Hello all, my lease is expiring in April. We never paid our security deposit as the lease was only transferred in name. The landlord asked for our security deposit but we said we couldn't afford it at the time. He never asked again. Well now our lease is up. Does he have the right to force us to pay it on move-out, or will he bill for damages? He never inspected the apartment before or after the lease was transferred but returned the deposit to the old lease holder. How does this work? Can he bill us for whatever he thinks was wrong with the apartment?

Two different things:

Security deposit: he didn't press the issue when you said you didn't have it, so there is no deposit.

Damages: if he claims damages, of course he can bill for them. Obviously he cannot take them out of a deposit because there is none. He can't very well force you to put up a deposit by evicting you if you don't pay it, can he? Well, he could try to evict you between now and April, but it's not likely. The only thing he could do would be to take you to court for the damages. At that time you would have the opportunity to contest any damage claim.

If you assumed a lease, had it transferred to your name from someone else, then you are actually liable for damages going back to when the first person moved in, since that is the lease the landlord had. He most likely did an inspection then. So did you do photos or have any proof of condition or damage when you moved in ( or took over lease)

But he will bill you for damages and sue you if not paid.

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Can he bill us for whatever he thinks was wrong with the apartment?

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No but he can bill you for any damages he can prove. As AK said, they are two separate issues. So, he can't collect the security, but he can bill you for any damages.