Does tenant deserve his rent deposit refund?!

That is certainly the truth, ReinbackThe3rd! I've heard that so often, and have made it a part of my life.

I've heard it most often from career military people, and it was a good lesson to learn early.

 

Thankfully, the Chief{authority} of that area is siding with me, so am waiting to hear how the verdict will be...all in all, i have learnt a very bitter and painful lesson, currently writing all pointers down and what guidelines to be put in place when i get a new tenant...will keep you posted

 

Unfortunately somethings we just learn the hard way, I guess the up side is that we never forget those lessons in our life.

 

No. He should finish out the month living in the house and then leave. If he signed a contract and stayed at the house for a period of time, then he doesn't get a refund. Now, if he never moved into the house in the first place then he would have received a refund on his deposit. Ugh, I hate these types of tenants because they are always full of problems and drama. You never get a peace of mind with them.

 

I think the problem was that he damaged the house, so in this case he should not get his deposit back. Who has the final decision, does it has to go to a court of law?

 

I think the landlord makes a decision whether to give back the deposit or not, which in this case he shouldn't, then the tenant may appeal to the courts to try and get the money if they feel it is unfair to not get it.

 

I am not sure what this tenant has done yet so I don't know. If he only paid ones month rent what was the lease agreement you had with him. If the problem gets worse then take him to court.

 

Yikes, that certainly goes beyond normal wear and tear.

It's a good reminder that there's a lot of value in documenting the condition of the property before every move in and after every move out. If the tenant tries to challenge you on deposit reimbursement, it would be really nice to have a video showing the property a few days before they moved in and a few days after they moved out.

This type of thing is why security deposits exist. Be prepared to defend yourself in keeping it by being able to prove it!

 

Thank you people for your wonderful advice and input into this matter, still awaiting final verdict from the authority on which path to take in that regard, for starters i wouldn't like this issue dragged out for long or a court case, i 'd rather it be dealt with at local level.

 

...and am pretty sure i won't forget...completely curved in my mind