we have a tenant that refused to pay last months rent after we gave them 45 days notice that we did not want to extend their lease. first he said he assumed they would be fine using his security deposit for last months rent. i told him thats not what it was for and that they had to pay or face legal proceedings. so they have not paid, also claiming they have no money now that they have to save up for their next place, since we are kicking them out. we have a court date this tuesday for failing to pay rent, and i was wondering if anyone has used the saint marys court system for evicting a tenant for failure to pay rent and what i should be expecting.

Good luck to you. This county is HORRIBLE for the landlord (speaking SMC here). We've had situations where a tenant has owed SIX months rent and the judge kept giving more and more time. Ended up in an eviction and we are still out over six months rent.

I owned a rental property in Virginia Beach years ago when I lived there.
I will NEVER go through that again. If one does, it is really worth paying a property manager to take care of things for you.
Tenents actually stole the copper pipes out of the crawl space and (I assume) sold the. Then they turned around and claimed that the house was unlivable because there was no running water. Naturally, they waited 2 years without water before complaining...
I had to pay to put the pipes back in to bring it up to code or face fines. Since we could not actually prove they took the pipes out, (like, WTF did they go??) they were not required to make any restitution.
Things may have changed over the years though.

I've 'won' every time I had to make a claim against a tenant for back rent and/or damages. The reason I always won was twofold and the same in every case:

1. I had reasonably good documentation of the claimed amount.

2. None of the defendants ever even showed to dispute the claims and were simply served later with the award notice.

It can be, and often is, far more complicated and less satisfactory an outcome than that..

Good luck.

The reason I always won was twofold and the same in every case:

You may have "won", but did you ever get your money?
I won too, but I never received payment, but that was in Calvert County.

You may have "won", but did you ever get your money?
I won too, but I never received payment, but that was in Calvert County.

Actually..yes I did. Probably more because the persons in question did not leave the general area and so I could continue to apply pressure for payment directly. Had they simply left the area..I'm pretty sure I would never have seen a penny of it.

we have a tenant that refused to pay last months rent after we gave them 45 days notice that we did not want to extend their lease. first he said he assumed they would be fine using his security deposit for last months rent. i told him thats not what it was for and that they had to pay or face legal proceedings. so they have not paid, also claiming they have no money now that they have to save up for their next place, since we are kicking them out. we have a court date this tuesday for failing to pay rent, and i was wondering if anyone has used the saint marys court system for evicting a tenant for failure to pay rent and what i should be expecting.


Actually you did get paid for the last month as they gave you the security deposit.

So the only claim you have now is if the apartment is damaged or some claim against the security deposit.

If I were them then I would be happy to go to Court against your claim.

When I was in California then the Landlords there do NOT take any security deposit and they take the first-and-last months rent so that no one over in California pays their last month as it was already paid.

So your tenants might come from another State as Like California and they might have believed the security deposit was for the last month's rent.

Plus you are not saying that you have lost anything or any money as in fact you did get paid in full for that last month.

:shrug:

Actually you did get paid for the last month as they gave you the security deposit.

So the only claim you have now is if the apartment is damaged or some claim against the security deposit.

If I were them then I would be happy to go to Court against your claim.

When I was in California then the Landlords there do NOT take any security deposit and they take the first-and-last months rent so that no one over in California pays their last month as it was already paid.

So your tenants might come from another State as Like California and they might have believed the security deposit was for the last month's rent.

Plus you are not saying that you have lost anything or any money as in fact you did get paid in full for that last month.

:shrug:


You know as much about it as I do so STFU, Kreskin

I know in the contracts (if you actually rent and are not supplied by the government) it clearly states first months rent.
They make sure to get the rent for the month before you live there for the month, you never pay after the fact.
The last months rent is usually stated that it will be taken as a security deposit, and the terms of getting it back are spelled out.
but regardless of that lets go back to the original thought here.
YOU PAY THE MONTH IN ADVANCE.
So lets say you move out on July 30. That means that you must have paid the July Rent by the end of June. So by law, and by contract, you would pay the rent for July, then at the end of July when you moved out you would have your deposit returned (less damage and in some peoples cases fumigation) after a set and agreed on period of time.
You cannot use the deposit to pay for the July rental then expect to be caught up when you just run out at the end of the month.
First off, if someone leaves in that manner, they are most likely pigs that destroyed the apartment and are trying to skip out on repairs and cleanings in excess of what could be considered normal for the time they were there.

That "last months rent" is held in an escrow account for the purpose of cleaning/repairs.

