3 Simple Ways To...Protect You and Your Security Deposit from a Terrible Landlord

Having an attentive landlord can make a good apartment a great one. A landlord who quickly resolves problems, no matter how trivial, is easily worth paying a little more rent. Unfortunately, the contrary is also true. A bad landlord can make a good apartment into a horrific home. It will leave you feeling frustrated and angry, or even worse, taken advantage of.

The most common way for a landlord to take advantage of a tenant is to keep their security deposit under the guise of fictional damages in the house, apartment, or condominium. Use these three tips and you can help protect yourself from letting this happen to you.

Document Everything.
Everything. Make sure you have an original copy of the lease signed by all parties involved. Keep it in a safe place. Go through the whole property with the landlord and take pictures of any damage you can see. Is a window cracked? Take a picture. Does one of the doorframes have chipped molding? Take a picture. Keep those on a CD in a fireproof lock box with all your other important papers and give the landlord a copy of the CD as well. Having a copy of the lease and pictures of previously existing damage will give you a chance to dispute any charges after the lease has expired.

Learn The Rental Laws In Your State.
Each state has different laws regarding a security deposit. Some states set limits on how many months rent a deposit can be, how quickly a deposit must be paid back, and whether or not the landlord must pay interest to the tenant when returning a security deposit. Also, the laws will detail what actions you must take to ensure a returned deposit. Connecticut, for instance, requires a tenant to send a certified letter with their forwarding address to a landlord prior to the end of a lease. You can find the basic laws for each state online at: http://www.landlord.com/security-deposit-law-guide.htm or http://www.rentlaw.com/securitydeposit.htm.

Don't Be Afraid To Go To Court.
If you are positive you've done nothing wrong and the landlord has violated the law, consider small claims court. Most, if not all, states have the information for small claims court available online. Make sure you know any relevant laws ahead of time. Each state has different procedures for small claims court, so take the time to research the process before filing. Also, learn the penalties a landlord faces for violating rental laws. In Connecticut, a landlord who does not return a deposit in 30 days can be sued for twice the amount of the original deposit. Learning as many applicable laws as possible will only help if your case does in fact make it to a courtroom.

Many landlords are good, honest people. Some, however, may try to take advantage of tenants. People who are renting their first apartment or house are especially at risk for having a security deposit stolen from them. Following these tips will help prevent that from happening.