Getting Your Rental Deposit Back

If you are a renter, then chances are you would like to get back your deposit that you put down on your rental property when you move out. Here are some tips on how to better ensure the return of your security deposit.


Clean-up Time
The best thing that you can do is give yourself a day to clean up the rental that you are leaving. Often moving can run into the evening. If you give yourself a day of flexible time before you absolutely have to vacate the premises, you can go back for any items left behind, but more importantly, you'll have time to clean up and document.


Leaving Your Rental
To ensure the return of your deposit, you'll want to leave your rental in a condition equal to or better than you found it. A good first step is to plug any holes in the wall from nails or screw anchors. Get yourself some spackle and a spackle knife. Even if you aren't super handy, this is a really easy process. Gather a bit of spackle on your spackle knife, than smooth over the spackle so that its flush with the wall and the hole is filled. Tip: move the knife in different directions over the hole. Note: If your walls are white, than you'll want to use white spackle for an easy job (some spackle turns pink when it dries). If you can see the spackle ridges or if its not smooth, then you'll want to do a bit of sanding so that its smooth and unnoticeable. To sand, you'll need to wait for the spackle to dry.


Spackle can be a real life saver. If you are a bit crafty, you can use it to fill in holes that are larger than those left by a nail. For example, I managed to accidentally puncture an MDF door. These doors are hollow on the inside so there's not much support. This door had molding, it wasn't just a smooth door. This of course made the project a bit more complicated. In the end, I managed to reconstruct the shape and the door looked just fine. You might have your own cosmetic surgery to perform on your rental, in which case give spackle a try.


To Paint Or Not To Paint
Most leases require that if you do paint the walls a color, you must paint them back white for the next tenant. Once you've spackled the walls, this would be a good next step. Note that most rental managers actually use an off-white because it doesn't show age or dirt as easily. If you don't need to paint, you might want to do a quick brush of paint over any marks or nicks on the wall. Most landlords paint walls before the next tenant moves in, but it isn't a bad idea to a little touching up. Make sure that your new paint is the same finish as the existing paint. If you use gloss paint on matte walls, this will be very apparent. And you'll want to use just a little paint, taking care to brush out the edges for better blending. Fresh paint will have a different tone that paint that's been on the walls for a couple of years.


Last-Minute Repairs
If there's anything broken that you can easily fix, go ahead and do so. Generally, you'll be charged an inflated price if your landlord makes repairs and passes the bill on to you. For example, I once had some wrapping paper catch on fire during the holidays (note: most home fires occur December - January), which burned the carpet in my rental. I cut out the burnt patch and put a replacement patch of similar carpet in. Not that easy to match, but it saved me the trouble of explaining what happened and the landlord attempting to make me replace the entire carpet.

Clean Sweep
Leave a broom and dust pan and a sponge behind in your rental when you move out so you can use it when you return for the final clean up. A quick clean of debris will be your last step before finalizing your departure. Pick up any dirt on the floors and do a quick sponge-over drawers or cabinets. You don't have to deep clean, but a quick once-over will give the whole place the appearance of having been cleaned, which makes you look good. And you might just find a few stray items that you left behind.


Schedule A Walk-Through
Schedule a walk-through with your landlord. This is a very important step to verifying that your landlord is satisfied with the condition of the rental, but also, its an opportunity to document that your rental was left in good condition before you moved out. I've heard horror stories of building supers damaging rental properties to make money on the repairs. If this happens to you, you'll be stuck with the bill. Don't take any chances - bring your camera and photograph the space (with a time stamp if possible) before you vacate. Then, if you do end up going to court or if there some questions about the state of the rental property, you'll have proof to back you up. You may even want to get a signed document from your landlord verifying that the rental property was left in good condition and that you will receive the deposit.


When Will I Get The Deposit Back?
Ask your landlord when you can expect the deposit to be returned to you. This will help you to plan and budget. Additionally, knowing that your deposit didn't arrive on time, will give you the heads-up to contact the landlord.


Stay tuned for more moving tips from Starving Students. "We put our heart into ever move."

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