When you move into an apartment, you and your landlord have to have a lot of blind faith for each other. You could be "Mr. Nice Guy", or "Mr. I'm Going To Throw Parties Here Every Night Guy."Tenants are usually not into maintenance, therefore they aren't as careful with their rented property as they would be if they owned it. They also tend to see maintenance as
landlord's job. So, in order to assure landlord that any damages made to apartment while you are a tenant will be covered, most apartment complexes require a security deposit.
The deposit is usually equivalent to about two months rent. The reasons?
* If you fail to pay rent one month, it won't come out of landlord's pocket. He has right to use your deposit.
* If there are any major damages made to apartment when your lease is up, he can use remaining deposit to make any repairs.
But what if landlord claims you made that hole in wall when you know it was there before you were? Nothing, really. At that point it's probably too late to fight back. According to MetLife, this is why you take precautions before you sign lease. When you think you're going to live in an apartment, and it's almost a done deal, go around apartment and check EVERYTHING for problems. Here's a check list of some of major things you should check out/look for:
Door locks: Do they turn easily? Can you be assured landlord re-keyed/replaced them since last tenant?
Smoke detectors: Are there any? Do they work properly?
Walls: Are they marked, dented, scratched, or cracked?
Pipes: Are they in good condition, or are they rusty?
Leaks: Check under kitchen sink, by front door, ceiling, and throughout bathroom for water damage.
Tiles: Are they all there? Are they in good shape?
Doors: Are they evenly painted? Are they marked/dented/scraped etc.?
Carpet: Is it fastened securely? Stained?
Paint: Is it smooth or chipping off?
If you see anything that could pose a problem in future, you'll need to document it. The best way to do this is by taking a picture of damaged item/area, and then making a log describing all of pictures. Get landlord to sign and date log, and you sign and date it too. This way, you cannot be accused of damage you didn't do.
