To keep their deposit!!

[LivFG]

DH and I have a couple of properties we rent out. We have been renting to a young couple who always seemed like good tenants. We gave them notice a couple of months ago as we are going to start renting on AirBnB instead as DH thinks we will get more money (don't get me started).

Anyway, they moved out on Saturday and everything seemed fine. Today I went to get everything cleaned and I found (what I think to be) weed residue next to the sink. I'm Furious. I feel completely violated and uncomfortable being inside the property. I'm sick with worry that they have been using illegal drugs in my home and what the legal ramifications could be!!

Obviously we have their deposit. I was planning to refund it this week. After my discovery today, I now feel incredibly reluctant to make any sort of refund. The idea of supporting/funding their lifestyle makes me very uncomfortable. And they never would have been given permission to abuse my property in this way.

DH seems to think none of this is a problem and seems to completely miss the point - it isn't about cleaning it up - it's about the abuse of our trust.

AIBU?

I’ve literally had to make an account to reply to this because I’m in absolute disbelief that you’d even think you could withhold their deposit. Legally you have zero grounds for this and it’s shocking that you’d even contemplate such especially after them being great tenants and respecting both you and your property

Weed residue next to sink… I hate to break it to you but this will likely be oregano.

Now get off your high horse and off you trot to make more money on Airbnb…🙄

A) you're not even sure it IS drugs, yet you're shaken and and upset that someone could abuse your trust.
B) you and your DH HAVE broken the law by not using a TDS.
C) People don't go to jail for smoking a joint, rogue landlords ARE fined for dodgy practices like...NOT USING A TDS
D) you can clutch your pearls all you want about morality and legality. All you're doing is coming across as a typical, money grabbing, self-serving, greedy and extremely hypocritical landlord.
E) You've evicted a decent pair of tenants in order to gain maximum revenue by renting as an air bnb. In the current housing and financial climate. I'm reserving my sympathies for your ex tenants.

Even IF it is weed residue, how do know they didn't have a prescription for it? You can't always assume a person using weed is doing so illegally.

What ‘ramifications’ might you face? You are being completely unreasonable. Your property is undamaged, you have no evidence and you think it’s ok to act illegally and retain a deposit?
I’ll be honest, I think I would prefer your tenants to you.

Omg!!

Thought I was the only one who remembered this! I posted one a good few months ago and nobody responded!

Jesus, give them back their deposit and get a real job

I can't actually believe what I am reading.

No you can not keep their deposit because they or may not been in possession of weed in your house.

Your post is rediculous and I think you need to get a serious serious grip.

At most charge them for a cleaner to do a deep clean but considering you didn't bother putting their deposit in a scheme I would give the whole thing back asap before they realise they can take you to court and win and you will have to pay them 3 times the deposit in compensation

Tbh I hope they find out you didn't scheme their deposit and know their rights considering you ended the tenancy and evicted them during the current housing crisis so you could leach the property for the maximum amount of money you could as an air b n b. Shame on you.

I wonder if you are ready for Airbnb because people often rent those for porn and prostitution or just meeting up with a lover outside of marriage and all of these can include drugs…
anyway, I thought weed was legal to use nowadays?
I hate it myself and would never tolerate it in those near me

How do you know illegal activity had taken place? I used to live in a rented house next door to weed smokers and it used to come through our vents. I was too embarrassed to have anyone round due to the stink. When we moved out of that place the LL tried all sorts of shit to take our deposit. Made up crap like there was a wasp nests in the (padlocked) loft, we planted knotweed in the garden etc. We got all our deposit back except some replacement cooker knobs. If this is real you should be lucky they don't sue you for 3x deposit. I would!!

It's maybe a bit of weed, but you don't know, and for some reason you're acting like they were running a brothel out of your property. Get a grip! You're banging on about their "illegal activity" but of the two of you only one would have any action taken against them, and that would be you for not securing their deposit. Clean the place, as you should already have been doing, return their deposit in full and move on. You'll be seeing far more shocking things with Air BnB!

