When moving into your new apartment, sometimes one of the most unforeseen costs can come as your security deposit. And depending on where you are renting, your security deposit can be between 1-3 times your monthly apartment rent. So, it’s not something you just want to walk away from if you have to at the end of your lease.
So, you have kept up your apartment, cleaned it, maintained it well, paid your rent and the rest of your utilities… you DEFINITELY are getting your security deposit back! But how long does it take?
Typically, you will get your security deposit back from your landlord within 30 days of moving out of your apartment. And at the absolute outside, you should have it back within 60 days for sure.
If you don’t have your deposit back in that amount of time, you should be following up with your previous landlord on almost a daily basis, because he or she should have gotten you the deposit back in that amount of time.
How Do I Get My Security Deposit Back From An Apartment?
The best way to get your security deposit back from your landlord is to take pictures when you move in when you move out and follow up with your landlord on the timetable for returning your security deposit when you turn in your keys.
Obviously, you are going to have to have kept your apartment in great condition during the entire duration of your stay. If your landlord has to even do a deep cleaning or any other repairs to your apartment after you move out, that is going to eat into your security deposit quickly.
And while landlords are required to give you an itemized account of what they had to fix or clean, and how much it cost for each item, you will see that it is not quick, easy, or cheap to get these things done. The best thing to do here is prevention.
If you HAVE followed the lease to the letter and you KNOW that you deserve your deposit back, the best thing to do is to just talk to your landlord about this before you leave.
They are used to having tenants ask about this, and there should be little doubt over whether or not you will be getting your deposit back or not. Landlords do this all the time. It takes them only a few minutes to walk through the apartment and determine whether or not the apartment is good or not.
Offer to walk through the apartment at the end of your lease with them, and show them the pictures you took the day you moved in to show how nice the apartment is on your way out. This is the best way to ensure that you get your security deposit back.
If you want to know other ways to ensure to get your security deposit back, check out the article I wrote on specifically that issue.
Can My Landlord Keep My Security Deposit If I Break My Lease?
One situation that comes up over and over again is if a tenant breaks their lease and leaves the apartment complex early.
Technically, the landlord is entitled to keep your security deposit in this situation as the lease was broken by the tenant. They can use the security deposit as remuneration for unpaid rent.
Even if the tenant kept their apartment clean and tidy, with no holes and nothing needed to be done to the apartment whatsoever, the landlord STILL can keep the security deposit.
Now, if you had some sort of unfortunate situation happen to you, like a death or sickness in the family, or a sudden job move, just talk to your landlord about it. They are humans too and know that things happen.
If something like this happened to you and you have kept your apartment in good condition, it is still up to the landlord to determine whether or not they give you your security deposit back, but if they are a decent person, more than likely they will.
All they are really keeping the security deposit for is for the chance that there is damage done to the apartment that they have to pay for after the tenant leaves. Now again, technically, they CAN still keep the security deposit if you break the lease.
But if you show them that you are moving against your will, and you kept your end of the bargain taking care of their property, more than likely they are going to give you your security deposit back.
Typically, it should take about 30 days for you to get your security deposit back from your landlord. If it takes any longer than 60 days, you should be contacting your landlord regularly to see what is keeping them from issuing you a check.
Also, don’t be afraid to talk to your landlord about your security deposit. Remember, your landlord requires a security deposit to insure against damages that may happen when a tenant is living in the complex.
If you show that you haven’t damaged their property and taken good care of the apartment, even if you have to break the lease, there is a good chance they will give you your deposit back.
