This story was sent to CHAI recently:

I read with interest David's editorial and although he made several interesting points, he left one out.

Besides the unconscionable rent increases [for me, three in the last two years], he didn't touch on the deposits which the landlords seem to see as found money.

When I rented my studio apartment [one room with kitchen and bathroom] I was also asked to pay a deposit which I understood would be returned when I moved out, if no damage was done to the apartment. I was given a "break", since I am over sixty, and paid only $100 instead of the usual $400. The rent for my apartment was $565, which was high, for one room, but affordable.
When I moved out less than two years later, the rent for that same one room apartment had been raised to $825 which I couldn't afford, because I have a part-time job at a convenience store and if I paid it I would be left with about $200 for living expenses per month.

At move-out time the landlord [Boardwalk] sent a woman over for a walk-through. She assessed the "damage" [six picture-hanger holes, about 12 crumbs on the floor of the oven, other small infractions at just under $500, minus the deposit I had paid. Did you know that it costs $30 to take a Q-tip and clean a tiny bit of dirt from the outside track of a window?
I can't help but wonder who is being paid just under $500 to clean a one room apartment?
There was NO damage done to the apartment. I vacuumed, washed the windows, cleaned the cupboards, cleaned the bathroom etc. but that wasn't good enough.
Is the landlord not responsible for readying the apartment for the next tenant and is that not a tax deductable expense of doing business for them?
When I moved into the apartment there was a large burn on the counter in the kitchen. Doubtless whoever burned the counter was charged for the damage. The landlords took the money for repair from them but didn't replace the counter.

I'm so angry, though I paid what they asked for, that I wonder if it's permissable for a landlord to demand a deposit that they will find a way to keep, plus asking for much more, when a tenant leaves, having given proper notice and cleaning the apartment, though apparently not to the landlord's standards? And, I ask again, does the landlord not have a responsibilty to ready the apartment for the next tenant, keep a record of what the cleaners charge, and claim a business expense for that obvious expense to them?
If they do, are they not being compensated TWICE for the same expense, once from the tenant and once again from Revenue Canada?
In short, it looks like a rip-off to me.

P Dryburgh