Landlord-tenant: security deposit
I have been looking for good information about landlord-tenant issues for readers on this blog. Rich Rosa is an attorney and a buyer’s agent practicing north of Boston. He did some legal research for a reader:
The question:
...Could you talk about security deposits during the tenancy? e.g.during the tenancy, can the LL deduct from the security deposit costs
repairs (for damages caused by the tenant) and then require the tenant to pay that amount into the SD account so the SD stays at the original agreed to amount? E.g. tenant gave a $600 SD. Tenant drives over lawn chair (yes, it happened). LL takes $50 out of the SD to cover
the lawn chair so SD is now only $550. Can LL require tenant to pay $50 into the SD so it goes back up to $600.? How can this be enforced? Or is it better require the tenant to immediately pay the $50 and not touch the SD? In this case then, how to enforce the tenant paying the
$50? Some LLs say the lease can say that any monies owed will be deducted from any monies received. So if the tenant does not pay the $50, the LL can deduct $50 from the next months rent. Thus the rent is short and if the tenant still doesn't pay the $50, then the tenant can be evicted for nonpayment. Would the courts evict for nonpayment in such a case? Thanks, JPLL
The answer:
The landlord should ask the tenant to pay for the damage at the time it occurs and not deduct from the security deposit.
With regards to deducting from the security deposit, the statute does not specifically provide for making deductions during the term of the tenancy; therefore, a landlord should request that a tenant pay for damage themselves to property outside the dwelling when it occurs, but should not make a deduction from the security deposit.
The legal requirements imposed on landlords who accept security deposits from tenants are numerous and quite specific. Massachusetts General Law Chapter 186 covers landlord and tenant relationships in general, and Chapter 186, Section 15B outlines a landlord's responsibilities relating specifically to security deposits.
The Massachusetts Attorney General's office publishes a guide about landlord and tenant rights. It provides basic answers to many commonly asked questions.
The statute is specific regarding what expenses can be deducted from the security deposit. The security deposit covers damages to the dwelling only, so a damaged lawn chair, garbage can, child’s bicycle and other personal property outside the dwelling is not subject to the security deposit.
State law gives a landlord a number of responsibilities related to a security deposit, including the following.
Any lessor or his agent who receives a security deposit from a tenant or prospective tenant shall give said tenant or prospective tenant at the time of receiving such security deposit a receipt indicating the amount of such security deposit, the name of the person receiving it and, in the case of an agent, the name of the lessor for whom such security deposit is received, the date on which it is received, and a description of the premises leased or rented. Said receipt shall be signed by the person receiving the security deposit.
In addition, a security deposit shall not exceed the first month’s rent and a landlord shall provide a tenant with a statement of condition of the property. The statute goes into some detail about the required statement of condition of the property.
Any potential landlord - and experienced landlords too - would be wise to carefully read the statutes governing landlord and tenants rights, and consult an attorney if not understood.
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Not only did I not receive a receipt of my security deposit, but I've never received a statement of where the deposit is being held or the amount of interest accruing.
Also, we received a letter in the mail requiring us to do our own maintenance on "the small things" in the house (with our own money), or they will raise the rent. Is THAT legal?
We don't want to sink our own money into a rental (obviously, that's why we RENT), but we're now afraid to report maintenance issues for fear of a rent increase. If we DON’T, however, report the maintenance issues OR fix them ourselves, we’re afraid that we’re going to lose our security deposit.
Anyone have any thoughts?
IJR, your landlord sounds atrocious, but you have a number of things going for you, if you choose to fight.
First of all, the landlord could be forced to pay you TREBLE damages (three times the value of the deposit) for not providing you with a statement of the property's condition, a statement of where the deposit is being held, and for not paying you INTEREST on your deposit. It's YOUR deposit, and the statute requires the landlord to send you checks for the interest earned on the deposit. This harsh penalty is the reason many landlords in MA don't bother with deposits. Also, the deposit is for actual damage to the property, not routine maintenance or even normal wear and tear.
As for the letter you received, it is ILLEGAL for a lease or rental agreement to require that a tenant must pay for ordinary wear and tear. The landlord was really dumb to put this attempt to violate the statute in writing.
IJR-
1. In the state of MA, the landlord is required to give you a receipt for your security deposit including the interest bearing account number it is being held in. This would require you to sign a W9 statement when took the deposit.
2. Check a copy of your lease to see if it states anywhere that you will be responsible for any of the maintenance of the unit....If it a Condo I am guessing yes. However if its not, they can require it but they would have to put it in your lease only when it comes up for renewal.
Hopefully this helps.
I would like to add that if you are a tenant and you don't get the required documents then you could at least ask about them, I would think.
When we bought our 2 family the tenants quickly tried to tell us that we owed them money because the prior landlord failed to properly bank the security deposit for the first year they lived there. Sorry, but if you are soooo aware and don't bother to take it up knowing fully that the property is changing hands and you never signed that paper, then you can't expect someone who was involved to be accountable. At least I would think so, you never know in MA .
Taking the court route takes a huge amount of time even if it goes smoothly. I would much rather go the route of noticing from the get go that I didn't sign anything and mentionit after a few weeks of tenancy and then persue it further if nothing is addressed.
As a lanlord I could not imagine not "dotting my i's and crossing my t's" from day one to keep things running smoothly for everyone. Sadly in a lot of cases there are ill informed or just plain lazy landlords in which case I wouldn't rent from them for those very reasons.
I.J.R.,
According to the brochure published by the AG's office (see above), a landlord cannot require that the "the tenant must pay for the cost of repairing ordinary wear
and tear to the apartment."
The day before moving out, I received a hand-delivered notice of all the things the landlord expected me to thoroughly clean and that I "may be charged a fee of $500.00 for damages, cleaning and/or rubbish removal and disposal" if my apartment is not left in "satisfactory condition." What is "satisfactory condition"? It seems pretty subjective and vague to me. None of this was in the lease. What exactly can a landlord charge for and how much if there is no security deposit?
I recently won treble damages in small claims court in the suburbs of Boston. . the reason was that my landlord did not put the security in the bank.
My landlord filed for a motion to vacate. the magistrate reduced the judgement , The landlord(defendant) did not post a bond as the law states.
There is no recourse for plantilffs in small claims court. Anything the plantiff can do.
Can a magistrate not follow the law?
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
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