We have lived in our home for 4 years and our landlord informed us back in february that he is selling the house. He and a realitor wrote up a new agreement in april raising our rent by 45% and charging us an 1800$ security deposit. We have no problem with the rent and have paid the increase. but do we have to give a security deposit after all this time, right before we move out? Thank you
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The Editor, Mark Bernardin, is an attorney living in MA. Please send your suggestions or comments to: TheEditor@malawforum.com
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Security Deposit
Are you moving in three months because that is when the house will be sold? If that is the case (and even if it isn't) I don't think I would pay the security deposit. There are many, many legal requirements for taking and keeping and using a security deposit in MA. One such requirement is that the landlord must provide a statement of condition for the unit. Later, if there are any damages or defects in the unit when the tenant moves out, the landlord can rely on the statement of condition to deduct for repairs. You are only staying in the unit for three more months, and any damage already caused by you cannot justify a deduction from the security deposit because no statement of condition was in place for that time period (although the landlord could try to sue you to recover for such damages). So what is the point of the security deposit? The landlord might take a security deposit to impress prospective buyers ("our tenants' rent payments are up to date and security deposits have been collected"), but you are leaving anyway. So, again, what is the point?