Wednesday, august 20, 1975
page 29
daily nebraskan
' By Ron Ruggless
School is starting. You've found that ideal apartment
and you've dug up that first month's rent. You've even dug
a little deeper and come up with enough to pay that
substantial damage deposit.
What are your chances for having it returned intact?
Fairly good, providing you don't destroy the place,
Jerdd Fennell, special assistant state attorney, said refering
to the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act which went
into effect July 1.
"The damage deposit has always been a topic of large
dispute," Fennell said, "and this act definitely clears up
some questions as to what the positions of the parties are."
Defines conditions .
It mainly defines the amount of deposit which the
landlord can require and the conditions for its return, two
aspects of 'landlord-tenant relations previously considered
under common law.
"The damage deposit cannot exceed more than one
month's rent," he said, "and only can be retained for rent
due and damages to the apartment, which does not include
normal wear and tear on the apartment."
Normal wear and tear, according to Fennell, includes
any wear on the apartment through normal use. This
includes repainting and cleaning, although the tenant must
leave the apartment in the best shape possible, just as when
he leased it.
"Such things as grease on the carpet and dogs dirtying it
up are usually not considered normal wear and tear," he
added.
Return stipulated
Another stipulatkn in the act allows the tenant, at the
termination of tenancy, to demand the return of the
damage deposit.
"Once the demand is made for the deposit-and it
should be made in writing-the landlord has to reply within
14 days, itemizing any reasons for damage deposit
deductions," Fennel said.
"If, after 14 days, the landlord doesn't return the
deposit with an itemization, the tenant is legally right to
bring action against the landlord," he said.
"The most important thing in this part of the act, is that
it requires the landlord to pay the attorney fees-whichT
range from $100 to $200-if the tenant is successful in ihe
action," he added.
"This is important," he said, "because the attorney fees
usually exceed the amount of deposit."
Claims minimal
Damage deposit claims are usually so minimal, though,
he said, that they go through small claims court.
An inspection of the small claims court record showed
that the act had not yet been tested, as the July 1 effective
date makes the law applicable to only leases signed after
that date. . '
It did show, though, that previous damage deposit cases
had gone about 50-50 in favor of the tenant.
Poor care of the apartment is not the only reason
tenants have lost their damage deposits, according to
Fennell.
"Some people living here in Lincoln last year," Fennell
said, "found that when their apartment complexes went
bankrupt, they couldn't get their damage deposit back."
In order to avoid this, Fennell urged, "The tenant should
demand that his damage deposit be maintained in a trust
account."
i "Don't always do it"
"All complexes are supposed to have their deposit
money held in trust anyway," he stated, "but they don't
always do it, as these tenants found out."
To prevent this from happening, Fennell warned, "The
tenant should specifically make the damage deposit check
out to the apartment's trust account."
"Then they have no choice but to do it," he added.
Basically, in order to be certain of the deposit return,
Fennell said, the tenant should take exceptionally good
care of the apartment, remove all trash and rubbish before
moving and clean the premises well.
"This act is good for the landlords and good for the
tenants," he concluded, "but the tenant still must use plain
logic in the care of the apartment to assure the deposit
return."
He Dow
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