When you’re searching for a place to live toward the end of the summer and school is about to begin, you might not think too much about forking over a large sum of money.
But after you move out of your residence and never see that money again, you might think twice about how to ensure that you receive your rental deposit back.

Written records
ASUO Legal Services attorney Nicole Miani says the single most important thing a renter can do to make sure they will receive their deposit back is to keep records. All renters should keep a file where records can be saved. Your rental agreement, unit condition checklist, rent receipts, requests for repairs and written records of any communication with your landlord should be kept in this file. If a situation escalates to a point where it is necessary to file a suit in small claims court, the only way a resident has any chance is if they’ve held onto all records.

Photographic documentation
Legal experts recommended that tenants take photographs of a rental unit before moving in and after moving out. Taking photographs of your residence before you move in will ensure that you cannot be charged for damage done to the unit before you lived there. Likewise, taking photographs after you move out will ensure that you are not charged excessive cleaning fees and for damage to the unit.

Clean it
Let’s think cause and effect for a minute. If you leave your rental unit trashed and dirty and strewn with various stuff you don’t want anymore, the chances your landlord will take excessive amounts out of your deposit increase. However, if you show that you care about the place, keep it in nice order and thoroughly clean before turning in your keys, your odds decrease.
Renting a carpet cleaner from Safeway, or another similar store, may save you from having to pay your landlord from hiring professional carpet cleaners (or so he or she says) to shampoo your carpet, which can also cost you a large amount of money.
Another cost often incurred is a charge to have mini-blinds professionally cleaned, especially if you smoked inside your residence. As summer approaches and blinds tend to stay in the open position, you might not notice how dirty they’ve become. However, they are easily cleaned with some all purpose cleaner and a little elbow grease.

Repairs
Spackling holes in walls could save you money and so could repairing a broken hinge on a door. Replace all burnt out light bulbs, and clean the mirrors. Change the batteries in your smoke detector.
Remember, the most important this is to make sure you leave the unit in better condition than when you moved in. When you are finished — half intoxicated from the cleaner fumes — take another look around and ask yourself, “Would I move into this place in the condition it is in now?”
And if all else fails, ASUO Legal Services provides students with advice and sometimes legal representation in court, should you have to sue your landlord to retrieve your deposit money.