Actually you did get paid for the last month as they gave you the security deposit.

So the only claim you have now is if the apartment is damaged or some claim against the security deposit.

If I were them then I would be happy to go to Court against your claim.

When I was in California then the Landlords there do NOT take any security deposit and they take the first-and-last months rent so that no one over in California pays their last month as it was already paid.

So your tenants might come from another State as Like California and they might have believed the security deposit was for the last month's rent.

Plus you are not saying that you have lost anything or any money as in fact you did get paid in full for that last month.

:shrug:
You are consistant, you know absolutely nothing in any field.

As someone who has rented the past 5 years, (finally owning in a couple weeks :banana: ) it was common for me to see either the collection of first and last month's rent at the beginning of the lease or the use of the security deposit on the last month's rent. So there might have been confusion on the part of the renter as that was what they are used to. This doesn't mean they aren't responsible for the rent.

Though if there is no damage (besides normal wear and tear as that is stated as not coming out of the security deposit in the normal lease paperwork for the county), why not just avoid the court date and take that as the last month's rent.

To me it makes no sense to make two transfers of money (one the last month's rent to you and then you the security deposit back to them) if there is no difference.

Did the lease say 60 day notice to not renew lease? 45 days seems like an odd number and every lease I've signed in this county was a 60 day notice of termination of the lease either by the leasee or the landlord.

Also, last part of my thoughts on this and again trying not to make excuses for them, I assume they were renting a house well if their next place does first and last month's rent plus a security deposit that covers two months worth of rent (which I have had in the past), we could be talking easily $8,000 they had to put in for the new place.

You are consistant, you know absolutely nothing in any field.

That. Clueless beyond belief he is. I've been a landlord in MD, off and on, for about 20 years. I doubt JP has even owned the cup he drinks his coffee out of.

You may have "won", but did you ever get your money?
I won too, but I never received payment, but that was in Calvert County.
We went through the same thing in Calvert! If the Tenant came to Court prepared with the Back Rent, the Court Vowed in his defence. It took us MONTHS to get him out of our OWN Property!

If there are no damages to the property (and no utilities are owed), I'd use the security deposit as last month's rent. :shrug:

If there are no damages to the property (and no utilities are owed), I'd use the security deposit as last month's rent. :shrug:

As a practical matter, I do agree with you on that. While it might not be in accordance with the lease terms, if nothing was damaged.....:coffee:

As a practical matter, I do agree with you on that. While it might not be in accordance with the lease terms, if nothing was damaged.....:coffee:

How much was the security deposit? I've been in places where the deposit was both more and less than the rent amount. Usually more if you have pets because they always rolled that into it.

How much was the security deposit? I've been in places where the deposit was both more and less than the rent amount. Usually more if you have pets because they always rolled that into it.

Speaking from my own practices, I only asked for one month rent in advance as the security deposit amount. But I know that in recent years, two months is not that uncommon.

How did the court day go?

If there are no damages to the property (and no utilities are owed), I'd use the security deposit as last month's rent. :shrug:But see, there is a downside to doing this.

As a renter, you could say, "the place is just like it was when I moved in, even better, in fact."

As a landlord, you could say, "the renters stole the hot water heater, had their 27 cats shiat on the hardwood floors, left a 3 month old meatloaf in the oven, and their three adopted children in the freezer in the garage."

Rent is supposed to be for rent. A security deposit is supposed to be for damages. If there are no damages to the property, then the deposit should be returned within 30 days WITH interest.

Most times, though, the security deposit will never cover the costs of the damages that some tenants cause. Damages over and above normal wear and tear, that is. A landlord should expect *some* level of minor damages....

But see, there is a downside to doing this.

As a renter, you could say, "the place is just like it was when I moved in, even better, in fact."

As a landlord, you could say, "the renters stole the hot water heater, had their 27 cats shiat on the hardwood floors, left a 3 month old meatloaf in the oven, and their three adopted children in the freezer in the garage."

Rent is supposed to be for rent. A security deposit is supposed to be for damages. If there are no damages to the property, then the deposit should be returned within 30 days WITH interest.

Most times, though, the security deposit will never cover the costs of the damages that some tenants cause. Damages over and above normal wear and tear, that is. A landlord should expect *some* level of minor damages....

Well the point is that the renters already said they thought that is what the security deposit was supposed to be for so if there is no damages fromt he normal wear and tear and they want it to go to the last months rent, why go through all the trouble of a court date. Just get in writing they accept the security dpeost is being used to cover the last motnhs rent, give them the interest and we saved everyone time and frustration.

