Shouldn’t be a issue since landlords never lie to keep deposits right?

  • @[email protected]
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    744 days ago

    As someone who is likely going to be stuck renting for the foreseeable future, I agree. I’ll happily pay my deposit to some sort of escrow that the landlord has zero access to until it’s proven by a neutral third party, with no financial interest in the property, who has seen the property before and after renting.

    • @[email protected]
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      174 days ago

      Who’s going to pay this neutral third party to come see the property twice and allocate the deposit between the tenant and landlord?

      • @[email protected]
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        74 days ago

        Realistically the viewing could be replaced by the landlord taking a series of before and after photographs that are approved by the tenant. A $2000 deposit held in just a CD would generate $100 in a year, which is enough to cover a good bit of any random additional costs

      • @[email protected]
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        34 days ago

        My honest opinion? By the city. Yeah i know that introduces another layer of issues, but there needs to be some sort of integrity in place so there’s no conflict of interest coughutahlegislaturecough

        • @[email protected]
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          14 days ago

          It’s important to prevent conflict of interests but asking the city to step in in every single rental agreement is not necessarily an effective solution. Someone else here suggested having the cost split between the tenant and the landlord, which has the merit of addressing the potential conflict of interest.

          • ddh
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            3 days ago

            Where I live it’s up to the landlord to dispute the return of the government-held bond and prove their case to the tribunal. If they do not dispute within two weeks after the tenant claims it, or are unsuccessful in proving damage, the government automatically releases the bond back to the tenant.

      • Björn Tantau
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        44 days ago

        Last time we rented we put the deposit into a savings account. The landlords got the book needed to access it and we were the people needed to access it. That way we also collected interest on the deposit (which I think is technically mandatory in Germany).

        And good thing we did that because we did have some trouble after we moved out.

      • @[email protected]
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        33 days ago

        The escrow company gets to invest the deposit. They can use a portion of those funds to determine who receives the payout.

        • @[email protected]
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          -13 days ago

          You mean they keep a portion of the deposit to determine who receives the payout? If you meant they only keep a portion of the revenues produced by the investment, which obviously must be one of the safest ones available and thus will have low return on investment, I’m afraid that would not be economically viable for the escrow company.

          • @[email protected]
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            13 days ago

            Looks like there are accounts that can earn 3.5%. It’s an hour or two of work. Average occupancy rate is close to three years. A $2000 deposit would cover an inspection after a year.

            Fallback could be on the renter if there is reason to withhold and on the owner if there is no need to withhold.

            • @[email protected]
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              3 days ago

              Assuming your numbers are correct, after one year the interest is $70. I doubt you’d get anyone out to conduct the inspection at that price, let alone two because you need one at move in and one at move out; and let’s not even get started about potential the additional work should there be a dispute by the tenant or the landlord.

    • @[email protected]
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      64 days ago

      In Brazil, tge escrow is keep by an insurance company, for the landlord to keep its need a judicial order, and at the end you receive it back adjusted by inflation.

    • @[email protected]
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      32 days ago

      When I was in Belgium I had to open a specific bank account for it. The money was then blocked on this account.

      To release the money both me and the landlord had to find an agreement and sign the release documents. If we could not find an agreement then we would have to go to a judge to decide who gets what.

      And at the end you get the deposit back+interests.

      I liked this solution, it felt fair for both parties.