We rent out a house and just had the tenant leave with only a 2 week verbal notice.
The house was new when they moved in, and was left very very dirty. Minimal damage... such as broken blind , broken dryer vent, broken cabinet knobs, and such. My question is what part or how much of the deposit can we retain. They were on a month to month.

You have to go into the house and take lots of pictures. Then start making the repairs. Gather up your receipts for the costs (e.g. replacement window blind, replacement cabinet knobs, repair of the dryer vent, etc.). Then bring in a cleaning crew to clean the house and add their receipt to your other receipts.

Also, did you have a written lease with them? Was there any provision for how much notice needed to be given to terminate their tenancy? If there was no notice provision in the lease then in most places they would have had to give you one full month of notice. Did they pay rent for the final month?

Tell us in which state the property is located and we can tell you how much notice they needed to give. That may have a bearing on what can be deducted from the security deposit.

Finally, you need to give them a written accounting of how their deposit was used within a certain period after they returned the house to you. That is when you will give them copies of the receipts for repairs. In most states the time is 30 days. Tell us where you are and we can tell you the time. You should be aware that if you do not give them a written accounting within that time they can sue you and you would not only have to return all of the deposit regardless of damage but you could also be liable for up to 3 times that amount.

The house is in Alabama. They did have a years lease, had been there a little over two yrs. The lease states 30 days written notice. I mentioned when she called they needed to give the 30 days notice, but if she left it clean I would try and work with her. She left it filthy. I have pictures... but have cleaned it now myself. It took 2 of us 3 days. Lots of grunge, crayon, etc. on every surface. I am working on the letter to them now is why I am asking. They have been out a week, but are already threatening and harassing us. I do want to be fair.

When was the last time they paid rent and what date did they move out? For example, if they paid Sept. rent on Sept. 1st, gave notice on Sept. 15th and moved out on Sept. 30th you would be entitled to retain rent through at least Oct. 15th. Depending on the way the 30 day notice provision is written in your lease you might be able to retain rent for the entire month of Oct.

With regard to the cleaning, I would call a cleaning service and ask what I would expect to pay for 2 people to spend 3 days cleaning my house. They should be able to give you a general estimate.

I checked and in Alabama you must send the written accounting of their security deposit within 35 days after the date they turned over possession and returned the keys.

Yes, paid sept 1 for sept. Notice on the 16th, out on the 30th.
I may have a tenant that can be in by the 15th of oct.
I'm not trying to collect for 30 days, only 15 + the expense + the cleaning, which will probably eat up their deposit.

You can collect rent for up to the 15th or whenever a new tenant moves in, whichever occurs first.

Make sure you break it all down in the letter and include copies of whatever receipts you have. Be prepared for them to sue you in small claims court but if you have pictures that will help your case enormously.

Good luck!

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Originally Posted by shereeblackburn

They have been out a week, but are already threatening and harassing us. I do want to be fair.

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Lisa has given you the right advice. But I'm curious about what they are threatening and harassing you over? Return of the deposit?

I would tell them, that, under AL law, you have 35 days to return the deposit and/or an accounting of how it was used. That you will comply with the law, but need time to figure the costs.

As for wanting to be fair, that's all well and good, But were they fair in not giving you sufficient notice? Were they fair in leaving the place a mess? Why do they deserve fairness from you?

Yes, they want the deposit. They seem to be laboring under the fact that because their lease had expired, the month to month requirements were different? They keep saying their lease was void (expired) and they vacuumed. I'm thinking it may even be a husband wife issue, as to the why . My pictures tell the story, but they are threatening to sue.
Thank you for the advice.

Let them sue. The fact of the matter is, when a lease goes to month to month after the original term expires, then the terms of the lease remain in effect except for term and payment. So if the lease specified 30 days notice then that's what was required.

As for the cleanup. I agree with Lisa to get an estimate on what a cleaning crew would cost. And use that (discounted a bit) as the basis. But clearly they owe rental for 30 days from the day they turned over the keys.