Getting Your Security deposit in Massachusetts

4 Ways to Get Your Security Deposit Back

Moving is exciting and sad. It is the physical end of a chapter in your life and the beginning of another.

One of the biggest concerns in the moving process is how to get your security deposit back.

Below are four (4) ways to get your security deposit back:

Get Right with Your Lease
Determine What Goes with You
Leave No Trace
Get the Itemized Final Inspection from the Landlord

Get Right With Your Lease

Read your rental/lease agreement.

You need to make sure you have done everything you agreed to. If you have not, get those things done first before giving your 30-day notice – including completing the length of the lease. For example, if your lease is for 12 months, pay your 12th month of rent, then give notice.

Give Your Notice the Smart Way

There are many ways to give your lease but only a few that will help you get your security deposit back quickly. Check your lease agreement for how you agreed to give notice.

In most cases, the most reliable way to give notice is to send your 30-day notice in writing via the mail with tracking and a “signature confirmation”. The landlord or his representative will have to sign for the letter. The signature confirmation gets mailed to you.

Don’t forget to include:

The date your rental agreement or lease is up
The date you turn in the keys

Keep all proof that you have fulfilled your part of the lease. Things to keep include all rent receipts, copies of receipts for repairs you made or paid for, all messages, emails, and other correspondence. You don’t need to keep these for seven (7) years like your taxes, but it is best to keep them for several years.

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Determine What Goes With You

To get your security deposit back, you need to plan for the mess of packing and leave the residence to be neater than you found it.

Moving is the best time to separate out your junk and reduce the clutter in your home. Before packing, designate specific locations for junk, donations, and recyclables. Keep up your local trash service until the day you turn in your keys.

Then make arrangements for the donations and junk pick-ups. McHugh Junk Removal offers curbside pick-up.

Pro Tip: Schedule your junk and donation pick-ups when your children are not home.

Don’t forget to turn in your recyclables. Many places pay for the materials, which always helps with moving costs.

When you plan how to handle your unwanted items, you reduce the chance of something being left behind.

Leave No Trace

The Scouting motto “Leave No Trace” is an excellent way to get your security deposit back. In short, when you leave the area, leave it as if you had never been there.

The “Leave No Trace” principle also applies to moving, being a guest, attending an event, or going out to eat. When you leave the location the way you found it, you show respect for your host, the event staff and demonstrate the quality of your character. (It is also the fastest way to be invited again.)

The same principle applies to moving. How you leave the residence is a statement of who you are.

Pro Tip: When you move into a residence, take pictures of every room. Add this to the statement of condition you complete. Keep a copy to compare to photos you take when you leave a residence. Then take pictures when you move out to support efforts to get your security deposit back.

How do you “Leave No Trace”?

There are several simple things you can do that helps get your security deposit. If you make these efforts, your landlord will have little room to withhold your full security deposit.

Repair any damage you created.
Clean the carpets
Clean up the outside areas
- Yard & side yard – Mow the lawn, clear the weeds, and leaves
- Balcony – Sweep and scrub or powerwash – if not painted
Scrub the house – Include the ceilings, walls, baseboards, and inside drawers and cupboards

Final Step – DON’T SKIP THIS!

On the day that you leave and before you turn in your keys:

Take pictures of the residence as proof of how you left it
Compare the pictures to what the place looked like when you moved in
Print out two sets – one for your records and one for the court, just in case.

Get Itemized Final Inspection From The Landlord

Massachusets requires that landlords provide an itemized statement of any deduction from the security deposit.

The law limits what can be taken out. The deduction amount must be reasonable and fit the repair/cleaning cost. Furthermore, the landlord must return the security deposit, plus interest, within 30 days.

If the landlord must keep part of the security deposit for damages, the landlord must send a written description and estimate of repair costs within 30 days of the tenant moving out.

If you disagree with the landlord’s assessment and can prove the landlord is wrong, you can fight it. Contact the Massachusetts Communities and Development Housing Services program or local housing court to provide help in resolving any disputes.

Getting your security deposit back boils down to three simple things: