For a breach of a lease which caused no damage to the premises, how much is a landlord allowed to charge?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
For a breach of a lease which caused no damage to the premises, how much is a landlord allowed to charge?
We rented a vacation home 400 miles away. The agreement stated no pets but my daughter brought her small dog. None of us expected this when she arrived. We left the place with no damage whatsoever. The landlord has a houskeeper who observes activity at the house and reported seeing a dog at the premises. We were honest and told the landlord what had happened. He e-mailed my daughter that he was keeping our deposit due to the violation; there was no damage or mess left by the dog. I would be willing to pay a small charge for cleaning but the landlord wants to keep the whole $1400. Do we have to pay this unreasonable amount?
Asked on October 12, 2012 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
No, the landlord may NOT keep the security deposit for the lease violation: lease violations do not give rise to the right to retain deposits. A deposit may only be retained to pay for damage or to pay rent which the tenants owed but failed to pay. If the landlord will not return your deposit, you may sue him to recover it.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.