Q: When does responsibility for a rental property shift from the old tenant to the new one?
We have recently moved out of a rental house in Naples, FL. We rented it directly from the owner. The owner moved out of town and asked a friend of his to meet me to get the keys and do the final walkthrough. When we did the walkthrough his friend had no comments and said the house looks great. Then I asked the owner if everything with the house is OK per his friend's feedback and he said it looks good. A day or two after the walkthrough the owner gave the key to the new tenant and she started complaining about certain small things - nail holes on the wall, dead bugs in some light fixtures, small scratch on the wall, etc. Now the owner is holding my security deposit until all his requests are met. The lease ends on Dec 31 but we have agreed in writing (emails and text messages) that we will move out by 5pm on December 15 and the new tenant's lease will start on December 16. The landlord has agreed that he will refund us 1/2 of December rent for us moving out early.
A:
You forgot to mention the most important fact: When did YOUR lease term end, and when did the new tenant's begin?
Giving keys to a friend of the owner who was your landlord has nothing to do with your responsibility. Nor do "bugs in the lights" rise to the level of that needed to keep a security deposit. The written lease terms control.
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