Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 12 into law, which states that security deposits can’t be any larger than one month’s rent, on Oct. 11. The law is slated to take effect on July 1, 2024.
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I've rented a shitload of places but only had to pay a deposit a couple three times because I try to rent from people that I knew and they knew how I am.
I have never paid more than a month's rent for a deposit, nor have I ever heard of anybody else paying more than that, but it's been awhile since I've been back there.
The best renter screening tool I've ever found is to require 1.5 to 2 months rent as a security deposit. I'd probably get out of the business if this spreads to my state.
ReplyDeleteSo that ought to get rents increased across the board so that security deposits can reflect the actual risks.
ReplyDeleteOne month's deposit doesn't cover repairing broken windows (plural); it doesn't cover stuffed-up toilets - and it sure doesn't cover broken/stolen toilet seats and broken/stolen lighting fixtures.
ReplyDeleteGovernor Gavin Nuisance is an idiot/moron/imbecile - your choice.
No. This is deliberately evil.
DeleteCali has already made criminal background checks illegal, and has limited rent increases where rent control is not already in place, like the People's Republic of Santa Monica.
John in Indy, from Cali in 73.
Having to increase the security deposit is a byproduct of our transition to a low trust, low IQ society while being unable to discriminate. Tenants will disconnect plumbing, rewire outlets, leave fish and other stinking items in the drywall, just to stick it to their land lord. They also like to skip out on the last month of rent. IMHO. It's a bad time to be in the home rental business.
ReplyDelete- Arc
Here we pay 4 weeks rent for "bond" which is the same as security I believe, this money is paid to the Bond Board not to the owner I am not in private rental but in public housing which is subsidised housing.
ReplyDeleteSo you already aren't paying your full cost of housing ... the taxpayers are on the hook for the rest.
DeleteAlex, I'll take "people who have no grounds to complain about their cost of housing" for $500.
No problem, just require first month, last month and a security deposit amounting to one month. Problem solved.
ReplyDeleteFuck Joe Biden!
Or law of unintended consequences:
DeleteRaise the rent by 25%.
Good news for scumbags who will destroy every place they rent.
ReplyDeleteIt's been decades since I rented, but back in the 80's it was generally 1 month's rent plus $100 damage insurance to be refunded when you moved out, based on inspection (which they always kept, no matter how clean the apartment when you moved out). By the early 90's, it was first and last month's rent and $200 damage insurance. Back then that amounted to damn near $1000 when you could get a 2 bedroom in a nice complex for ~$375. Of course, when you decided to move out, theoretically your last two months should be "free" since you already paid, but it never seemed to work out that way. I don't recall ever getting money back or a free month.
ReplyDeleteEarly 90's I said fuck it and bought the cheapest house I could find. Mortgage plus insurance was less than a normal apartment rent and I was building equity. Never looked back.
RICanuck says,
ReplyDeleteHere in New England after the loooong rent moratorium due to Covid some landlords are asking $5,000 for deposit. I know one small landlord who ended up homeless due to the xpenses of maintaining his rental properties.
I think that is a law in Michigan, 1 months rent max for security deposit. I only rented one time, and that was in 1984, but I was a landlord in 1979-1980.
ReplyDeleteThey clean up on deposits held for as long as a CD matures. I know pet deposits are high as well, but I'm sure there's valid horror stories of the damage done
ReplyDeleteFrank G
Some states require that landlords pay statutory interest on security deposits, so holding the deposits a long time is useless, and can in fact cost them money since the interest rate is something the landlords can't actually get anywhere if they invest the security deposit.
DeleteMy daughter started a job in Copenhagen this fall. She needed the equivalent of six months rent to move in. Her employer fronted the money and she makes monthly payments, essentially renting from her employer.
ReplyDeleteI am neither a renter nor a landlord, but my best friend owns several houses that he rents. Most of his tenants are good people and he always returns the security deposit if they leave the place clean and no damages. However, he has had the occasional "the tenant from hell". The last one did over $18000 dollars worth of damage to one of his houses, mostly by letting children run amok. Another left a dog penned-up in the living room with nobody home for a few days. He wound up having to replace the carpet and sub floor to get rid of the urine and dogshit smell. He never understood why because he treats all of his tenants well.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter had to sign a lease in November, to secure an apartment for next September, near the college she attends. 2 months security deposit seems a bit steep to me, but, students...
ReplyDeleteLast thing I want however, is the government getting involved. They fuck up everything they touch.
Try being a landlord in Ohio. You rent a nice apartment to a black female who passes both the credit check and the background check. She moves into a one bedroom unit with three kids and a fat, black, out of work boyfriend - Dat be mah boo!
ReplyDeleteSix months later she's two months behind on rent, your other tenants are complaining because Tyrone is threatening them over noise complaints, and the family of pavement apes has torn the shit out of the place. Now just try evicting them.
The smartest thing to do is offer them $200 to move out, which they do, leaving several thousand in damages. Nice, huh?
About the third time this happened, someone (I don't know who) recommended the landlord hire Joey, who, for five bills, will make the troublesome tenants listen to reason. Joey showed up at three in the morning and left about ten minutes later. That unit was quiet as a graveyard for three days, then the tenants moved out. Yeah, the place needed some cleaning and minor fixing, but the rent was paid up and they didn't ask for their deposit back.
It's been awhile since I was a landlord but I required
ReplyDeleteSigned and witnessed application that allowed me to look for all the following
Clean credit check
Mostly clean criminal records check, depending on the crime.
Background check including the name, address and phone number for the last 3 landlords
Work background check for the last 5 years
2 months deposit
1 month security deposit
1 month pet deposit if required
Rent due on 5th of the month, eviction begins by the 10th if not paid in full
Signed contract that damages beyond security deposit will be pay by tenant or small claims court judgment
20 years, no advertising and always had a waiting list for tenants, also no real problems with tenants. I only had to evict 1, a sheriff deputy that thought his shit didn't stink... A phone call to his boss the,sheriff, and he took his stinky shit elsewhere... Oh and I gave him a bad referral for 5 years... Asshole
JD
If you're in California, and you're renting out ANY residence, the only reasonable deposit is one YEAR OF RENT. Because that's how long (at least) it takes to evict someone, and you need to be able to cover the mortgage for that period.
ReplyDeleteIf you have a rental in California, you're probably a hell of a lot safer to sell and buy one somewhere (anywhere) else.
John G