Ethical dilemma

[SD Realtor]

Golfgal and HLS have made the most pertinent posts on here. In general most lease agreements do not permit your security deposit to be used to pay rent, first months, last months or otherwise. Using the security deposit in lieu of rent is permitted but does not absolve you of late fees or penalties. Similarly if the landlord has documentation or invoices proving that things need to be fixed then he can come after you for those liabilities. Again it all depends on the terminology of your lease agreement.

My only advice here would be to review your lease to the letter. If you plan on violating it in any way then I would suggest you consult an attorney prior to doing so. Your dilema is not an ethical one it all, it is very simply a matter of you choosing to violate the contract. If you pay your lease but do not get the security deposit back then you simply go to court to fight for it. If you choose not to pay rent then that is okay to. Whatever consequences follow from that will be up to the landlord and what the lease allows for with regards to penalties, late fees, etc and if the landlord has the energy to bring you to court.

This is not advice in any manner so please don’t construe it as such. Consult an attorney

SD Realtor

[dharmagirl]

Thanks again for all of the terrific comments.

The owners are not unreasonable – I just think they’re hanging on to their HELOC-funded empire by their fingernails.

I’m comfortable with letting them know – by June 30th – that we plan to be out of the rental by August 2nd and want to use our deposit as last month’s rent. I’ll offer to let them come by and do an inspection after we’ve moved out.

If they feel that repairs are needed, and we agree, we’ll arange to make repairs. This seems perfectly reasonable to me.

I truly believe they would only freak out over this if they had no intention of returning the deposit in the first place. Because they’d be missing out on an easy $2300.

As I’ve said in other posts, the owners are nice people when financial bankruptcy often leads to moral bankruptcy in the name of “survival.”

I will also look over our lease and see what it says. It was a boiler plate document.

Thanks!

[dharmagirl]

Thanks again for all of the terrific comments.

The owners are not unreasonable – I just think they’re hanging on to their HELOC-funded empire by their fingernails.

I’m comfortable with letting them know – by June 30th – that we plan to be out of the rental by August 2nd and want to use our deposit as last month’s rent. I’ll offer to let them come by and do an inspection after we’ve moved out.

If they feel that repairs are needed, and we agree, we’ll arange to make repairs. This seems perfectly reasonable to me.

I truly believe they would only freak out over this if they had no intention of returning the deposit in the first place. Because they’d be missing out on an easy $2300.

As I’ve said in other posts, the owners are nice people when financial bankruptcy often leads to moral bankruptcy in the name of “survival.”

I will also look over our lease and see what it says. It was a boiler plate document.

Thanks!

[dharmagirl]

Thanks again for all of the terrific comments.

The owners are not unreasonable – I just think they’re hanging on to their HELOC-funded empire by their fingernails.

I’m comfortable with letting them know – by June 30th – that we plan to be out of the rental by August 2nd and want to use our deposit as last month’s rent. I’ll offer to let them come by and do an inspection after we’ve moved out.

If they feel that repairs are needed, and we agree, we’ll arange to make repairs. This seems perfectly reasonable to me.

I truly believe they would only freak out over this if they had no intention of returning the deposit in the first place. Because they’d be missing out on an easy $2300.

As I’ve said in other posts, the owners are nice people when financial bankruptcy often leads to moral bankruptcy in the name of “survival.”

I will also look over our lease and see what it says. It was a boiler plate document.

Thanks!

[dharmagirl]

Thanks again for all of the terrific comments.

The owners are not unreasonable – I just think they’re hanging on to their HELOC-funded empire by their fingernails.

I’m comfortable with letting them know – by June 30th – that we plan to be out of the rental by August 2nd and want to use our deposit as last month’s rent. I’ll offer to let them come by and do an inspection after we’ve moved out.

If they feel that repairs are needed, and we agree, we’ll arange to make repairs. This seems perfectly reasonable to me.

I truly believe they would only freak out over this if they had no intention of returning the deposit in the first place. Because they’d be missing out on an easy $2300.

As I’ve said in other posts, the owners are nice people when financial bankruptcy often leads to moral bankruptcy in the name of “survival.”

I will also look over our lease and see what it says. It was a boiler plate document.

Thanks!

[dharmagirl]

Thanks again for all of the terrific comments.

The owners are not unreasonable – I just think they’re hanging on to their HELOC-funded empire by their fingernails.

I’m comfortable with letting them know – by June 30th – that we plan to be out of the rental by August 2nd and want to use our deposit as last month’s rent. I’ll offer to let them come by and do an inspection after we’ve moved out.

