Maybe I can take this thread as a chance to briefly ask a question that we've had come up recently... We had talked previously with our landlord about getting a cat, he was hesitant but agreed if we paid an extra deposit and one-off cleaning fee (and we left it at that then...). We have since got a cat and will now have to follow up with this (he somehow found out -- no clue how, gossipy neighbor? evil building management guy?). As discussed before, the additional deposit he's asking for is $10,000 hkd (about half our rent) plus $2,000 cleaning fee (non-refundable). Is this reasonable?
We've been here 3 years, so any damage and painting, we think, would fall within the reasonable "wear and tear". The cats, which we've had a few months, so far have never damaged anything in the house (whereas we've made a few little dents here and there!), and I honestly can't imagine what the cats could do that would ever require $10,000 in damage. So now I feel this additional deposit request and situation with the cats will just offer him a chance to make excuses for us to start paying up when the time comes for the things that are actually under the usual wear and tear. I'm concerned we'll never see it again, even though so far we feel there has been no reason whatsoever for us to not get back our original deposit. We're not planning on moving, but we'll see how this plays out... So far he's been a pretty reasonable landlord, after all we've been here 3 years without unreasonable rent increases, and any repairs we've asked for have been taken care of in a timely manner!
Any thoughts? Are we getting screwed? (I should note his wife is a corporate lawyer. )