Carpet Cleaning Security Deposit

Some states prohibit landlords from withholding money from the deposit for basic cleaning.

Carpet cleaning security deposit.

Sometimes a security deposit is called a damage deposit and is generally some amount of money that the landlord is able to hold on to if a rental property needs any cleaning or repairs in order to return the property to the condition it was in when the renter first moved in. In disputes over security deposits courts have often considered basic carpet cleaning to be part of normal wear and tear. Q when i recently moved out of an apartment the manager notified me that i would receive my 400 deposit less 45 for carpet cleaning. Security deposits are for the benefit and protection of the.

Landlords can only keep money from the security deposit for damages that are beyond normal wear and tear. 2 a except as otherwise provided in this section a landlord may require a tenant to pay a security deposit. Typically landlords may use a tenant s security deposit for any cleaning or repairs necessary to restore the rental unit to its condition at the beginning of the tenancy landlords may not however use the deposit to cover the costs of ordinary wear and tear. Charging a security deposit for carpet cleaning and painting depends on how long the tenant occupied the premises and in what condition the walls and carpet were left.

1 as used in this section security deposit includes any last month s rent deposit. Below is information that is listed by the california department of consumer affairs www dca ca gov regarding deductions on these specific items. I was surprised because i had remembered reading an article. Carpet cleaning can be included only if the cleaning was done by a machine specifically designed to clean carpets and the carpet also was cleaned right before the tenant moved into the unit.

The landlord shall provide the tenant with a receipt for any security deposit the tenant pays. If you left obvious stains and dirt on the carpet while living there then it could be considered damages beyond normal wear and tear and the landlord could deduct carpet cleaning costs from your security deposit. And the longer a tenant has lived in a place the more wear and tear can be expected. If the carpet cleaning does not exceed a professional cleaner s normal rate and the carpet doesn t have any actual damage.

One common dispute between landlords and tenants is carpet cleaning. Any carpet cleaning charges they collect in advance must be treated as part of a security deposit which must be subject to a refund. Landlords also can deduct from a security deposit to cover lost rent incurred because of being unable to rent out a unit while cleaning or completing repairs. For example if a tenant left the carpet stained dirty and or ripped then the carpet would be damaged beyond.