Well the point is that the renters already said they thought that is what the security deposit was supposed to be for so if there is no damages fromt he normal wear and tear and they want it to go to the last months rent, why go through all the trouble of a court date. Just get in writing they accept the security dpeost is being used to cover the last motnhs rent, give them the interest and we saved everyone time and frustration.What does the lease say in regards to rent and security deposit? Does it specifically point out that the security deposit is intended to pay for potential damages to the apartment/house? Does it state that it can be used for the last month's rent? The lease is supposed to point out specifics to protect both the landlord and the tenant.

Unfortunately, landlord/renter issues tip in the favor of renters is most situations like this.

What does the lease say in regards to rent and security deposit? Does it specifically point out that the security deposit is intended to pay for potential damages to the apartment/house? Does it state that it can be used for the last month's rent? The lease is supposed to point out specifics to protect both the landlord and the tenant.

Unfortunately, landlord/renter issues tip in the favor of renters is most situations like this.

Yes this is what the lease says but it would be the same as giving the security deposit back and recieving the last month's rent if they got the tenants to sign a paper that says the funds from the security deposit were going to be used as the last month's rent. I was saying it should have been possible to avoid the court date.

By the sounds of it the renter did not have the cash for the last motnh's rent as he/she already put money forth to the next place he/she was going to live and assumed the security deposit would cover the last month's rent. Not saying he'she is not responsible for the last month's rent but it would have saved a court date.

This of course assuming the security deposit is enough and that there was no daamge past the normal wear and tear.

we have a tenant that refused to pay last months rent after we gave them 45 days notice that we did not want to extend their lease. first he said he assumed they would be fine using his security deposit for last months rent. i told him thats not what it was for and that they had to pay or face legal proceedings. so they have not paid, also claiming they have no money now that they have to save up for their next place, since we are kicking them out. we have a court date this tuesday for failing to pay rent, and i was wondering if anyone has used the saint marys court system for evicting a tenant for failure to pay rent and what i should be expecting.

Alot will depend on what your lease states is the procedure for use of the security deposit is.

All our rentals are in Charles County (and thankfully the judge there is VERY landlord friendly) but our lease specifically states the security deposit CANNOT be used towards the last month's rent, and will be returned once the tenant moves out and we:
**do a walk through of the property to assess it's condition
**the tenants have adhered to the move out procedures (which are supplied to them at move in)
**we verify all utilities that stay with the property (basically the water/sewer in Charles Co.) have been paid

Under MD law a landlord has 45 days from the date a tenant moves out to return a security deposit, and any charges against that deposit must be listed in writing.

It sounds like maybe your lease wasn't clear as to the deposit situation. May be a "live and learn" situation. The problem could also arise if you allow the deposit to be used for last month's rent, damage can occur in that last month or during moveout (either accidental or spiteful/intentional) that you would not have funds to cover, therefore causing either further legal trouble if you choose to pursue it or a larger out of pocket amount getting the property ready to re-rent. Neither of which is a good situation.

In the future I would recommend:

*revising your lease moving forward with future tenants to very specifically state the security deposit cannot be used toward the last month's rent
*use a "move in/move out" checklist. Ours lists each item in every room line by line as to condition and functionality (i.e. new, good condition, etc), and we go through it with the tenant at move in. This gives them the opportunity to address from the start any issues they may have, and they have to sign off on this checklist accepting the property as listed. We also take photos of the property inside and out prior to a tenant's move in to further verify the condition. The checklist also contains the things we require a tenant to do to prepare a property for move out and the move out inspection. If these items are not performed, it is clearly stated that we will hire a professional to perform these services, and those fees will be deducted from the security deposit.
These both come in VERY handy if you need them at a later date.
Just a bit of advice, and we have been landlords since 1988 so I speak from much experience.

Good luck I hope this turns out for the best.

If these items are not performed, it is clearly stated that we will hire a professional to perform these services, and those fees will be deducted from the security deposit.
These both come in VERY handy if you need them at a later date.
Just a bit of advice, and we have been landlords since 1988 so I speak from much experience.

Wholeheartedly agree with what you wrote. Extra steps we take; have the carpets and/or drapes professionally cleaned, professional cleaning of the entire unit and a fresh coat of paint. Exteriors get a sprucing and cleaning too. All of this is documented with receipts and have had 0 issues about security deposit money since adopting this practice. One exception is the fellow we've had renting for the last ten years, he pretty much gets what he asks for on his schedule.