[midas]

I've always been surprised that landlords routinely return security deposits in full. After a decade of renting in multiple cities, I've always received 100% of my deposit back, even in cases where it probably would've been fair to charge me for some minor things (holes in the wall from hanging things, some small stains, etc).

There are penalties in some cases (the letter in this post says in Georgia if you get caught there's a 3x penalty), but I've never heard of those actually enforced.

In other words, there's a lot of incentive for this to happen all the time, especially since landlords don't have much of an online reputation (like restaurants). The fact that it's rare in the US is a great sign for doing business here generally.

[jghn]

The only time I've ever not had my full deposit back was when it was explicitly stated in my lease that I'd produce a receipt for professional carpet cleaning before I left and I didn't bother to do so.

I think in general landlords look at the "reasonable wear and tear" clauses and consider how tenant friendly the courts are. That claim is pretty vague and it's not really worth their time or the legal fees to deal with someone if they get their back up over a handful of smaller charges.

[x1798DE]

When I was younger a landlord withheld a deposit from my mother inappropriately, she went to small claims court and won and was given the option of 3x damages (she requested only the original deposit rather than the triple damages for whatever reason, but my understanding is that she was definitely given the option). This was in Massachusetts.