Q: Can landlord deduct unpaid utility bill from security deposit? Tenant is responsible for bill per lease.
A: It depends upon the details - does the tenant pay the utility charge directly to the landlord or to the utility company? Even if it is to the utility company, many times the landlord is a guarantor of the account meaning that if the tenant does not pay, the utility company comes after the landlord to make it good. So it is likely that yes, the landlord can deduct utility charges from a security deposit assuming he properly accounts for it in writing within the requisite 31 days but the details are crucial to know for sure.
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