Check whether amounts mentioned for repairs are reasonable or not
2) landlord can charge for painting charges etc if it is specifically mentioned in rental agreement
Landlord deducted 42% from rent deposit citing various reasons
We were staying in a 2.5 BHK apartment since March 2017 in Bangalore. We had initially paid 1.5L deposit and rent was 17000 per month without maintenance. On March 2020 we decided to re-locate and informed the owner. The owner after inspection sent us a list of deductions from the Deposit which amounted to 42% of the total amount. Now while some of the deductions were agreeable like- Painting, Pending current and water bills etc, there were some deductions which were unexpected like- Oil Stains on some sections on the granite floor, Mosquito nets having gaps, Kitchen one time maintenance charges etc. The thing is, most of these issues should come under the general wear and tear and we were not told the things which would be included in the deductions at the start and so cannot recollect if these issues mentioned were pre-existing or after our occupancy. Also in the agreement, there is just one clause- "The tenant should take care for not to cause any damage to fixtures, fittings and structure of the premises. In case of any damage, the same shall be repaired/replaced at the cost of the tenant or the charges will be deducted from the security deposit while refunding the same" How do we know which of the deductions are valid and which ones are illegal?
Asked 5 years ago in Property Law
Religion: Hindu
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28 Answers
1. When the monthly rent is just 17k then it most unwise to pay a deposit of 1.5 lakhs. Security deposit has to be not more than rent of 2 months. If you give such humongous deposit to landlord then you are giving bone to dog.
2. Now serve a lawyer's notice to him to seek refund of the amount, and if he does not refund the amount in entirety then you may file a suit for recovery of money against him in the competent civil court and also file a criminal complaint under Sections 406/420 IPC for criminal breach of trust and cheating.
Decline the demand and demand refund of full amount and stop paying rent.
Painting, kitchen maintianance, mosquito gap are subject to wear and tear with time and dose not include in damage.
Oil strains are damage but less cost of repair.
Send legal notice for refund of security amount than only property will vacate and no rent payment.
If the said deduction is not as per the rent agreement you can challenge the same and file a suit for recovery in civil court
- The landlord cannot deduct from the security deposits paid by the tenant , except the cost of ordinary wear and tear .
- Hence, the deduction in the name of oil stains on the ground floor , kitchen one time maintenance charges is against the tenancy laws.
- You should issue a legal notice to the landlord and thereby ask for full refund of the security deposits .
- If, no response, then file a recovery case against the landlord.
See if the deductions are wrongly done that is the damage was pre-existing or of nature thar it is normal wear and tear you may issue a legal notice to the land lord for refund of wrongly deducted amount.
In case on notice if he fails file suit before the court to recover same.
Hello,
- In the absence of any specific clause that allows the landlord to make those deductions, you need to protest and write to him indicating the clause that speaks about damage to fixtures and fittings. The deductions are arbitrary on his part.
- If he fails to comply and refund after deducting the legitimate amounts, you must issue him a legal notice for recovery of the amount unlawfully deducted.
- Valid charges are only those that are specified in the License Agreement, all else are illegal.
There are two options now.
Sit and talk with him, try to settle the matter for a minimal amount. If this doesn't work than second option you have is to file a police complaint.
Also you can send him a legal notice and than file a money recovery suit
1. Legally speaking "Normal Wear & Tear" is a regular norm in Tenanted premises and the same has to be done by the Landlord and not by the Tenant, more so since landlord is receiving sufficient amount of Rent for his house.
2. You may conduct the said repairs to Wear & Tear and are mentioned by Landlord and subsequently return the house in its original condition.
3. You also have an option of initiating a Civil Court suit for recovery of your Deposit with Interest alongwith damages & compensation, citing appropriate justifications. This will be costly.
Here are some of the deductions the owner mentioned (Some of them have not been included as they were agreed upon). Which of these can be considered valid deduction? 1. Painting - INR 17000 2. Commode Seats Plastic(2)- INR 2400 3. Gaps in Mosquito Net- INR 5000 4. Sink Tap- INR 1800 5. Oil stain On Granite(Kitchen, Pooja Room)- INR 5000 6. Cot Head repair - INR 2000 7. Kitchen Maintenance - INR 5000 We tried negotiating and in fact we did the following: 1. Hired Urban Clap professionals to clean the floor(spent 2000 on the same). But the owner says the oil stains are still present and hence will not be accepted 2. Replaced the 10 year old Sink tap with a brand new Tap. But the owner says that it is of lower quality and he will buy the tap himself.
