Landlords & Tenants: What You Need to Know About Security Deposits

You are a tenant and you have moved out of the house or apartment you were renting.  Your landlord has assessed damage and wants to deduct them from your security deposit.  You dispute the damage.  What are your rights?

You are a landlord and have had a problem tenant move out, leaving behind a trail of damage.  What are your rights and obligations?

In Missouri, within 30 days of the tenant moving out, a landlord is required to provide the tenant with an itemized list in writing of the damages for which the security deposit is withheld and refund any remaining deposit balance.  This list and any refund should be sent to the last known address of the tenant (note to tenants: this is why it is a good idea to provide your old landlord with your new address).  The list of damages should be based on a walkthrough of the property, and the tenant has a right to receive written notice of the inspection and be present during the inspection.  It is probably a good idea, for both the landlord and tenant, to take pictures of any damage pointed out during the walkthrough, in case of later disputes.

Hopefully the tenant has not left your property in this condition!

Damages a landlord can deduct from a tenant's security deposit include unpaid rent, physical damage to the premises, and damages caused by the tenant terminating the lease early (if applicable).  Damages a landlord may NOT withhold from the deposit include "ordinary wear and tear" of the property.

NOTE: A landlord should be very careful not to deduct more than is reasonably justifiable, because a tenant can recover up to twice of any amount a landlord wrongfully withholds from the deposit.

Are You Entitled to a Child Support Modification?

The answer: it depends.

If there is already a court order for child support, a judge will have to find that changed circumstances exist that are continuous and substantial enough to make the amount of support unreasonable.  Usually this means that the amount of support you would be obligated to pay or receive because of the changed circumstances is 20% or more above or below what support is now.  If modifying support would result in a change of less than 20%, it's going to be much harder to convince a judge that not modifying support to the new amount would be unreasonable. 

How is support calculated?  The guidelines followed by courts take into account factors such as the income of both parents, expenses of both parents, and the number of overnight stays the children have with the noncustodial parent.  Any wrongdoing on the part of either parent could also come into play when the judge makes a child support determination.

The bottom line is that whether you should seek a modification really depends on your particular situation, and an attorney can be very helpful in helping you decide whether to seek a modification.