Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in North Carolina

Greetings. I have a North Carolina landlord/tenant matter for you. We have recently moved out of a single family home we rented. The landlord is now claiming they are going to withhold part of the security deposit in order to have a landscaping service come onto the property and restore the landscaped areas of the property. Our lease's maintenance addendum stated we were responsible for mowing the lawn, trimming bushes and cleaning the gutters, all of which we made certain to do. The addendum also contains a clause saying it does not list everything we are responsible for maintaining, but there is never any mention of the tenant being responsible for continuing landscaping around the house in areas that are not related to mowing the lawn. Is the landlord within her rights to say after the fact that that addendum referred to landscaping and withhold part of our security deposit? Thank you in advance for your time, and I greatly appreciate your help.


Asked on 7/02/12, 9:58 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Kenneth Love Ken Love Law

The landlord can do this only for damage...not for aesthetics. So if you failed to maintain some landscapping the damage was caused to the property, she is within her rights. If this is mearly her wanting to beauty the property on your dime, then she is wrong. If she has withheld your deposit, you need to send her a letter demanding its return. If she doesn't return it, you can sue her in small claims court for its return.

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Answered on 12/09/12, 5:41 pm


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