Getting back your security deposit

It is no secret that getting your security deposit can be a challenge. Landlords/landladies are notorious for waiting until the last minute, or even citing bogus repair items to not give you your money back. Here are some ideas for how to make the process go smoother.

Start when you move in

If your landlady doesn't do a walk-through with you as you move in, take the time to take pictures of any issues you find. Compile them all together and email her, asking to acknowledge that the issues existed before you moved in. This is a great technique since it prevents you from having to argue about pre-existing conditions after you move out.

Be a good tenant

This cannot be overemphasized, but pay your rent on time, and take care of small repairs yourself. Don't call your landlord for every lightbulb that went out. This is not to say that you cannot call on them to fix legitimate problems, but generally the less he see your place when you are there, the less chance they have to scope out the things they'll be charging you for later. Being on their good side is most of the battle.

Keep your place clean at the end

As you are getting ready to move out, your landlady will likely want to come by and check the place out. She will probably want to perform a few repairs, perhaps even re-paint some of the rooms. After this is complete she will be bringing perspective tenants by to show them around. During this period it is best to keep everything tidy. This benefits you in two ways: first, the landlady will be by less to do the repairs and will spend less time navigating around your stuff. Second, the perspective tenants will like the place better and it will rent faster. This is especially important to keep yourself on your landlady's good side, but also to have less people there.

Mow the lawn and clean appliances

If you have a lawn, mow it right before you move out. Let the landlord know you'll be doing this, so they don't arrange for a crew to come out and do it at your expense. Depending on where you live, having someone else do it can eat into your security deposit quite a bit.

You should also give your fridge, oven and microwave a good once-over. These are the items often neglected by the tenants, but can require a costly visit from a cleaning crew. Remember that while these things might have been dirty when you moved in, the landlady might want them clean for the next tenant. While this is not fair, a little elbow grease can save you some money at the end.

Lastly, when you move out, make sure to not leave anything behind. While you don't need to vacuum and dust everything, you will want the place "broom clean". Most of all, don't leave anything smelly or gross. This can, once again, warrant a costly visit from a cleaning crew.

Leave a forwarding address

Make sure your landlord knows where to send your deposit. Remember that he has 30 days (varies by jurisdiction) to find and perform any repairs before having to return your deposit. Check your state's laws regarding security deposits to see what the exact regulations are.

One other thing: never use your security deposit for your last month's rent. This would be breaking your lease and not a very nice thing to do. Instead, follow the above advice and you should be able to get all or most of your deposit back in most circumstances.