This is literally how it works in other parts of the world - do you guys just have to trust that your landlord isn't going to decide that they'd rather just keep your money at the end of the lease?

In NZ, the landlord is required to lodge the bond with a government agency, and in cases where there is a dispute a special court will adjudicate and issue binding orders as to how the money is to be divided.

The management agency that leased the house I lived in while I was in college tried to withhold our security deposit because we didn't provide proof of carpet cleaning.

The house had all hardwood floors.

Shit Post Real Talk:

Never let your landlord steal your deposit. Here's how you prevent this (without using brass knuckles):

1. Read your lease before you sign it. Once you've signed it, it's too late to change anything or decide you don't like something in it.

2. Keep copies of your lease, and any other document your landlord sends you.

3. Do a photo walkthrough before moving anything I to the house. Take lots of pictures of everything. Make sure to get good photos of pre-existing damage.

4. Don't fuck up the house, beyond regular wear and tear. You ever get so mad you want to punch a hole in the wall? Well don't. Go to therapy instead. And if you do punch a hole in the wall, either fix it or expect that your landlord is going to take it out of your deposit. You get the point.

5. Follow the "move out" conditions of of your lease to the "T". If something is supposed to be clean, clean it. If something is supposed to be replaced, replace it. If you don't like having to clean or replace something that's required in the lease, then you should have paid more attention to step 1.

6. Do a photo walkthrough after you have completely moved out and every move out condition of your lease has been met. Take pictures of everything.

7. Retain all photos and documentation until your deposit has been fully refunded.

8. Do not accept a partial refund. Don't sign the check. Don't deposit it.

9. If the landlord tries to steal your deposit, communicate your objections in writing. Retain copies of all communication.

10. If the landlord still refuses to refund the full amount and you have followed all the prior steps, march right on down to your local district court clerks office and ask to file a suit in small claims court (assuming your state has a small claims division). They will ask you to fill out a few forms and pay the court fees. Then, the sheriff will serve your landlord with a summons and the clerk will notify you of the hearing date.

If your landlord is smart, they will settle. If not, go to the hearing, present your evidence to the judge and if you did everything right, get a judgement in your favor. You won't need a lawyer as lawyers are typically not permitted in small claims.

The one and only time I had to do this, I didn't do it because I needed the money. I did it because I knew that I wasn't the first person they tried to fuck over. I was just the first person to fight back and I hoped maybe next time they would think twice about stealing money from their tenants.

Here in Germany you deposit it in a bank and not one party alone can access it. It's called "social law", not "socialism". Many things broken here, that one thing isn't.

Another reason why, if any type of landlord exists, they should be an actual person who lives within what I affectionately call face-punching distance.

You can't punch an anonymous conglomerate of soulless suits.

That is how it works - https://www.gov.uk/deposit-protection-schemes-and-landlords

Once again wikihow is incorrect.

The best way is a baseball bat

My security deposit was returned to me with interest added.

I was told not to paint anything because they do that whenever someone leaves as standard practice.

Sometimes apartments aren't bad.

"I know you had plants growing and the electricity is expensive for those bulbs. Also the garden was messy during the winter so I'm keeping your security."

...it was a 50w led running on a timer. Get fucked.

That's a temporarily fix.

The best medicine so far is to bring out the guillotine every few hundred years & rebalance the two classes.

It's literally illegal for them to ask for a security deposit here...

Pro tip: When our move-out day approached, we asked our landlord cleaners they used. We hired them to clean up, since they would clean to the LL's specs. They could also provide tips on other things tennants often get dinged on too, so we could address.

Not everyone has cash to hire cleaners, but their rate was about what I usually lose on deposits.

Generally speaking for the US - do a video walk-through on move-in day, and the same when you move out. Do your best to document every single bit of damage that you see when you move in, no matter how small. Do your best to make sure that both are dated in a way that would be more difficult to fake. Be prepared to take your landlord to small-claims court (in most cases it's going to be small claims); amounts over $5000 are likely to be regular court system. Check your contract carefully to see if there are provisions for cleaning on move-out, whether it's supposed to be a deep-clean, or broom-clean. Keep any receipts from cleaning that you pay for.

Most of the time, as long as you didn't do any damage past normal wear and tear, and you did a good job cleaning, you're going to get your deposit back. Most of the time. Other times, you're going to have to sue.

The only times I have had issues was when I was breaking leases, or serious damage was caused to the apartment (e.g., I had a cat that peed outside the litter box when he was mad, and they apartment needed new subflooring in a few spots).

Why is he wearing it like that ? Only his pinky goes through the hole. Guys gonna fracture all his fingers better hit with bare hands than this tbh .