Shouldn’t be a issue since landlords never lie to keep deposits right?
Wait, this ISN’T how it works where you live?
Where I live (in Victoria, Australia), the bond is held in trust by the residential tenancies bond authority. At the end of the lease the landlord can try make a claim, but you can take them to VCAT (a small claims tribunal) to argue against it, and until either all parties agree, or the court orders it, the bond doesn’t get paid out to anyone.
Our laws are far from good, and still favour owners too much, but damn. Just trusting them to pay you out of their own pocket?
Just trusting them to pay you out of their own pocket?
actually the opposite! everyone here just expects to never see their deposit ever again
😬
Just trusting them to pay you out of their own pocket?
Assuming US, it actually depends on the state (may be all states, but I can only speak of those I’ve lived in). The law is that the money must go into a separate interest bearing account and that is the money that is to be returned. So the money isn’t supposed be their own pocket.
It’s a requirement in Australia for it to be paid to the government bond agency. Typical method of paying it is a cheque payable only to the bond authority. Once you hand back the keys at the end of the lease you can apply directly to the bond agency for it to be refunded to you and the landlord needs to formally object to claim any of the bond.
That sounds like a way more reasonable system! As far as I’m aware it’s not super common here (Netherlands) for landlords to not pay back the deposit but it is entirely in their hands :(
Well, still plenty of dogdy landlords who take advantage of people who don’t know about that requirement and either take it for themselves or push renters towards “resolving disputes between themselves” and not involving the bond authority at end of lease time.
In Canada your landlord is required to pay back your deposit with interest, so if you gave them a $1000 deposit and stayed for 10 years and interest is at 5% they would be giving you back about $1600.
Very few actually do this and most of the time interest is so low nobody bothers to fight for it.
It’s different in my region.
Landlords have been challenged to show when and why they withold deposits. It’s not guaranteed but when brought to the board the tenant often wins unless the landlord can present a good case.
Then again, we only rent from companies for a reason.
In Norway your deposit is payed into a special account in your name and both parties have to agree to it’s release or settle in court. If the landlord takes some for repairs to abnormal damage (can’t charge for “normal wear and tear”) they have to provide proof that they used it for that (receipts etc).
This is actually how it works in some places in Canada. It’s a very effective system.
I mean apartments should be run by the state but baby steps I guess
Check unclaimed funds with states you’ve lived in. No shit. I did it last year and found like 1500 bucks just in deposits past landlords said I didn’t deserve. The landlords might be shady but their accountants aren’t.
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The UK is pretty bad for tenants rights but they do force landlords to putting deposits into special accounts that have legal protections for the tenant, and if said landlord tries to avoid it you can usually easily win back a multiple value of your deposit with little the landlord can do.
Landlords regularly take the piss with claiming exorbitant amounts for “damages” which is harder to contest, and many of us just accept a few deductions even knowing they will just pocket it.
normally in brazil you have three alternatives:
- find someone who sponsors you: increasingly in disuse, since your sponsor needs to have property paid in full within municipality’s limits, metro regions or in neighbouring cities, and a monthly income that is at least 3 times the rent and other associated expenses;
- pay an insurance: generally it amounts for an increase of 10-25% on top of your rent. however, by the end of the contract you won’t have it back;
- traditional deposit: most tenants and real estate agents will charge you three rents in advance, since normally contracts have a standard 30-month length. after an year elapses and you decide to leave, you will receive your deposit in full with the inflation that incurred during that time. if you decide to leave before that year, you will have to pay a penalty of your rent multiplied by the number of months that are left in your contract divided by 10 (e.g. if you leave with about 24 months left, the penalty will be rent * 2.4). this penalty is usually waivered after 12 months. however, if you didn’t really trashed out your former house, they will charge you painting and cleaning expenses (sometimes even if you paint and clean yourself, depending on how much son-of-a-b*tch they are).
