Cleanup work for this Sunday’s move down the street has begun. Accomplished this lunch hour: de-mildewing the shower. Oh the intrigue! Check back later for a report how tonight’s de-soapscumming goes. Apartment dwellers: in your experience, have you received the full amount of your damage deposit back? How much cleaning did you do?
Comments
5 responses to “Gloves, Bleach, Vacuum, Scrub, Sweep, Pack”
hey!
I’ve never got my damage deposit back… but then I was always too lazy to clean/paint the walls…
Zameer
I remember getting charged $75 for a carpet cleaning. Considering my current deposit is $99 and I’ve been there for 5 years…I’ll chuck the 20 a year.
You shouldn’t have to paint/clean walls to get your damage deposit back! If you take bleach to the countertops and clean out the tub with ajax, that should be sufficient…
Landlords are responsible for “normal wear and tear,” including carpet cleaning unless you specifically agree in the rental agreement to be responsible for carpet/drape cleaning costs.
Damage despoits are to cover damage OVER AND ABOVE normal wear and tear. So if you spilled coke on the carpet or left a hole in the wall, expect to have your deposit reduced. Otherwise, you should get the full amount PLUS ALL APPLICABLE INTEREST when you move out.
Only once have I had part of a damage deposit withheld ($60), and on appeal I got half of that back. I would have gotten it all, but my roommate at the time had a bad report on file at the arbitration board from a previous landlord.
zameer: sounds about right 😉
jeff: $75 eh? hmmm, hope I don’t have to pay that. I don’t think I’ve ever spilled anything major on my carpet.. hell, at 600 sq. ft I don’t have a lot of carpet to spill on.
‘nee: thanks for posting that, gives me some good guidelines to work from. i’m going to check my lease and see what’s written regarding the carpet. i read it pretty thoroughly, but everyone knows your ability to read fine-print increases ten-fold after you’ve signed.
We cleaned (basics: carpet, counters, oven, fridge), filled in the holes due to pictures, and made sure we were not leaving behind ‘crap’. We did not have any problems in the transitions (from 911 to 910). In fact, I believe they do some cleaning after every tenant moves out … so don’t worry too much.
Do the walls only if they really need it (ie bathroom and kitchen areas) … and generally leave things in decent condition. You should be fine.
However, next time we will have to paint to get our deposit back.