If they feel that repairs are needed, and we agree, we’ll arange to make repairs. This seems perfectly reasonable to me.

I truly believe they would only freak out over this if they had no intention of returning the deposit in the first place. Because they’d be missing out on an easy $2300.

As I’ve said in other posts, the owners are nice people when financial bankruptcy often leads to moral bankruptcy in the name of “survival.”

I will also look over our lease and see what it says. It was a boiler plate document.

Thanks!

[zzz]

I think when it comes to financial related matter, “reason” shouldn’t be the bar for determining the outcome. “Reasonable” is highly subjective. If I were you, I would do what the tenants rights site suggests, which is schedule a walk through “before” you move out and the owner has to present you with a list of things they want fixed. This way, you can “fix” the simple things and the list goes through things that are considered normal wear and tear. I’d suggest you print this list out – don’t assume your owner knows the rules. This is from the website I included earlier- here’s the link to the specific page. Put everything in writing as others have suggested.

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml

Initial Inspection Before Tenant Moves Out
A tenant may ask the landlord to inspect the rental unit before the tenancy ends to identify defects or conditions that justify deductions from the tenant’s security deposit. The purpose of this “initial inspection” is to give the tenant an opportunity to repair the defects or do the cleaning identified during the inspection in order to avoid deductions from the tenant’s security deposit. The tenant has the right to be present during the inspection.

The landlord must perform an initial inspection as described in this sidebar if the tenant requests it, but cannot make an initial inspection unless the tenant requests it. However, the landlord is not required to perform an initial inspection if the landlord has served the tenant with a three-day notice (an eviction notice) for one of the reasons specified in footnote 204.204

Landlord’s notice

The landlord must give the tenant written notice of the tenant’s right to request an initial inspection of the rental and to be present during the inspection. The landlord must give this notice to the tenant a “reasonable time” after either the landlord or the tenant has given the other written notice of intent to terminate (end) the tenancy (see Moving Out). If the tenant has a lease, the landlord must give the tenant this notice a “reasonable time” before the lease ends. If the tenant does not request an initial inspection, the landlord does not have any other duties with respect to the initial inspection.205

[zzz]

I think when it comes to financial related matter, “reason” shouldn’t be the bar for determining the outcome. “Reasonable” is highly subjective. If I were you, I would do what the tenants rights site suggests, which is schedule a walk through “before” you move out and the owner has to present you with a list of things they want fixed. This way, you can “fix” the simple things and the list goes through things that are considered normal wear and tear. I’d suggest you print this list out – don’t assume your owner knows the rules. This is from the website I included earlier- here’s the link to the specific page. Put everything in writing as others have suggested.

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml

Initial Inspection Before Tenant Moves Out
A tenant may ask the landlord to inspect the rental unit before the tenancy ends to identify defects or conditions that justify deductions from the tenant’s security deposit. The purpose of this “initial inspection” is to give the tenant an opportunity to repair the defects or do the cleaning identified during the inspection in order to avoid deductions from the tenant’s security deposit. The tenant has the right to be present during the inspection.

The landlord must perform an initial inspection as described in this sidebar if the tenant requests it, but cannot make an initial inspection unless the tenant requests it. However, the landlord is not required to perform an initial inspection if the landlord has served the tenant with a three-day notice (an eviction notice) for one of the reasons specified in footnote 204.204

Landlord’s notice

The landlord must give the tenant written notice of the tenant’s right to request an initial inspection of the rental and to be present during the inspection. The landlord must give this notice to the tenant a “reasonable time” after either the landlord or the tenant has given the other written notice of intent to terminate (end) the tenancy (see Moving Out). If the tenant has a lease, the landlord must give the tenant this notice a “reasonable time” before the lease ends. If the tenant does not request an initial inspection, the landlord does not have any other duties with respect to the initial inspection.205

[zzz]

I think when it comes to financial related matter, “reason” shouldn’t be the bar for determining the outcome. “Reasonable” is highly subjective. If I were you, I would do what the tenants rights site suggests, which is schedule a walk through “before” you move out and the owner has to present you with a list of things they want fixed. This way, you can “fix” the simple things and the list goes through things that are considered normal wear and tear. I’d suggest you print this list out – don’t assume your owner knows the rules. This is from the website I included earlier- here’s the link to the specific page. Put everything in writing as others have suggested.

