Texas tenant contacts property manager to dispute $3,200 security deposit deductions and is told they owe an additional amount totalling $10,000 for landscaping charges over brown grass: 'They’re taking my entire deposit and I owe $6,500 on top of that'

Like trying to keep grass green in the Texas sun…

Now, I'm no landscaping expert, but you'd have to imagine a brown lawn is more than to be expected in the middle of a Texas summer… and after a long-lasting heatwave, to boot. 

Heck, I'd be surprised if that isn't some kind of idiom already.

“Like trying to keep grass green in the Texas sun” should be a saying for any time you're trying to achieve something that's nearly impossible.

People in Texas feel free to prove me wrong, but I have a hard enough time keeping my lawn alive during the summer even in cooler climates, so I'd hate to imagine how it would be looking right about now if I were somewhere much warmer and drier.

Anyways, you have to imagine that that lawn wasn't long for this world if it was already in bad shape when they moved in, and the landlord and property manager didn't lift a finger to keep a single blade of grass green so that it could bounce back.

It's definitely not out of the norm to have landlords trying to keep a security deposit for no reason. They, in a lot of cases, view that money like a bonus they can use to renovate their property, and they view it as “theirs” as long as they have it. So good luck getting it back.

At one of the most recent places I rented, I had a landlord keep my entire deposit over a single square inch of damaged ancient carpet. The carpets were old, dusty, and crusty, and hadn't been well maintained before we even got there. But they refused to patch it with a sample from the back of a closet, as any sane person would do.

But we had other, bigger concerns, and so disputing it fell by the wayside, and they kept the money. Which is what those who attempt this sort of thing are counting on. Anyways, everyone has a story like this, bring it up with a group of friends and everyone will have something to say about the matter.

The Events

In an alleged account of events they shared with this online community, this Texas tenant shared how they had moved out of their rental on August 1st. 

They emailed their property manager the correct "move-out address." The intention here was the means of contacting them for the return of their security deposit, though this was not explicitly stated.

They received no response but followed up a few days later on August 3rd, clarifying that this was to be their "forwarding address." But here, they mistyped one digit of their ZIP code.
They still heard nothing from the property manager.

However, when they went looking for other ways to contact the landlord and property manager, they logged into the online tenancy management portal the property manager had used for the address while they were still tenanting. There they were greeted with unexplained charges totalling around $6,000 that were already marked as overdue. They still had never received a confirmation of anything, not even a word from the property manager.

Any correspondence intended to go to them had instead been mailed to the address of the rental itself, which they were no longer living at, rather than to the address provided.

So now they had two issues: Confidential correspondance that was going to the wrong address and unexplained charges that were unpaid.

When they enquired further they were told that the charges were to cover the shortfall of their security deposit, which had been $3,200. This $10,000 total in damages was for a brown lawn that had been in bad shape when they moved in.

This, of course, was outrageous. But trying to get a security deposit back from a landlord who is determined to keep it in their sweaty hands through tiny, unjustified bogus damages is... well, it's like trying to keep grass green in the Texas sun…

See the tenants original account of events below, followed by some responses from the online community where they posted asking for advice.

Landlord kept my $3,200 deposit, says I owe $6,500 more, AND mailed the accounting to the old house I had already moved out of. Is this legal? 

Location: Texas

Story / AssumptionDue2711

The gist:

I moved out on Aug 1 and emailed the property manager my new address. (I did not say “for return of my security deposit” but said this is my “move out address” and asked if anything else needed to be done for move-out procedures.) Received no reply.

On Aug 3, I followed up calling it my “forwarding address,” but accidentally typed one digit in ZIP code wrong. (Still did not say “for security deposit”) Received no reply.

A few weeks later, I stumbled upon $6,000 in “charges” in the online portal marked as past due. I was never told by email/text/mail that any accounting was there. (It also is different than the final security deposit accounting)

On Sept 3, I followed up with the landlord and property manager, asking when I would be receiving the official documents to the address I provided. No reply from either.

On September 9, I got a USPS Informed Delivery email that showed the property manager mailed something on Aug 25… but it was addressed to the rental I had already surrendered, not my forwarding address.

But because I had mail forwarding on, USPS forwarded it to me on Sept 9th. It said they’re taking my entire deposit AND I owe $6,500 on top of that for de*d grass. (I have photos of the lawn not being in great condition when I moved in 5 years ago.)

In case it’s relevant, there were also major habitability issues before move-out (kitchen ceiling collapse, water leak in my bedroom, mold, and over a month without central AC).

Vital questions:
• Does my Aug 1 email count as a forwarding address under Texas law even though I did not specifically mention the security deposit?
• Does the Aug 3 ZIP typo undermine that, even though the original Aug 1 address was correct?
• Does mailing the accounting to the old rental address count if they had already been given a forwarding address? Especially since I had mail forwarding on? AND does it count as them mailing it on Aug 25? (Which would be within the legal 30 days.)

• Does an online portal count as notice if I was never told to check it and is the accounting was different than the final accounting?
• Is there any standard deadline for me to dispute/pay the claimed balance, or can they just assign their own “due date”?
• Could the documented habitability/repair issues affect the security-deposit dispute or potential counterclaims?
• While I’m trying to get legal help, is it smarter to send a written dispute now or wait for counsel?

TL;DR: I gave my property manager a forwarding address after move-out, but didn’t specifically say it was “for the security deposit,” and a later follow-up had a ZIP typo. They mailed the accounting to my old rental address and the portal says I owe $6,500 on top of my $3,200 deposit. I’m trying to figure out whether their notice/accounting was legally sufficient, whether the portal due date means anything, & whether I should dispute now or wait for a lawyer.

Thank you!