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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
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    6

    Default Early Move-Out and Use of Security Deposit for Last Month's Rent

    My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Texas

    This is a multi-question post just so I can get a better grasp about where I stand, and to just be prepared "just in case". My wife and I just moved out of a home we leased for 18 months. The landlord very nit-picky and money hungry, so I'm playing out scenarios in my head of what could happen. To give background, after 12 months they offered only a 6-month renewal and said they would not renew further than that because they wanted to move back into home themselves. No problem, we signed the lease and started our search for a new home.

    Landlord said that if we found somewhere before the end of lease that it would be okay (all conversations have been over text, and kept). We found a home to move into 1 month prior to the end of our lease, in essence we did not pay for the last month of the lease because he told us it would be okay to move early if we found something. So question 1 - if he decided to try to collect that last month's rent via small claims court, would he be able to? Would his text override the original contract/lease with new terms and therefore make the terms in original lease null and void?

    Secondly, when we were moving, we had a considerable amount of expenses and I asked the landlord if he would consider allowing our security deposit to cover our last rent payment. He agreed to release $700 of the $1200 deposit towards rent, and we paid the remaining $650 for that month to cover the rest of that month's rent. This would leave $500 in our security deposit that would be released after final walk through. So question 2 - could he later request that extra $700 back via small claims court - or would his agreement to reduce our rent to $650 for that month make his request void?

    While we were moving out I stayed in contact with him asking what he would like done prior to the walk through to make sure we could get the final $500 back. I asked what we should really focus on aside from just basic cleaning. He requested we trim the trees in the yard, haul off those limbs, make sure the yard is landscaped .. I thought it was weird that he'd be asking us to trim the trees, but figured no problem, and we hired professional landscapers to make sure it would be done properly for him - then had to pay extra to trim trees, and extra to haul them off. We paid nearly $200 for all that. He then told us he wanted us to get the carpets professionally deep cleaned and shampooed - he told us the local carpet cleaning company charged $160. Again, I was thinking he was asking a lot - previous properties I've rented were satisfied with cleaned/vacuumed carpets, but he wanted us to deep clean and shampoo them, and spend $160 to do it. Because of how nit-picky he is, we also go a quote from a professional cleaning company to meticulously clean the entire home, they quoted us $150. So, all of this expense would total out to $510 invested in hopes of getting back $500 ... It just didn't make sense to me. So, I decided to forfeit the $500 deposit and turn over the house as-is. The landscaping had already been done, we just did not do the deep cleaning. We told the landlord he could use the $500 remaining deposit to deep clean the way he wanted to - knowing that $500 was more than enough to get that alone done.

    Here are a lot of questions - we turned the home over via text on Aug 16, and left the keys on the bar of the kitchen and locked the door behind us as we left. Does this constitute as the date we have turned over the home legally? If so, does he have 30-days from that date to send us an itemized breakdown of expenses IF he tries to claim that he spent more than $500 and wants to collect more? If once the 30-day mark comes and goes without hearing from him, can we assume we are in the clear of owing any additional funds? If he sends an itemized bill after the 30-day mark, can we legally state that he didn't get it to us in time and therefore he can't collect? ... Now, if he decides to take all this to small claims court instead, would it be enforced and a judgement made against us, or can we use that 30-day limit as a defense?

    We did not leave damage, or excessive filth or anything like that. I just know how nit-picky he is, and he's made comments in the past about being retired with a lot of time on his hands so he doesn't mind taking things to court. I'm just trying to get ahead of the curve and know my options before the hypothetical becomes a reality.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    98,846

    Default Re: Early Move-Out and Use of Security Deposit for Last Month's Rent

    If you have a six month lease, the terms of which do not provide for early termination, you should expect to be held to the terms of your lease. If you have an oral agreement with your landlord for early termination, and you want to be able to enforce it should your landlord later deny the agreement, get it in writing.

    A security deposit is not "last month's rent", and attempting to use a security deposit as "last month's rent" may trigger significant financial penalties. See Texas Property Code, Sec. 92.108(a). If your landlord agrees to let you apply your security deposit to your last month's rent, he may do so -- but again, get it in writing. Otherwise, you are expected to pay your last month's rent. Obviously, if you have already agreed to give your landlord the deposit to cover repairs and other expenses that you agree that you owe, you cannot also use the deposit as "last month's rent".

    If your landlord concurs that you moved out as of August 16, then your landlord will have regained possession as of that date. Does he agree that you vacated and turned over the premises on that date? If so then, yes, the 30 days begins on that date. See Texas Property Code, Sec. 92.103(a). If not, what date is the landlord proposing to use instead, and on what basis?

    The landlord must describe any deductions from the security deposit made for damages, but need not send you an itemized list if the deposit is applied to an amount of rent that you agree is owed. The landlord is only restricted in the ability to recover damages beyond the amount of the deposit if the landlord's failure to provide a timely refund or itemized list of damages is found to have done so in bad faith, although the failure to provide either the itemization or a refund within 30 days means that the landlord is presumed to have acted in bad faith (i.e., the landlord would have to convince the court that the delay or failure to comply was not made in bad faith).

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