Five Mintue Fridays are bonus "mini-episodes" of Property Management Brainstorm in which Bob covers a pertinent topic of property management or being a landlord, every Friday, in about five minutes or less. This is the very first episode of Five Minute Friday. Bob covers the question most frequently asked by landlords when speaking with him about property management - "what charges can be taken from a tenant’s security deposit?" Bob answers this question in the context of the State of California landlord-tenant law.
Bob discusses his process at North County Property Group for the amount charged and held as a security deposit, the property inspection process at the tenant's move-in and move-out, and the four purposes for which a security deposit may be used:
- unpaid rent or utlitiy charges;
- cleaning the rental unit to make the unit as clean as it was when the tenant first moved in;
- repair of damages, other than normal wear and tear;
- cost of restoring or replacing furnishings, other than because of normal wear and tear.
Bob further explains that a landlord may only withhold those amounts that are reasonably necessary and offers his approach to the terms "normal wear and tear" and "reasonably necessary". He also gives an example of the "useful life rule" and how it pertains to prorating charges for the remaining life of the item damaged.
For more information on this topic, Bob also refers listeners to a blog post he wrote on this topic, posted at this link, titled Allowable Security Deposit Deductions.
This episode is always available for listening, sharing, or download at Property Management Brainstorm.
Subscribe to Property Management Brainstorm on Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify or YouTube.
Author
