When my lease ended, I moved out and left the house spotless, but my previous landlord is resisting giving me back the deposit. They’re citing ridiculous reasons like ‘the wall paint is old.’ Do you think I should start a formal process in this situation? Is it more reasonable to remain silent to avoid ruining our relationship, or to pursue my rights through legal channels?
5 Answers
5Honestly, it seems like there is some confusion here. The deposit can be deducted for concrete damages arising from your use of the house. The situation you described as “the wall paint has worn out” falls into routine wear and tear. Legally, you might be in the right. You could first consider sending a notice to them, and if that doesn’t resolve the issue, you may initiate enforcement proceedings.
So you’re right now, but in the end, are you willing to risk getting into trouble? If you’re on good terms, why sour that? I think you should go to them and sweet-talk your way into giving it another shot. People can sometimes be stubborn like that, but dealing with court and all that can bring a lot of stress.
The same thing happened to me last year. My former landlord didn’t return my 2-month deposit just because he said ‘there’s a scratch on the door.’ I went straight to the civil court; it took a few months, but I got my money. So if you’re in the right, don’t wait—it’s worth the hassle.
Let me add that the landlord is actually a very stubborn person. I’ve called countless times to resolve the issue, but he always comes up with an excuse. So I tried to compromise, but it’s not working 
I think there’s another issue at play here. Saying things like wall paint are just silly excuses; maybe they just didn’t like you or have some other problem… Did you try talking to a mutual acquaintance to get information from them?