This is one of the funniest threads I've read on here 🤣. You "think" there might be weed residue in the kitchen and therefore need to bleach and sterilise the whole house 🤣. Isn't that what you should be doing anyway for your new tenants? Good grief, if youre this uptight over what may or may not be weed, you're going to be in a whole new part of hell when you start your shitty Airbnb. Your weed smoking or herb using tenants are well shot of you and your husband.
Although I'm convinced this whole pearl clutching thread must be a wind-up, would anyone really get their knickers in such a twist over a bit of weed residue?

Ha, that’s so true. One set of guests in one of our holiday lets left sex toy ls and associated detritus EVERYWHERE.

you've thrown people out of their rented home because you want to make more dosh from an air bnb, and you feel violated? Okaaaay.

Whilst I would also be mortified about illegal drug use in my home, as others have said, the deposit is there to pay for actual physical damage. Unless they have damaged the property and you need to pay to rectify that damage, you have no right to take money off them for your own emotional compensation. Also, you have no proof of their drug use - you only think it's weed. I would just chalk this up to experience!!

You will not need to get it cleaned top to bottom at all, you are massively over reacting.
You were prepared to give their deposit back until you found what you think is marijuana residue on the kitchen counter, must have been minimal, try just wiping it down.

You should not keep their deposit, clearly the house did not smell so they have not been smoking inside, it is their life and their money this does not effect you, and you have also told us (through saying you were giving back their deposit) that there is no damage which is what a deposit is for.

Also, the fact you did not use a deposit protection scheme means you have done something illegal and they could actually take you to court for, I believe, 3 times the amount.

So, what you are saying, is that you failed to protect their deposit as you have hold of it, and because of what you claim to be cannabis, you want to keep their full deposit. Good luck defending your position in court when the judge awards them up to 3 times the deposit.

Enjoy your day in court, "an informal" basis does not negate your illegal activity of failing to protect their deposit.

You've broken the law, and you have no evidence of your former tenant breaking the law, talk about hypocrisy, you and your husband are jointly liable. Talk about cowboy landlords.

From your posts, I think you have severe anxiety and misunderstanding of the law. No one goes to prison for smoking a bit of weed, and seriously do you know what weed residue even looks like?
Drug dealers are not going to come round to your house to enquire after the previous tenants. Just relax, clean the house as you would be doing before air b&b and continue with your life.

This is the funniest thing I've read for some time, pearl clutching at its finest 😂

Terrible landlord who thinks they are above the law, who wants betterment as I bet you didn't "bleach the house" when they moved in.

Could just as easily be left over cleaner, such as jif, landlady completely unreasonable

It’s not like it was a crack den

it’s a tiny bit of weed. If it’s even that. Could just be oregano

give your head a wobble 🤣🤣🤣 ‘on drug dealers radar’ 🤣🤣🤣 they only come if you ask them to 🤣🤣🤣 they’re not likely to pop over and ask if you want any ffs

honestly 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Firstly, their rental deposit is to cover damages. I don't understand what the quantifiable damages would be. Also as their deposit was unsecured the can claim 3x the amount.

Secondly, when you rent its THEIR home not yours. They are entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of that home.

Thirdly, the substance could be anything. People don't tend to leave their weed behind.

Finally, i don't think you're cut out to be a landlord if you're crying over a green leafy rescue.

They never do. I'm quite certain that there is an organised racket between landlords/letting companies and professional cleaning companies whereby the cleaning companies agree to issue an invoice for hours of cleaning they didn't actually do and they/the landlords split the money deducted from the deposit.

From my experience of moving into and out of many rented flats, they never seem to have been professionally cleaned prior to the beginning of the tenancy, and yet they always seem to need professional cleaning (in addition to the already thorough cleaning I've done prior to moving out) after the end of the tenancy. To me it just doesn't add up.

It was particularly clear to me the time I was staying with the previous tenant and know for a fact that they were charged for a few hours of professional cleaning and yet there was no difference between the state of the property when we moved out and the state of it when I moved back in ten days later.