A Reddit post in r/MaliciousCompliance detailed a tenant's dispute with his landlord after several appliances allegedly damaged his belongings. He said that after his clothes were damaged by faulty appliances that were already in the home, he decided to protect himself against losing his security deposit.
The man explained that after moving into this nice rental home, he realized that there was a premium washer and a gas-dryer. He initially assumed the appliances came with the property and began using them. A few weeks after he began using the appliances, he said the dryer burned a load of his clothes.
Because he believed the appliances came with the property, he assumed the landlord would reimburse him for the damage to his clothes, he said that he immediately took pictures of the clothing and sent him an email. He requested to have the dryer fixed and to recoup the cost of the burned clothing - roughly $300.
Instead, the landlord said the appliances were not included in the lease. The landlord replied, "The lease is clear and does not include a washer or dryer. If appliances are present, they were left from a previous tenant and are not mine." The landlord concluded the email with this, "I am not responsible for anything I did not provide which would be documented in the lease."
The tenant said the response left him responsible for the cost of the repairs and his damaged clothes.
A few months later, and he said that he met with some of the former tenants of the house and found out that despite making several improvements to the home during their tenancy, the landlord still refused to refund their deposit.
According to the tenant, a neighbor also told him that the landlord had never returned a previous tenant's security deposit.
Tenant Sold the Appliances After He Said His Landlord Refused to Fix Them
At the end of his 12-month lease, the tenant said he sold the washer and dryer without telling the landlord. He said he did so because he was never recouped for his burnt clothes or the dryer repairs, and he expected the landlord would not return his security deposit.
Shortly after turning in the keys, he said he received a voicemail from the landlord demanding that ‘his’ washer and dryer be returned. He responded by citing the landlord's earlier statement that the appliances were not included in the lease.
He wrote, "As you stated, the lease clearly states there was not a washer/dryer included and you confirmed that below." He continued, "The lease also states, 'Tenant is responsible for all reasonable costs incurred by Landlord to remove, haul, store, or dispose of property left behind." He said the landlord ultimately did not return his security deposit.
Commenters largely focused on their own experiences with landlords and security deposits. One commenter said they had a similar experience. They wrote, "Almost every landlord i have dealt with has been a pure example of garbage human. The last one I dealt with returned 0 of my security deposit despite the fact that we left it in far better shape then when we arrived, they charged us an 800$ cleaning fee even though we spent 2 full days deep cleaning the place. . ."
Another commenter shared advice for dealing with disputes over security deposits. They wrote "Even with a clause in the lease saying they charge everyone $300 on exit for professional cleaning, I paid $0 on exit my last place, and got full bond back (because I left it in reasonably clean condition, in fact better than when I arrived, without paying any professional). . . Many LL/REA don't even bother with the tribunal because they know they'll lose; they simply try the invoice/demand because it costs them nothing to try and they know that many tenants will simply cave, due to not knowing their rights."
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the tenant's account or the claims made about the landlord and previous tenants. The information in this story is based on the author's account shared on r/MaliciousCompliance.
