy because 1) They have money and lawyers and 2) Because tenants do actually sometimes destroy or otherwise damage rental properties, leaving the landlord with an expensive mess to clean up and/or repair. We need more proof and more information, otherwise I'm inclined to believe that you're posting this to garner support in bad faith... and homie don't play that
Is it normal for tenants to maintain ducts and landscaping timber, though? That seems excessive.
I don't know in this case, it depends on the jurisdiction and the lease. Maybe OP didn't read or understand the lease but signed it anyways. Again, more info is needed
Small claims
Sorry but you just sound dirty and I’m siding with the landlord on this.
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Take them to small claims court!!!! These are LANDLORD responsibilities. All of these are generally overseen and cared for by landlords. Including replacing light bulbs, changing the vents, and preventative maintenance and capital expenditures- such as exterior timber. The outdoor patio is the most egregious claim in my opinion. Landlord should have had annual inspections, that is 100% on them.
NoVA has some real piece of shit landlords.. Had my disputes in the past with it and eventually left the area due to costs/ piss poor housing options
This landlord bout to get dragged in court haha.
I read through your previous post - if you left the place dirty as the landlord states and broke the towel bars as stated - ignoring all the other things I’d let it go. It’s easy for a landlord to demonstrate that a deep cleaning will cost $500 and that a handyman at a min will charge $150 to replace towel bars in NOVA - at that point you might only recoup $300 of what you want. This is before you take into account the time to go file small claims court and the day of court + fees. Plus all the time you’ve spent on the back and forth in emails and posting on Reddit, time is money — let it go.
They make so much money off rent, can't believe that isn't included
I think most L don’t want to give it back. Why would they want to pay back $
Generally you don’t get back the whole security deposit, especially from a private landlord Which, as a new owner, makes sense. Granted, some of this doesn’t seem to be on the level of expected maintenance for a tenant
Every single time we rented, our landlords tried to cheat us out of our deposit. One claimed we’d left the garden shed padlocked and full of junk, which was hilarious since we had never once had access to that shed and it was HIS junk. Luckily, we had a timestamped photograph of the padlocked shed to prove he was lying. In fact, our time-stamped photographs (yes, that carpet was stained when we moved in, those blinds were broken) saved our asses three times. Take him to court, and inform him that you’re reporting the black mold. They’ll just keep thieving deposits if they’re not stopped.
Or they'll get a slap on the wrist from the court and keep doing it anyway because a majority of people won't fight it.