North Texas Renter Looks for Assistance in Security Deposit Return

NBC 5 Responds to a North Texas renter who wants her full security deposit back. She said her former landlord kept the security deposit and sent a bill for additional charges to cover things like carpet and air duct cleaning.

SECURITY DEPOSIT DISPUTE

Before handing over the keys on move-out day, Cherilynn Bates-LeMons said she took a quick video of her apartment.

“My apartment was very, very clean. It was almost move-in ready,” said Bates-LeMons.

About a month later, Bates-LeMons said she received a letter from the apartment complex, saying it was keeping her $300 security deposit and charging another $339.80. The letter listed charges for final trash and water fees which Bates-LeMons is not currently disputing. Bates-LeMons said she disagreed with charges for carpet stain and odor removal, extra paint and air duct cleaning.

“I've never lived in an apartment complex where I was required to clean the air ducts before I move out. That was bizarre,” said Bates-LeMons.

Bates-LeMons responded with a letter, disagreeing with the charges. She shared an email chain with a collections specialist for the corporate office of the apartment complex with NBC 5 Responds. In it, the specialist included photos, writing the carpets had an odor and the walls required extra paint.

Bates-LeMons said it looked like the normal wear and tear of a three-year tenant.

“To me, it just reinforced my side of it even more,” she said.

NBC 5 Responds reached out to the corporate office of the Saxony apartments. Moché Earls, compliance officer, sat down with us.

Earls said the carpet in the apartment was a year old when the tenant moved in and the complex found small, black stains that needed extra cleaning when she moved out.

“The vendor will charge us for extra chemicals that need to be used while shampooing to get those black spots out as well as a deodorizer for the odor,” Earls said.

Earls said the complex charged for air duct cleaning to remove an odor but said the account notes didn’t say what kind of odor.

Though the lease agreement allows for small nail holes in walls, Earls said the complex found holes that needed to be patched.

“We're responsible for getting that apartment back into rental condition, right? So, if there are damages that are left behind, we have to make sure the residents are charged for that above-normal wear and tear,” said Earls.

Earls also said the complex didn’t charge for a stain left on the countertop.

Bates-LeMons tells us she did not have pets and did not smoke and disputes there was an odor. She told NBC 5 Responds any holes in the walls would have been from anchoring a mirror.

The corporate office eventually offered to remove the additional charges billed to Bates-LeMons and said it would keep the full $300 security deposit. Bates-LeMons said she’s continuing her fight to get more of the security deposit back.

DEFINING WEAR AND TEAR

K'Lisha Rutledge, managing attorney of the Home Preservation Project at Legal Aid of Northwest Texas is not involved in this dispute. Generally, Rutledge said security deposit disagreements are common.

“It usually boils down to wear and tear and the tenant and the landlord sometimes differ about what's wear and tear,” explained Rutledge.

The Texas Property Code defines normal wear and tear as “deterioration that results from the intended use of a dwelling”.

What does that mean?

“Things that happen on a normal basis is not due to negligence or your guest causing damage,” said Rutledge.

For example, Rutledge said, small holes in the wall where a tenant put up a picture or places where foot traffic wore down a carpet would be examples of normal wear and tear.

However, scrapes on a wall or stains in the carpet may come out of a security deposit.

“If you have small kids and that kid likes to write on the wall, that's not normal wear and tear,” said Rutledge. “If that kid spills paint on the carpet, that is definitely something that's probably going to come out of your security deposit.”

Rutledge explains: if a renter believes a security deposit was withheld in bad faith, tenants can sue in small claims court and ask for $100 plus three times the security deposit wrongfully withheld. The judge may also award reasonable attorney fees.

TIPS TO SECURE A SECURITY DEPOSIT

Rutledge recommends renters document the condition of the apartment when they move out and when moving in.

Rutledge said, “When I was renting apartments, I would take my phone charger and I would plug it into every socket, turn on every faucet to make sure the water is running correctly, I would try every light.”

Note any defects on an inventory and condition form and give it to the landlord.

Ian Mattingly with the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas said renters should keep a copy.

“You can take your copy of that move-in inventory and condition form and compare it to the condition of the apartment when you move out,” said Mattingly.

Ask for move-out instructions to understand the landlord’s expectations, thoroughly clean or hire someone to do it for you and schedule a walk-through in advance with a manager.

In Texas, a landlord has 30 days to return a security deposit or an itemized accounting of what’s deducted. The tenant must move out and provide a forwarding address in writing.

NBC 5 Responds is committed to researching your concerns and recovering your money. Our goal is to get you answers and, if possible, solutions and a resolution. Call us at 844-5RESPND (844-573-7763) or fill out our customer complaint form.