Top Reason Why Tenants Don’t Get Their Full Deposit Money Back

Whenever someone moves into a leased house, they are required to deposit an amount, often known as bond money or security deposit. Most of the time, this will be a pretty huge amount. And most tenants look forward to getting this money back at the end of their lease.

But at most times, tenants do not get their full amount back from the landlords.

There are many reasons to cause such situations like this. Surveys conducted on this topic led to finding that the points listed below to be the top reasons for tenants losing their money.

Insufficient Cleanliness

Over 60 percent of cases of losing bond money is because the landlord is not content with the cleanliness of the property. All the landlords or the letting agencies clean the property thoroughly before anyone moving in. Almost all the time, they seek professional bond cleaning service provider assistance to clean their property so they can deliver a thoroughly cleaned property to the tenant.

After the moving in process is over, it is the tenants’ responsibility to keep the place clean and hygienic. And if the landlord is not happy with the tidiness of the property, it is always the tenant’s fault. And that results in the landlord deducting money from the security deposit.

Damage to the property

Any damage to the property, or the contents of the property, is the second biggest reason why tenants lose their money. Damage to the furniture and holes in the walls are often the reason to lose the money in this scenario. And if the property suffered an excessive amount of damage, the tenants might lose the whole security deposit.

Lack of Maintenance

There are simple tasks that the tenants can do, like mowing the lawn, checking the plumbing, and cleaning the gutters. All these can save the tenants a fair amount of money as the lack of maintenance is the third biggest reason.

Then there are other reasons like missing items from the property, rent overdue at the end of the lease, and property abandonment. Unpaid utility bills, along with hidden fees like fees for being late on payments on utilities, can also be the reasons. Sometimes, the tenant’s need to modify the property can be the reason for not getting their bond money back. Even drilling a hole in the wall can be included in this.

There are some hacks that the tenants can do to save their deposit money.

Clean Thoroughly or Hire a Bond Cleaning Service.

As insufficient cleanliness is the main reason that tenants lose their money, a thorough cleaning will save a lot of money. But it is better to hire a professional bond cleaning service than cleaning oneself. Bond cleaning is a top-to-bottom cleaning process. And the professionals have enough experience that they can bring the property to the state that it was in before the tenants moved in. The landlords are often content with the cleaning services a professional bond cleaner provided. And most of the bond cleaning services are cheaper than anyone thinks.

Document the Conditions before Moving In

Document the appearance of the property using a camera or mobile before moving in. Be sure to record all the existing damages and property inclusions. Include the non-working appliances also. It is better to do this alongside your landlord.

Also, take extra care while moving the furniture to avoid floor damages. Use other means to hang pictures or things like instead of putting holes in the walls with screws and nails.

Taking extra care of the property can always save money.