Get Your Security Deposit Back

I have been asked many times how to get a security deposit back when moving to a new apartment. I have prepared this list to help.

GIVING NOTICE
Even if you are on a lease and your lease is up, make sure to let the land lord know that you will not be renewing your lease. Most leases call for a thirty-day notice. Be out when you say you will be out. If you say you will be out by the first, be out by the first. Most land lords will deduct from your deposit for every day past that you
stay. Even if you are not sleeping there, if your belongings are still there, they can't get the apartment ready for the next tenant.

REPAIRS

If there are any minor repairs you can do yourself, do them. It's cheaper for you to do them yourself. If the land lord has to do it, you will be most likely be charged labor. Make sure the closet doors are all hung. If the towel bar is falling down, fix it. Things like
that. Most of the time if you have been in the apartment over a year and you fulfilled the terms of your lease, you will not be charged for carpet cleaning. This is usually considered
normal wear and tear, unless the carpet is excessively dirty. Check with the land lord to make sure about this.

If there are holes in the walls, it's a good idea to find someone who knows how to patch them and have them do it. A good patch job will get you back your deposit. If the patch job is done by someone who doesn't know what they are doing and it is visible, the and lord will have to re-do it and it won't help you.

You should be reporting plumbing leaks and things that are the land lord's responsibility to fix as they come along. Just to cover your bases, report these things as soon as you notice them. You could possibly be held responsible for any damage caused by the leak, if you did not report it promptly.

CLEANING
This is the thing I get asked about the most. There are a lot of things that need to be cleaned that people normally don't think about.

* In the Kitchen:

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