Other side of the story.

I've been a tenant, and in one house, a roomate and I painted(provided by landlord...ugly ass green) and we installed pocket doors, a shower sprayer et al.

In short...made physical improvements to the house, one of which turned a wasted area, into another bedroom.

During that time, the landlord allowed the longhairs upstairs to splice into MY phone line and use it, going as far as giving them OUR number so they could use it, and I started getting calls for the hippys. Bullshit. Thats the beginning of it.

During that lease(a very weak lease) My younger brother and I purchased a home..well, yeah..it was a home for a while.....and wanted out.

Following all the proceedures per the lease, and considering the work we'd done, that was approved and inspected and "thank you'd" by the landlord....she tried to keep our damage deposit.

I know there are slumlords out there too....and if you're truely leaving the house with only normal, reasonable wear and tear....you've got legs to stand on Lt Dan.

My wife and her roomates had a douchebag landlord in Ankeny IA who kept $250 when they moved because they hadn't moved a stove and regrigerator and cleaned behind and under them.....the stove was built in.

Some landlords are just douchebags....but so are ALOT of renters. Its quite probable that you wouldn't expect ALL of your damage deposit back, or any of it if you leave the lease early.

....I hate to say it.....

but Think about how much equity you'd have built over the past 6 years if you'd purchased something, with the same payment made by you and the roomate.

When you leave, don't leave trash, vacuum the rooms, clean the bathrooms, clean trash out of the garage, clean the oven, wipe out the refrigerator. Then take pictures of everything, video camera will work well here. That way you have proof that you left it in reasonable condition. You are probably not liable, but you might kiss you deposit goodbye. Have legal aid look at your lease and see what is in the fine print

My law firm probably represents your landlord. Just add an additional $400 to your last rent payment and we'll call it even.

If you're willing to kiss the deposit good-bye, he'd have to sue you in small claims court for anything else. Unless you've destroyed the place it would be very unlikely that he'd do that.

Iowanian pretty much nails it. I own lots of rental property and you cannot expect the tenant to be responsible for normal wear and tear just like Iowanian says. You might find your original lease agreement and just read through it. Thats the only thing a judge would have to look at if he were to take you to court. If you entered into a lease to own then your may be responsible for maintaining the property in a condition equal to when you moved in. But that doesn't sound like the case. I've always treated my tenants as if they were my family, if they call with a problem I get it taken care of immediately.But on the other hand I dont go knocking on their door asking if they have something I can fix.
Bottomline is I wouldn't sweat it. Just clean the place up the best you can and move out. As a landlord I'm not about to waste my time and trouble taking someone to court for less than probably 2000 bucks and only then if I know for 100% that I would win the case.

did it state in the lease that the landlord was liable for major repairs? even after a deductible?

The new Washer/Dryer is yours, although in theory you owe you the old ones, or their value, what that works out to be.

As for the rest, it's all on him unless you intentionally broke/damaged/destroyed that stuff.

Review your lease. Make sure you provide adequate notice as required under the lease so that you terminate your lease in a timely fashion.

Don't bother giving money to a lawyer unless the landlord forces you to do it.

Superb advice, especially the photographs.

Before you leave, take plenty of pictures of the entire house. After you leave, send a registered letter to the landlord providing your new address, the amount of your deposit, and that you expect the deposit returned in accordance with the Kansas Residential Landlord Tennant Act.

By KS statute, the Landlord must return your deposit, or provide an itemized list of damages and return the balance of your deposit, within (IIRC) 30 days (check that time limit, might be 60). If the Landlord fails to comply with the KRLTA he will be on the hook for double the deposit, plus any additional damages you can prove.

If he insists that there needs to be a washer and dryer there, go by a pair for $75 to $100 dollars...... That would probably be good money spent.....

STFU! People are trying to make a living here!

To the best of your memory list the condition of the house when you moved in.

1. Did the garage door opener work when you moved in? If not, it's not your problem.

2. The plumbing leaking, did you notify the owner and ask for repairs? If so, did you do it in writing? Did you keep a copy?

3. Any wear and tear, like the carpet, is normal unless the carpet is really trashed you could be out for cleaning or replacement.

4. As stated before, there was a w/d in the house when you moved in, there has to be a set when you leave. If you have the originals, leave them. Did you notify the owner of their inoperability? What was his response, was it in writing? If the w/d was there but NOT included in the package, then you owe him nothing for them and can take your newer ones with you.

5. If you are willing to give up the $900 straight up that is OK, but don't let the owner know that, it sounds like the biggest problem is that he/she is a piss poor landlord and doesn't deserve to have your money if you did no damage.

I've been renting for 4 years now, some landlords are very honest and some are dirtballs. Only use a lawyer if you need to save your ass, the cost of hiring a lawyer will cost much more than you have invested, unless the landlord is going for some big money for repairs.

Someone said it might be better to own, I agree. When you own you will have a return on your investment when you sell.

Good luck.

Bob Dole would give 30 days notice and let the no-maintenance bastard take that month's $500 rent payment off of the $900 security deposit and dare him to take Bob Dole to court.

It's too late for that, the time to do that is before you move in. Anytime you move into a rental of any type, it's very important to list all existing damage to the unit. This means every chipped or scratched counter top, spots or rips in the carpet, ripped screens etc etc etc. Be very detailed. Have the landlord sign it before you sign the lease. There are landlords out there that will charge multiple tenants for the same damage that often existed even before the landlord owned it. It's not too hard to nickel & dime a deposit away