Q: My tenants are disputing letter sent itemizing damages for not returning security deposit. What is my next step?
My letter was sent to tenants within the specified time frame per Indiana law (45 days) explaining and itemizing the deductions. Security deposit was 685. Upon further inspection we have found much more damage due to unauthorized pets and have been informed that the subfloor of a room needs to be removed and replaced after trying to remove pet urine odor and stains through enzyme cleaning. This cost is going to far out weigh the cost of the security deposit damages. The tenants at this point are disputing the first letter and the itemized list and don't know that we have found the excessive damage as of yet. I have put the house on the market and my Realtor reports that several prospective buyers are walking away from this potential sale because of the odor caused by the odor. This odor was not in the home prior to these tenants moving in for a short 13 months. They recently moved out June 26, 2017. There is even an abandoned car on the property that I don't know what to do with.
A:
Your next step is going to depend on what you want to do. Your former tenants can dispute the itemized damages all they want. They could sue in Small Claims in an attempt to recover it but it sounds like you have a mound of proof and damages to come back at them with.
If you want to recover against your former tenants you would need to initiate your own lawsuit against them. If the damages are over $6,000, you will need to do this outside of Small Claims court.
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