Moving out is stressful, and you have to be on your guard because some people might take advantage of you.

Like your landlord, for example.

The people in this story were prepared and got most of their deposit back — and then some.

Check out how they did it.

Ignore me asking for my deposit? That’s cool, you can just pay me triple then.

During the move-out inspection, my landlord looked for any excuse to deduct from the deposit.

They knew from the lease agreement that we had pets, so of course the first thing the inspector says entering the house is “I smell animals, we’ll have to charge you to cost of getting a special pet odor removing cleaning service.”

The inspector keeps poking the bear…

We showed him the invoice and paperwork from the cleaning service that already did a comprehensive clean, including a pet odor package.

He quickly dropped it.

Then he found a carpet stain which, despite everyone’s best efforts, never completely came out.

Fair enough.

We were relieved that they didn’t take much off for that at all.

Then he took a little more off for having to patch some holes where we hung photos.

We were still owed at least 80-90% of our original deposit.

They also told us we need to keep the utilities running in our name for a week after we move out so they can do some work on the place.

This wasn’t in our lease, but I extended my utilities an extra week for them.

But these two don’t play.

Then they told us to extend the utilities another two weeks because they weren’t done.

Enough was enough, so I told them no.

They gave us a statement of how much our deposit was, how much they deducted and for what, and how much was left over for us.

It was by the books… Until they didn’t actually deliver it.

I called them, emailed them twice a week asking if they’ve mailed it or if I can just pick it up from their office.

No answer, no reply.

We found out that the state law says if your deposit, minus deductions, isn’t paid within 30 days of vacating, you can take your landlord to court for up to three times the amount of the original deposit, no deductions.

We read and studied this law well and concluded that there’s no reason we shouldn’t be able to fight this and win, no lawyer required.

A $90 filing fee later and our landlord was served notice of our intent.

Then after being ghosted for 45-ish days, the day after we filed our petition we get an email from the landlord saying he sees that we’re wanting to take legal action but has a tremendous offer for us to settle out of court: the full deposit, no deductions, plus the $90 filing fee back.

And then they played their hand perfectly.

Screw their lowball offer.

I replied reminding them that I can force them to pay three times the deposit, but I will settle out of court for just twice the deposit.

I was worried a judge might decide that the circumstances aren’t bad enough to warrant that much more money for me, so it might not be worth the trouble to take it to court.

Twice was good enough for me, and making them lose money over it was what I was going for anyways.

They agreed immediately, and said I could pick up the check at their office.

I’m still confused why they insisted on showing me the report of all the the things wrong with the house that they had to deduct from the original deposit, like I gave a crap at that point.

That ship had sailed. They were paying me twice the full deposit anyways.

They could stick their petty, unfulfilled deductions up their behinds.

Here is what folks are saying.

All the more reason to hold them accountable.

Great idea! I wonder how awkward it is.

Slimy people love to rent property.

Sounds fair.

Nice strategy. Be thoughtful about it!

Navigating renting is like hacking through the jungle these days.

It’s rough out there.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.