Magnific

Security deposits should be returned on time after moving out.

The following story involves a woman who faced a problem when her landlord delayed returning her $900 deposit.

After initially agreeing to pay within 30 days, the landlord kept pushing it back and lowering the monthly payment amount.

Now, months later, with little communication and growing frustration, she is considering taking legal action.

Read the full story below for all the details.

Landlord wants to do a “payment plan” for my deposit

I moved out on the first of December 2025.

My landlord agreed to give me the full deposit back of 900 dollars.

She said that she needed the full 30 days to give it to me.

She is someone I have known for a long time. She is struggling with finding other tenants.

This woman agreed to a $300/month payment plan.

I let it go for about two months.

In February, she said that she would have to do a payment plan of 300 dollars per month.

I said okay.

It has now been six months. Last month, she asked if she could do 100 dollars a month.

I told her I was not comfortable with that. I needed at least 300 dollars.

She’s starting to feel frustrated.

I have not heard from her in a month.

I would let this go, but I really need the money.

Out of principle, it is frustrating.

I literally cleaned out moldy food from the previous tenant. I paid to take all of their junk to the dump. I painted the entire house multiple times.

Now, she’s asking how to possibly deal with this problem.

This is partly a vent post.

I also wanted feedback on how to go about starting a small claim.

At this point, it has caused quite a bit of hardship.

I had factored in that 900 dollars being available the first half of this year. This was while I navigate moving and finding a new job.

Yikes! That situation dragged on way too long.

Honestly, reducing the payment after already delaying it feels unfair.

It’s also starting to feel like the landlord has no intention of giving OP back her money.

At some point, enough patience is enough.

Let’s find out what others have to say about this on Reddit.

Here’s a short but sensible suggestion.

This person makes a valid point.

Here’s a similar thought.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a neighbor who ends up with a problem of their own after calling the city about a shed.

People are saying the same thing.

What she did was illegal, says this person.

If someone keeps changing the plan, they probably never planned to pay on time anyway.