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml

Initial Inspection Before Tenant Moves Out
A tenant may ask the landlord to inspect the rental unit before the tenancy ends to identify defects or conditions that justify deductions from the tenant’s security deposit. The purpose of this “initial inspection” is to give the tenant an opportunity to repair the defects or do the cleaning identified during the inspection in order to avoid deductions from the tenant’s security deposit. The tenant has the right to be present during the inspection.

The landlord must perform an initial inspection as described in this sidebar if the tenant requests it, but cannot make an initial inspection unless the tenant requests it. However, the landlord is not required to perform an initial inspection if the landlord has served the tenant with a three-day notice (an eviction notice) for one of the reasons specified in footnote 204.204

Landlord’s notice

The landlord must give the tenant written notice of the tenant’s right to request an initial inspection of the rental and to be present during the inspection. The landlord must give this notice to the tenant a “reasonable time” after either the landlord or the tenant has given the other written notice of intent to terminate (end) the tenancy (see Moving Out). If the tenant has a lease, the landlord must give the tenant this notice a “reasonable time” before the lease ends. If the tenant does not request an initial inspection, the landlord does not have any other duties with respect to the initial inspection.205

[zzz]

I think when it comes to financial related matter, “reason” shouldn’t be the bar for determining the outcome. “Reasonable” is highly subjective. If I were you, I would do what the tenants rights site suggests, which is schedule a walk through “before” you move out and the owner has to present you with a list of things they want fixed. This way, you can “fix” the simple things and the list goes through things that are considered normal wear and tear. I’d suggest you print this list out – don’t assume your owner knows the rules. This is from the website I included earlier- here’s the link to the specific page. Put everything in writing as others have suggested.

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml

Initial Inspection Before Tenant Moves Out
A tenant may ask the landlord to inspect the rental unit before the tenancy ends to identify defects or conditions that justify deductions from the tenant’s security deposit. The purpose of this “initial inspection” is to give the tenant an opportunity to repair the defects or do the cleaning identified during the inspection in order to avoid deductions from the tenant’s security deposit. The tenant has the right to be present during the inspection.

The landlord must perform an initial inspection as described in this sidebar if the tenant requests it, but cannot make an initial inspection unless the tenant requests it. However, the landlord is not required to perform an initial inspection if the landlord has served the tenant with a three-day notice (an eviction notice) for one of the reasons specified in footnote 204.204

Landlord’s notice

The landlord must give the tenant written notice of the tenant’s right to request an initial inspection of the rental and to be present during the inspection. The landlord must give this notice to the tenant a “reasonable time” after either the landlord or the tenant has given the other written notice of intent to terminate (end) the tenancy (see Moving Out). If the tenant has a lease, the landlord must give the tenant this notice a “reasonable time” before the lease ends. If the tenant does not request an initial inspection, the landlord does not have any other duties with respect to the initial inspection.205

[zzz]

I think when it comes to financial related matter, “reason” shouldn’t be the bar for determining the outcome. “Reasonable” is highly subjective. If I were you, I would do what the tenants rights site suggests, which is schedule a walk through “before” you move out and the owner has to present you with a list of things they want fixed. This way, you can “fix” the simple things and the list goes through things that are considered normal wear and tear. I’d suggest you print this list out – don’t assume your owner knows the rules. This is from the website I included earlier- here’s the link to the specific page. Put everything in writing as others have suggested.

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml

Initial Inspection Before Tenant Moves Out
A tenant may ask the landlord to inspect the rental unit before the tenancy ends to identify defects or conditions that justify deductions from the tenant’s security deposit. The purpose of this “initial inspection” is to give the tenant an opportunity to repair the defects or do the cleaning identified during the inspection in order to avoid deductions from the tenant’s security deposit. The tenant has the right to be present during the inspection.

The landlord must perform an initial inspection as described in this sidebar if the tenant requests it, but cannot make an initial inspection unless the tenant requests it. However, the landlord is not required to perform an initial inspection if the landlord has served the tenant with a three-day notice (an eviction notice) for one of the reasons specified in footnote 204.204

Landlord’s notice

The landlord must give the tenant written notice of the tenant’s right to request an initial inspection of the rental and to be present during the inspection. The landlord must give this notice to the tenant a “reasonable time” after either the landlord or the tenant has given the other written notice of intent to terminate (end) the tenancy (see Moving Out). If the tenant has a lease, the landlord must give the tenant this notice a “reasonable time” before the lease ends. If the tenant does not request an initial inspection, the landlord does not have any other duties with respect to the initial inspection.205

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