Need to get deposit back
Can anyone help?? My pregnant niece (17 years old) and her boyfriend (18) put down a deposit on an apartment without "adult" input. I looked at the place and found mold in the bathroom, possible lead paint flaking, and windows that have more wind blowing thru them than an air conditioner would. Landlord won't refund $. Is there anything that can be done to get it refunded? He won't give a lease until they pay full rent. They are trying to be "adults" but are not doing so well on their own. Small town does not have rental inspections before a tenant moves in but does have a zoning/code enforcement officer. I was thinking of having the place inspected. This apartment is a dump but for two kids starting out the landlord saw them as suckers. Yes, they need help being adults especially with baby arriving in 3 months but we're trying to deal with that which is an entire other issue so please don't go there. They are trying to prove they can make it on their own as best as they can! Thanks for any help.
Was it the security deposit or a deposit to hold the unit that then gets applied to the security deposit at move in? If it was an advance deposit to hold the unit, there is not much you can do. If he held the unit for them, there is an opportunity cost if they now don't want it. Most landlords have lead paint disclosures in their lease agreements on older buildings that are signed prior to move in, so that isn't going to help you much. Unless they are receiving public assistance in the form of Section 8, the city won't do much about the windows either unless there is an egress/ingress issue.
Your niece would not be able to sign a lease legally without consent so I assume her boyfriend is the one who ponied up the cash. As much as it sucks, adult decisions have adult consequences. If they haven't already, maybe their parents could try to intervene on their kid's behalf. A last resort would be to take photos of the "code issues" and then threaten to take the landlord to small claims court to get the deposit back on the grounds the unit is not satisfactory. That is an uncertain outcome however.
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Contractor
- First Property Management
I'd be surprised if the city would do anything, even if there were an egress issue. I had a conversation with a city inspector about that very issue. It was a university town, and he said EVERY YEAR, just after parents day he would get flooded with calls from parents saying their kids had rented illegal housing. He said the same thing as Brian. The kids are adults (legally, I have a 19 and 22 myself, so I'm well aware of their mental states), they had signed a legally binding contract, and their units were legal. End of story as far as he was concerned. He was warning me, though, that I could expect those kind of complaints on the properties I was considering.
If there is flaking lead paint, then ask that the landlord clean it up and repaint before they move in.
Weatherstrip leaking windows.
Clean up the mold in the bathroom. I have looked at hundreds of houses in the last few years, most occupied, and almost every one had mold around the edges of the bathroom.
If you really feel strongly they shouldn't rent the place, let them walk away and lose the deposit. That's one of those expensive life lessons kids sometimes have to learn the hard way. Like my son's lesson about what happens if you don't put oil in your car. And my daughter's lesson about drinking and driving.
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Sorry, Dian, but an 18 year old is an adult. The pregnant 17 year old looking for a rental is very likely legally considered an adult (emancipated minor).
They aren't going to learn if family keeps jumping in and fixing things for them. Do them a favor and let them figure it out for themselves. That's the only way they will grow up, is if you allow them to learn from their mistakes.
My guess is that the "dump" they signed up for is all that is available in their price range. You don't get champaign if all you can afford is iced tea without the lemon slice.