Ask a sampling of small claims court judges about the landlord-tenant cases they hear, and they will tell you that almost all such cases involve disputes which arise when tenants move out. Sometimes the landlord or landlady is bringing the case, and sometimes it’s the tenants, but almost always the cases are related to the tenants moving out. Either the deposits weren’t refunded as they should have been or the deposits were insufficient to cover the charges owed for damages and cleaning or there were misunderstandings about the condition of the dwelling before the tenants moved in as compared to its condition after they moved out or there were misunderstandings about the meaning of the expressions “reasonably clean and undamaged” and “normal wear and tear” or there were misunderstandings about the ownership of certain contents of the dwelling or there were misunderstandings about whether the deposits could be used for last month’s rent. That’s altogether too much misunderstanding, if you ask me, and even though it cannot all be avoided, much of it can be with some preparation and some pointed communication.
