Renting a Home, Room, or Shop: Tenant and Landlord Rights People Often Get Wrong

A deposit exists to cover damage. When the lease ends and there is no damage beyond ordinary wear, the landlord should return it. Any deduction must have a reason that can be proved, not be made at will — which is why evidence of the condition of the property at move-in and move-out matters so much.

Seizing property or changing locks to force payment sits within legal limits that need care. Before doing any of that, or before terminating a lease, check whether it is lawful — otherwise the party doing it can end up in the wrong.

Deposits not returned or over-deducted, landlords seizing belongings or changing locks to force payment, terminating or evicting abruptly outside the terms of the lease, and on the tenant's side unpaid rent or damage to the property.

Put the lease in writing with the rent, deposit, term and conditions clearly stated. Photograph the condition of the property and its contents at both move-in and move-out. And keep records of every payment and every communication.

Because they settle whether damage goes beyond ordinary wear, which is the only basis on which a landlord can deduct from the deposit. Without comparable photographs, the argument becomes one person's word against another's.