If moving is in the cards at the end of the month, now is a goodtime to ensure the fairness of how the security deposit is handled.This applies to both renters and property owners.
There is more contention about the deposit than any other aspectof a rental experience, except repairs. The Metropolitan Tenants'Organization reports that about 18 percent of the informationrequests it receives are about deposits.
The REACH Project, an independent group looking to hold securitydeposits in escrow, reported in 1995 that 45 percent of tenantsinterviewed in Rogers Park said they experienced difficulties withdeposit returns sometime in their rental experiences.Landlords report that they keep part or all of a deposit from 15percent to 25 percent of the time, both for damages and unpaid rent.Without a basis to determine conditions before and after adamage claim by the management is made, disputes over deposits becomehe-says/she-says arguments. What really works is the ability tocompare the before and after situations, which is why acheck-in/check-out inspection process done jointly by the renter andthe agent is useful.A walk-through is done at the time of move-in with an inspectionsheet. A similar walk-through is done as the tenant moves out.The question of who is responsible for certain conditions iseasier to talk about when it is possible to agree that something haschanged.Write mediator Ed Sacks at Apartment Watch, Chicago Sun-Times, 401N. Wabash, Chicago 60611 or his Internet address: edsacks@aol.com.
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