Rental: can the owner claim more than the deposit in the event of damage?

After the inventory of fixtures of leaving her apartment, Lina received from the owner a request for payment of 700 euros, for damage, in addition to the deposit of 850 euros which she had paid and which he intends to keep in full . The young woman wonders if the landlord is within his rights.

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Hard blow for Lina, tenant of a two-room apartment in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. As this thirty-year-old prepares to leave it to move into a larger apartment, the owner demands from her, at the end of the inventory of fixtures and for repairs to be carried out, a sum of 700 eurosin addition to the security deposit of 850 euros which she had paid when signing the lease and which the owner intends keep in full. Lina suspected that she would not get back all of her deposit: while trying to remove the stickers stuck all over the walls of the apartment, she saw that it was tearing off the paint… Not forgetting the numerous holes that the young woman had holes to hang engravings and light garlands.

But she had not imagined that her landlord could claim more than the amount of the security deposit. Forced to repaint almost all of his property, the stickers representing Japanese cherry trees not necessarily being to the taste of the next tenant, and to fill in the holes in the walls, the owner presented Lina with the quote from the craftsman which he consulted, an estimate which amounts to 1,750 euros. An amount twice the security deposit. Provided for by the law of July 6, 1989 aimed at improving rental relations, the latter cannot exceed one month’s rent excluding charges in the case of empty accommodation and two months’ rent if the property is furnished. It aims to guarantee the lessor the payment of sums that the tenant may owe him at the end of the lease, due to damage, non-performed maintenance of the accommodation, but also unpaid rent or charges.

The owner can request a surplus, through legal channels if necessary

“Isn’t the deposit a maximum amount that the owner can charge to finance repairs? Does my landlord really have the right to ask me for more than the security deposit of 850 euros?asks Lina. “Yesreplies Olivier Princivalle, president of the National Real Estate Federation (Fnaim) Grand Paris. The lease obliges the tenant to return the property in good condition and makes him responsible for damage committed during his use, according to article 1732 of the Civil Code. Consequently, the lessor can obtain from the lessee (tenant) payment of the sums due for damage, provided that these sums are duly justified.” Which is the case here, the owner having provided Lina with the painter’s quote to support his request for a payment of 700 euros.

Note that if “the lessor is entirely justified in claiming this surplus, amicably first of all, he also has the capacity to request it by legal routeif necessary »warns Olivier Princivalle. Before going to the district court, the owner can contact the departmental conciliation commission, an organization which intervenes free of charge to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants. Its opinion is only advisory but it can be transmitted to the judge if the owner initiates legal proceedings.