Questions & Answers
Holding the security deposit of the tenant to fix damages
We have a tenant, it was clearly stated in the lease contract that she has to hand over the property in the same condition it has been handed over to her.
Now, she's leaving the apartment in the Palm (2BR). Imagine 16 busted bulbs, the guard rail of the fridge is broken lots of nail holes and the property is dirty.
She got it painted and cleaned and now she's claiming that she will report to RERA as she's not responsible for the painting and cleaning (so she wants a refund) and she's not going to replace those 16 bulbs and the guard rail in the fridge.
When we handed over the property, we gave her 14 days to snag it and we rectified all the issues. Is she entitled to all these claims she's telling us?
We are not giving back her deposit yet until she fixes the property. Do we have the legal right to demand these from her?
I know the lights are consumables and she's supposed to replace it as all the lights were working when she got the keys.
Thank you.
Dear Questioner,
Pursuant to your question, a tenant is required to hand over back (to the landlord) the property leased in the same condition as it was given to him/her by the landlord at the time of signing the contract.
A landlord may return the security deposit after deducting any particular amount from the security deposit so as to restore the property in original condition (as it was leased to the tenant).
Further, you can contact us on the phone or write to us at our email.
Dear Questioner,
I believe that you should take over the action to rectify the damages, change the pulps, paint the apartment and prepare a report to what was spent out of the deposit and offer your tenant to come and collect the balance.
Of course, you should keep everything documented and you hire a professional company to snag and fix the problems including the cleaning and to report to her all the receipts.
Regards,
Ahmed Elnaggar
