move in/move out inspection question...

[nismo_fan]

ok, so if my landlord never did a move in inspection with me, is he allowed to deduct anything from my damage deposit? or are there any laws on this particular issue?

thanks in advance!!

[Joe-G]

I dont believe he can do that. Your landlord would have no way to prove that you were the cause of the damage.

Whenever we have a new tenant, we have a thorough walkthrough of the entire house and make sure any damage is noted on paper.

[97'Scort]

He needs proof that the damage was caused by you if he wants to accuse you of something. It just boils down to a he said/she said case otherwise. However, he can hold your damage deposit and you'll have to file paperwork to get it back.

[thepyrofish]

The landlord cannot legally keep your deposit without both inspections, but depending on the circumstances they can get away with it anyway. In Calgary you have somewhere to go for an arbitration type deal, in Lethbridge we have no such luck. It's either take it right to a judge or nothing.

My former landlord dicked me out of like $350, but I didn't do anything about it other than tell him he was a fuckwad. I couldn't be bothered to go through small claims court for it. I wanted to, out of principle, but I have enough other things going on in my life to make it not worth my while. I could make the money back in less time by pulling a little OT at work.

[dexlargo]

No - the Residential Tenancies Act is crystal clear on this point:

46(6) A landlord shall not make a deduction from a tenant’s security deposit for damages to the residential premises unless the requirements respecting inspection reports under section 19 have been met.

But if he has a separate claim against you that isn't for damages, i.e. if rent is owing, then the courts may use the damage deposit to offset that claim.

A landlord is only allowed to take a deposit as security against damages to the property. Damage deposits are absolutely prohibited by the Act from being used as security for rent - they're only supposed to be for damage. But in reality if you owe rent when you move out, the courts won't force the landlord to return the damage deposit even though a strict reading of the Act would seem to indicate that they should.