[tptacek]

I rented a house for a week in Michigan this summer --- the whole rent was paid up front --- and the landlord illegally retained a substantial portion of the security deposit. They have the money. Why would they ever give it back if they didn't have to?

[thrower123]

I'm sure there are scummy ones that do that. The other shoe is that landlords have to deal with the shifty end of people a lot of the time. When I bought my current rental, the previous owner went to great lengths to educate me on what could be done with non-paying tenants and eviction procedures; it seemed that knowledge was hard earned.