Asked 5 years ago
You can refuse to agree to painting charges as no clause in the contract
further commode plastic has been replaced by you and oil stains removed . Ask landlord to pay you full amount without any deductions
Please note you will have to look into the agreement if there is a clause mentioning normal wear and tear are excluded then send notice for excessive deduction. First send legal notice. Please share agreement for proper guidance
1. See he is trying to extort money and wrongly deduct same, issue a legal notice to owner for refund of the amount.
1. Seems Landlord is a arrogant & corrupt type of person, who somehow or the other wishes to swindle you. Apprehensively he must be doing this to all his Tenants.
2. As suggested earlier, inform him that you will restore everything at your cost, in the same condition that was when you moved in. Do this via a written notice to him.
3. However, IF you think that might be some mistakes on your part, THEN it would not be worth fighting /disputing on such issues. Move on with life. Be careful and detailed in your next Tenanted apartment /house.
Hello,
1. Painting is an item that the landlord has to bear as it is part of the tear and wear unless you had an agreement otherwise.
2. Items that are damaged would be your liability, however apparently he is overcharging as he has the funds at his disposal. Again items 3 to 7 seem exorbitant and quite arbitrary.
3. As he is being unreasonable and adamant, refuse to oblige and compromise and if there is an estate agent/broker get him liable to deal with it.
Dear Sir,
Though there is such ambiguous clause mentioned by you, but all the deductions as mentioned by you are not justified and you are suggested to do serve a legal notice to the landlord asking the refund of the amount which has been deducted unfairly and if not returned by landlord, you may file the suit in the case.
You can demand the list for which the expenses incurred which has been deducted from the deposit amount.
As a matter of fact, ther is no clause that you will not pay for the loss suffered due to wear and tear.
The clause which you have mentioned given below clearly indicates that you are liable to meet the expenses or to repair/replace the damage or loss while leaving the rented premise.
Therefore any claim made by you may not be maintainable or you may have to run around court, office and your home in case you want to resort to legal action in this regard, the expenses and time and the energy loss due to this may be more than the current disputed amount, hence think it over wisely.
"The tenant should take care for not to cause any damage to fixtures, fittings and structure of the premises. In case of any damage, the same shall be repaired/replaced at the cost of the tenant or the charges will be deducted from the security deposit while refunding the same"
you should not have ventured yourself in the name of repair or replacement, in any case the owner seems to be determined about deducting the said amount from your security deposit, you should have waited for the outcome.
Now you are suffering double loss, one is the amount spent by you and the other one in the form of deduction from your deposit amount.
If the owner is not agreeing to reduce the deduction amount then you can remove the fittings that you replaced at your cost.
Kindly do as directed and seek the remedy from civil court
2 to 7 should not be deducted......
File police complaint that they are not giving your money
I would suggest you engage a lawyer and serve him a legal notice for recovery. The notice should detail the civil and criminal action (for cheating)that you will take against him should he fail to refund the amount within a fixed period. Typically the matter should resolve at this stage.
1. The deductions are arbitrary and unreasonable.
2. Serve him a lawyer's notice and then you may adopt the remedies mentioned by me in my previous reply.
Ans: Gaps in mosquitoe net is definitely not covered by the said clause, it is something which the landlord has to take care of.
Kitchen maintenance includes what all?
prima facie what all is used by you on a regular and daily basis is to be deducted by the landlord and nothing otherwise.
Except 6 all are invalid.
It is a matter of mutual understanding, if the landlord is arrogant in that way then you have to approach the police and/or civil court and make him to face the music. Also file private complaint.
1. The wear and tear from general use which can be replaced and fixed can come under valid deductions.
2. You can deny payment of unacceptable deductions and force landlord to go for negotiations.
- Landlords claim is against the tenancy law, and illegal .
- If the landlord deducting maximum amount from the security deposits, then file a recovery suit as i mentioned above.
You should ask for a list from the landlord. As he has already deducted under general wear and tear there is no need to give money.
He is unnecessarily trying to harass you. If he really cares about the flat he should have asked you to repair the things. This shows his intentions are malafide. Don't let him deduct the money.