Lease and security deposit

[Richard Carlton]

Hello,

I have two situations that I need advice on.  I just had a tenant move out who left the house in good condition especially given they had two cats, a dog and two kids in the house.  My lease states that they were not supposed to put any holes in the walls.  They left eight holes in the in two different walls from wall anchors in the living room.  I will have to do repairs to the walls and repaint the whole living room and connecting hallway.  Should I write this off as just normal wear and tear even though my lease said not to put holes in the walls?

My second question is, can I take money out of their security deposit to pay for garden maintenance since they neglected the gardens around the house and didn't mow the whole yard.  My lease states that they were to maintain the lawn and gardens.  It will easily take me 3-4 hours to weed the gardens if I were to do it myself. 

Thanks for your advice.

[Nathan Miller]

I don't believe holes in the walls are considered normal wear and tear.  I would hire a contractor to repair the holes and use the contractor's invoice as justification for the deduction of security deposit.

Also, if they were responsible for the yard/garden, then any repairs due to their neglect of that duty would also be reasonable to deduct.  Again, I recommend hiring a landscaper to do this and invoice you so you have a concrete value to deduct and aren't just billing your own time which can be disputed.