Landlord refusing to return deposit, despite written agreement

[Amypitpit]

Yeah ok but both are somewhat special cases...one is u you have a weird landlord (and apparently he is notorious for it..) and commerical property (not the case being debated here)...soooo for normal properties with somewhat normal landlords...abiding to the law..is the way fwd except sometimes of course when shit can happen..

My current landlord is very nice but unfortunately there are some who will try to scam you, Its a common trick to go through and start picking at faults in a premise when you leave that should be accrued to wear and tear. Admittedly it happens elsewhere but it seems to be far too unwelcoming here.

I was paying top money for the commercial property and had to keep a wet vacuum cleaner in the place to suck up the water. When it was not fixed I stopped something and then was told that I was not allowed to do that. (Figure) In the end the whole thing went to the courts and I had to pay for surveyor who confirmed the problem for $20000. I won the costs and that wasn't paid back so I lost that as well. Its no wonder we are now seeing empty premises popping up everywhere.


And as for going by the law... I quite agree but in my case I had to tell the various department what the laws were cause you complain and you get a letter back that never solved the problem. I.e You complain that something is wrong and you get a letter confirming it but no action so you write back and say Hey this is illegal... What you going to do?.

[rakedavids]

reply back to your landlord stating your agreement was witnessed and reneging on this and failure to comply will lead you to seek a small claims tribunal case against them... send a copy of that to the surveyor too as they were a party to the signed agreement and you could call them as a witness to the signed agreement. State all of this - that should quickly get the landlord to settle it or at least get the surveyor to get them to do it....

[tparker]

I am both tenant and landlord, and have never had either situation occur. I've been lucky with all my LL's in the past, and insofar as "final two months rent" is concerned, have also been lucky with previous tenants. (Lots of things appear to have broken under the current tenant, with repairs required left right and centre - but he's yet to leave so can't comment on the final two months).

If "we" (H.K. in general ; no specific person in mind) go around bashing Mainland China all the time for its lack of sophistication and rule of law, it's highly hypocritical for our own solution to the deposit problem to be "ditch the final two months rent". That's NOT how it should work, it's not how it's laid out in the contract, and it's certainly not the sort of moral / legal / civic behaviour we should be encouraging.

Tenants have a contractual obligation to pay rent, and per most tenancy templates used here, landlords have the right to seek recovery of such rent in addition to any associated costs of that recovery. (This whole discussion makes me think I should add an interest rate clause for future contracts!). Not paying rent would be a breach and grounds for not returning the deposit - but I still have a right to recover the rent (and associated costs), even if i'll return it back to you again afterwards. Want to pay ball? Bring it on.

If you are a good tenant and the LL screws you over the deposit, then I echo those who suggested the Small Claims Tribunal. If someone murders your friend, you let them be prosecuted, and wait for the courts to (eventually) pass a sentence. The process may be long and painful, but that's life. It doesn't give you the right to just shoot the guy yourself. Or even better, shoot him in advance.

This isn't the Minority Report.

[Amypitpit]

In theory

[Amypitpit]

I quite agree and when all the various departments work efficiently it will work very well.

For example deposits are paid into a fund like the UK, there are independent surveyors who will visited disputed premise and write an independent report quickly and reasonable. And that fee is guaranteed to be settled.

Could be done and then there would not be all this concern and it would combat the ones who wish to take advantage

[WMDS]

I have been leaving in 3 properties so far, always got my 2 months deposit back. One was local, two were mainlanders.

[jmbf]

When I used to rent, I HAVE ALWAYS paid the last 2 months rent and I have always got back all my deposit.
As a Landlord I always expect my tenant to pay the last 2 months and I always give back the deposit.

Don't spread false rumor and make it sound as if everyone in HK does not pay the last 2 months. the overwhelming majority do - if I go by the tenant I have had and all the people I know who rent.

And yes some are locals and some are gweilos.

When I was renting (over the course of quite a few years and 5 different properties) I never paid the last two months. All my landlords seemed to accept this no problem.

Would actually be interesting to see more figures on how common / uncommon this tactic is.

[Mat]

When I was renting (over the course of quite a few years and 5 different properties) I never paid the last two months. All my landlords seemed to accept this no problem.

Would actually be interesting to see more figures on how common / uncommon this tactic is.

Good on you!

[Ehiogu]

For those who didn't pay the last two months, how does it work in practice? Surely the landlord chases you.

Do you tell the landlord at some point that you're not paying him? If so, at which point? Or do you literally not pay for 2 months, pack your bags and the leave?

[jmbf]

For those who didn't pay the last two months, how does it work in practice? Surely the landlord chases you.

Do you tell the landlord at some point that you're not paying him? If so, at which point? Or do you literally not pay for 2 months, pack your bags and the leave?

Told my landlords I wasn't renewing the contract, none of them chased me for the last two months. They did do an inspection at an agreed upon date to check nothing was damaged above and beyond normal wear and tear. In my case there was never an issue and keys were handed back on the last day without any issues.

If there ever had been an issue I would have settled with the landlord for an appropriate amount. At least in this situation you are negotiating from an advantageous position rather than being potentially f*&ked over with no come-back as per the OP's case.