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security deposit

Our tenents have been late several times and have had 2 nsf's. They now have to pay by cashiers check. They have been in violation of the lease because of this. They are now current with rent. They want to give 30 day notice to move. I have sent several letters in past stating that lease has been broken and deposit has been lost. Can I really not return the $1000.00 deposit? We have had to use it to make payment when they were short with the rent 3 times. Please advise, this is for California.
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What amount does the lease indicate the tenant paid for the deposit?   If it says 2000 try to get a hold of the former owner and ask for the $900.   Of coarse since she is moving out before the end of the lease she should be paying for the time the place is empty until you can get new tenants.
The lease indicates 1100.  Thanks for the info.
What is the length of time in Idaho to return the Security Deposit? I have heard 20 days and 30 day. It used to be 30. Thanks flyfishngrl@msn.com
Yes,  that is beyond regular were and tear.   You may need to prorate it for the age of the carpet.   I generally consider carpet to have a ten year life span.   So for every year old it is I'd reduce the tenants part by 10%.  2 year old carpet tenant pays 80%, 5 year old 50%, 8 year old 20% and so forth.
Yes there is, contact help.
Many leases say tenant must return the property in same or better condition...I don't  think a cleaning fee against the deposit would  stand  in court, unless you prove you are charging for grime, dirt, uncleaned items & areas......one landlord's opinion.   I don't  charge  a cleaning fee to generally go through the  place to turn it over...but if i have to scrub sinks, shower, windows, blinds, stove, frig, oven, fans, removing debris, clean carpeting or any specific  stained areas, fix gouges in walls, scrub asphalt/concrete to remove stains or grease, repair damages, replace an appliance or item because of abuse or misuse, etc...definitely charge it against the deposit!  Of course, if you are  replacing an old frig valued currently at $400 for a new model for $1700 you cannot charge $1700 against their deposit.
also, as i understand it, you  cannot deduct a charge of what it would cost to replace the damaged flooring  from the deposit without actually replacing  that flooring.
I would not agree that normal wear & tear includes cleaning a dirty oven, dirty or greasy grimy floors, a dirty refrigerator, dirty  blinds, dirty windows, dirty  carpeting, grimy or mildew shower, a countertop built up with grease grime film, etc....  Document all dirt and document  over and  above cleaning time & costs.
It depends. You only need to show receipts to the judge but you could just .pdf the ex-tenant a copy. That would look good to the judge should it come to court. What the tenant is trying to do is claim you overcharged your labor for clean-up. So, as long as you keep your charges reasonable, let him scream. What I do? I always have the apt professionally cleaned. That way, if the ex-tenant starts crying, I send a .pdf of the bill and have them take it up with the cleaning company.
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I believe in always being fair.  If the tenant was responsible, paid the rent on time, and otherwise not problematic, and if there was no damage to the property, then this is a seems to be an ethical decision for you as well as a legal one.  You are legally bound to lease.  If the lease states the deposit is refundable and there is no justifiable reason for you to keep it, then you are responsible for paying the renter.  It is not the renter's fault you or your team failed to do comprehensive book keeping / due diligence.  The renter held up their end of the deal by paying rent.  You must hold up your end of the deal by returning the deposit.  If you wish to pursue this then you should target the former owner or the party responsible for managing the ledger.  The question you have to ask yourself is,  is deposit worth effort and expense?  I don't think. Consider it education fee in property management.,  To be clear, you are wrong to make the renter responsible for your mistake.
per google "Landlords in Washington have 14 days from the date of lease termination or a tenant's move-out date to return the portion of the security deposit owed to the tenant."
2.  it should be spelled out in the lease if they have to clean the carpet.  I require both the carpet cleaned and the house professionally cleaned.  3. Yes 4. depends on the damage they might be responsible to pay for replacement.  5. Some nail holes are to be expected.
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