Hi All,

Real estate investor here from Connecticut

i have a situation i have never encountered before. My rental unit is non smoking, and upon lease termination the whole apartment smells like smoke, as well as dried up nicotine spots all over the walls. Aside from the deep cleaning and painting, i read that to really remove the smell you need an air purifier with carbon filter, both of which i dont own as of now. The law is very vague in what is allowed to be deducted. Considering i do not own this equipment and its a direct relation to the smoke damage, am i able to deduct this from the security deposit? (purchasing an air purifier and carbon filer)

Any insight would be extremely helpful!

As with most matters of security deposits, it depends on your local / state laws, what your lease says on the matter and "damages" / abuse, smoking and related lease violations. And if you end up in court... What would be considered "reasonable" actions on your part and costs related to remediation of the damages done. Also, how long has the person been in the property? 1 year or 10? And have you done any inspections during the tenancy?

Originally posted by @Jonathan Taylor Smith :

As with most matters of security deposits, it depends on your local / state laws, what your lease says on the matter and "damages" / abuse, smoking and related lease violations. And if you end up in court... What would be considered "reasonable" actions on your part and costs related to remediation of the damages done. Also, how long has the person been in the property? 1 year or 10? And have you done any inspections during the tenancy?

Thank you for your response. I did not own any type of air remediation equipment. Never had a need to until now. I did do inspections and I did not pick up on as strong of a scent as I did at final walk through. I have documented conversations of warning him and his admittance to smoking indoors. 

I would assume my action of an air purifier and paint would be more reasonable as opposed to professionally hiring a team to do it which would be more costly for both parties. Connecticut tenant/landlord law governing security deposits leaves it so vague, just saying you need to provide an itemized list with amounts “of repaired damages, not including normal wear and tear”

In my eyes, he signed the lease saying no smoking, the smoke smell wasn’t there to begin with, and in order to remediate it back to move in condition I have to incur a charge to get the proper equipment. Just my opinion and I’m not the judge! 

@Eric Skiba This is beyond “normal wear and tear”. I’d keep the deposit from the info you provided.  Just make sure to document everything in case they challenge it. 

Originally posted by @Michael Noto :

@Eric Skiba This is beyond “normal wear and tear”. I’d keep the deposit from the info you provided.  Just make sure to document everything in case they challenge it. 

That’s absolutely my thinking  i guess I was hung up on the “definitions” of doing a repair such as buying a machine isn’t a repair per se, however if it’s needed to restore a unit back to what it was prior to you smoking in it, it’s absolutely a repair in my mind  within reason of course  

Buying equipment is more subjective, as it maintains a value and use beyond this tenant. For instance, you would not likely be justified in charging a tenant for the cost of a paint sprayer or ladder just because they were needed for you to be able to paint. But an invoice from a painter and the cost of new carpet would certainly be justified deductions from the tenant's security deposit if damaged by smoking inside.

Remember to also include cleaning the heating duct work if you have forced air in the house.

@Eric Skiba Google around and get a quote for smoke smell remediation.

Then include that in your deposit disposition statement which should be provided to the resident according to State of Connecticut law.

That is certainly deductible from the deposit.  We have done it in Bridgeport CT.  

It depends on the temperament of the resident whether they challenge or not.

You may want to use a good primer before painting to keep the smell from coming through. I had one that was smoked in for MANY years before I bought the building. I had to KILZ the walls, ceiling, and cabinets to get rid of the smell. Good luck!